Policy Considerations on Tourism Development in Nepal and Emerging Possibilities

According to the UN World Tourism Organization, travel and tourism is the third- largest industry in the world, with US$1.5 trillion receipts (2019) that decreased roughly by 63% due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Nepal is no exception to this trend. Tourism revenue fell to US$ 376 million in 2019 from US$ 671 million in 2018 as per statistics published by the Government in 2020.

Global focus now is on building back better; this is an opportune moment for Nepal to rethink new possibilities and explore innovative ideas to augment industry receipts by targeting the nouveau-riche in emerging source markets and improving service quality.

Re-thinking travel and tourism industry should equally take into account the ageing population (i.e., the silent generation, Baby Boomers, and GEN-X), a pool of potential target retirees, intending to leave their home countries for a peaceful, comfortable, and healthy living environment elsewhere. The government may, thus, wish to develop areas of new attractions to lure travellers from neighbouring countries like India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, and China as well as from the developed world.