Post-COVID Tourism Recovery: Can nature-based tourism power Nepal’s green recovery

Tourism is a mainstay of Nepalese economy and one of the priority sectors for the Government of Nepal. While the prospects of growth of Nepal’s tourism sector is huge, the sector is already facing several challenges, such as adverse impact on the environment, growing demand for world-class infrastructure, waste management, imparting and maintaining proper sanitation and adequate tourism linkages with rural areas to ensure equitable distribution of tourism dividend for the economic benefits for the host communities.

Tourism in Nepal remains the top-notch development option for the government and the private sector. It hinges mainly on two pillars: preservation and conservation of biodiversity and improving the living conditions of rural communities, eventually bringing in equal distribution of tourism benefits to all levels of society that is paramount for sustainable tourism development.

Tourism is one of the most thriving industries in Nepal. The snow-capped mountains, a rich diversity of cultures, scenic places, rivers, lakes, flora and fauna, historical monuments, bilingual and hospitable people are the main attractions for the foreign visitors. Nepal has immense diversity in natural and socio-cultural aspects. Endowed with such pristine natural treasures, Nepal has both comparative and competitive advantages to attract tourists in search of authentic new experiences and those seeking to escape to nature, which significantly is more pronounced during the time of COVID-19.

Nature-based tourism

Although it is very early to predict the direction of tourism in post-COVID era, health and hygiene protocol and safety would be the prime concern of the visitors. Several tourism experts and destination managers have pointed out that the nature-based destination would be the first and comparatively resilient to recover. Although nature-based tourism has been prioritizing the community, conservation and knowledge sharing as the major form of the ecotourism principle, nature-based tourism on new normal needs to be streamlined by a green and sustainable recovery approach. Global Guidelines developed by UNWTO to Restart Tourism has prioritized the vision of development and implementation of recovery plans which contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which recommends lines of action to guide a responsible tourism recovery for people, planet and prosperity, namely public health, social inclusion, biodiversity conservation, climate action, circular economy and governance and finance. Nepal being a pioneer in ecotourism and majority of visitors approaching nature-based destinations, the green recovery concept seems relevant and applicable for sustainable revival approach. Different components of sustainable recovery such as Sustainable Transportation, Renewable energy use and energy efficiency, use of local foods and resources should be implemented in destination level well facilitated through policy endorsement. Still Nepal lacks a policy guideline for ecotourism and this can be an absolute opportunity to endorse ecotourism policy of Nepal.

Policy, plans and programmes

Policy and plan level intervention in the tourism sector can be traced back in 1972, after the development of the First Tourism Master Plan which had recommended the concept of foreign currency earning through employment and income generation through development of tourism activities. Likewise, Tourism Act 2035 was promulgated in 1978, immediately after establishment of the Tourism Ministry in 1976, as the major recommendation of the Tourism Master plan. Hereinafter, several policy development milestones were initiated in Nepal. Development of Tourism Policy 2052 in 1995 prioritized the role of the private sector together with highlighting the concept of Rural Tourism.

Green recovery strategies are more effective only when we first address community development issues. The involvement of local stakeholders has been emphasized as one of the significant aspects towards sustainable tourism development. Nepal has rich experiences in various community development programmes.

Nepal has a solid experience of promoting tourism as a means for poverty alleviation in the mainstream development policy. In 2001 a pilot program called Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Program (TRPAP) was launched in six districts of Nepal with the goal of reducing rural poverty through the development, promotion and marketing of new tourism models in the program district; and institutionalizing tourism in local self-governance systems through developing appropriate institution and policy. TRPAP worked in both top-down and bottom-up approach: policy, plan and budgets were designed by a steering committee while programmes were devised at community level and executed by local level. The institutional modality was unique in its approach that clearly lived to the spirit of inclusion where community was fully empowered. This way, by venturing into rural areas, the programme was able to connect with and encourage local people to contribute to their own community in particular and the country in general. Local communities were empowered in decision making. TRPAP encouraged community-based tourism. Today, Nepal's empowered communities have transformed the traditional community-based tourism to community-driven tourism. Having economically benefited through tourism, rural communities have taken priority over resource conservation, eventually benefitting environment. Moreover, there are numerous examples of the community-led tourism projects having multiplier effects. Tourism has acted as an impetus to large transformations. The stakeholders have set examples of leading in conservation as well. For instance: the communities of different buffer zones of Bardiya National Park and Chitwan National Park have not only made the areas favorite destinations but have also made the country the only country in the world to nearly double the tiger counts. With environment friendly tourism, our different destinations and programs have proved that such projects have benefited the community financially, country economically and the whole globe environmentally.

Lots of work has been done in shaping tourism planning and development for responsible and meaningful tourism development in Nepal. Carefully designed and well-planned strategies are essential for overall tourism development. The notion of community involvement in tourism is fraught with difficulties in developing countries such as Nepal, as it requires strong institutional and socio-economic set up. There was a paradigm shift in the Eighth Plan (1992-97) and the Ninth Plan (1997-2002) as rural tourism got emphasis in the Five-Year plan. Finally, rural tourism development was featured in Tourism Policy 2065 (2008) to provide the impetus for the development. Homestay tourism took its shape and was finally recognized by the Government of Nepal with promulgation of Homestay Operating Procedure 2010. With the advent of the Procedure in 2010, Nepal saw profusion of homestays across the country with Ghale Gaon Homestay (Lamjung), Amaltari Homestay (Nawalparasi, Chitwan National Park), Lwang Ghalel Homestay (Kaski), Khata Jaibik Marga Homestay Dalla (Bardiya) etc.

Further in 2009, maximizing the priority in the tourism sector, a new rectified tourism policy was developed highlighting the community participation, expansion and diversification of rural tourism, destination development and diversification, and so on prioritizing the engagement of the private sector in tourism. Meanwhile on 1999, Nepal Tourism Board was established as per the Nepal Tourism Board Act, which carries the spirit of public-private partnership modality and serves as a strategic think-tank Evaluating the progress and impacts of Strategic document such as Tourism Vision 2020 and Nepal Tourism Strategic Plan 2016-2025, streamlined implementation uniformity has been realized. Given the changed socio-political and economic context, the policy directives reflected by the Constitution of Nepal, our own commitment under the Sustainable Development Goals and several natural and anthropogenic situations faced by the industry, a new contextual policy has been realized by the entire tourism fraternity.

Health and hygiene protocol

Consumer behaviors have changed since the outbreak of COVID-19 and are preferring from short haul to long haul and are preferring destinations which are away from the hustle bustle of cities, offering off-beat travel delivering a safe and hygienic experience to visitors giving overall immersive experience of people, place and culture. In this regard, NTB along with the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) released 'Operational Guideline with Health Protocol for Tourism Sector' for the Tourism Industry to minimize risk for both consumers and providers of tourism services. Further, NTB in collaboration with concerned tourism organizations conducted online training for tourism entrepreneurs focusing on imparting safety, security and hygiene of Nepal as a destination.

Way forward: Green tourism strategies

In the post COVID-19 scenario, the very survival of the tourism industry had become the biggest challenge, particularly because there was no specific preparedness strategy in case of any crisis of this scale. This gap is something that we need to pay heed to. Secondly, the concept of Restart, Revive and Rethink can be streamlined for sustaining and streaming tourism in new normal. Development of health and hygiene protocol and strong monitoring together with effective tourism guidelines can give immediate direction to restart. Similarly, a public private collaborative approach for tourism resilient building and preparedness for future possible crisis management should be the prime concern of the sensitive tourism industry. Accordingly, investment on nature-based solutions can have potentials to drive innovation in tourism mitigating the environmental impact in tourism activities and development interventions, which ultimately results into sustainable natural resource management and conservation. Also, contribution of the value of revenue generated as an ecotourism service at destination level could enable the tourism sector to capitalize ultimately to enable sustainable recovery. Moreover, a transformational stage can be envisioned in the post Covid-19 era, where destination management organizations and policy makers can lead this crisis as an opportunity to rethink the future course of sustainable tourism.

Covid-19 has forced people all over the world to escape and reconnect with nature. They are more attracted to green ways of living, which can offset their carbon footprint. It is highly recommended to enact a green recovery policy based on “tested experiments” or “proven approaches” as Nepal has rich experiences in sustainable tourism development. There are tremendous windows of opportunity to implement strong measures ensuring the green recovery activities both at local and regional level.

Nepal –Reason for All Seasons

Travellers will be looking for secluded places of incredible natural beauty. In this regard, Nepal has initiated to develop Hill-Stations. This has two-fold approaches. Firstly, it will add on to new products and will showcase to travelers. Secondly, it will address the major issue that Nepal is currently facing – a destination for a limited period. Nepal needs to change itself from a destination for a limited season to a destination that is Reason for All Seasons. This will not only help to change the brand image of Nepal that is perceived as a country for mountaineering and trekking, but will also help to provide immersive experiences that are based on nature-based tourism engaging with locals and taking in new experiences.

Nepal is focusing on betterment of local people as well. Local ecology, culture, creating linkages between vocational skills training and tourism has been the prime focus since the last two decades. A fine balance between guest and host have well-taken care of giving prominence to local ecology and culture. Local bodies and authorities are not unnecessary catering to tourist demands. Overall, tourism must enhance local life instead of hampering it. In post-COVID-19 tourism, travelers will embark on a journey to an exotic location; will seek out the less crowded places. Visitors will be preferring destinations which are away from the hustle bustle of cities.

Unique geographical and geological positioning of Nepal has been a boon for Nepal’s natural and socio-cultural diversity. Terai, the lower plains in the southern parts has immense potentiality in cultural and nature-based tourism with maximum market potential for cross-border Indian tourist specially for religious purpose, entertainments, VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) and Terai based protected Areas like Sukhlaphanta NP, Bardiya, Chitwan and Koshi Tappu Wildlife Conservation Area. Similarly, mid-hills have absolute potentiality with numerous hill stations and cultural trails connected with socio-cultural and landscape diversity, Integrated Farming System and Terraces with all season tourism attractions. Himalayas as the water tower of Asia, matters to be the lifetime experiences for the global tourism enthusiast, with world-class trekking trails, mountaineering options and numerous hard and soft adventure activities.

A critical point concerning the social sustainability is the induced effects of tourism Induced effects reflect the trickle-down benefits to local community, and people whose livelihoods are related with incomes from the informal sector. Efforts are made to take care of induced effects as it is an essential factor to be considered for green recovery in tourism. Mid-Hills in Nepal have potential to generate induced effects that can boost livelihoods of local people.

With bountiful magical beauty, mid-hills in Nepal offer tremendous potentialities. Mid-Hills in Nepal are culturally rich and feasible for all seasons both for domestic and international tourists. Climate and accessibility wise Mid-Hill regions in Nepal are well-suited for travelling and livelihoods as this falls under 2000 m. In most of the years, the regions are mostly sunny, with breathtaking landscapes, views and greenery in the surrounding areas. Yoga, meditation, organic foods, agro-tourism, wilderness, local people and culture are some of the potential activities that can be introduced in mid-hills regions.

About the authors

Dr. Siddhartha B. Bajracharya is executive director of the National Trust for Nature Conservation and Dr. Dhanjaya Regmi is chief executive officer of the Nepal Tourism Board.