Nepal Tourism Repositioning

Introduction

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake that rattled Nepal on 25 April, 2015 has made a major impact on the dynamics of various sectors of the country, including tourism. Tourist numbers are down by about 90%, bookings are being cancelled, and some of the tourism monuments and attractions have been fully or partially damaged. This will have further implications on the jobs and the revenue that the sector is providing to the country. The sheer amount of recovery effort required rebuilding destinations and gain visitors’ confidence stands at billions, even with the provisional estimates.

While rebuilding and reconstruction has already started the tourism sector still suffers the consequences of false media information about the devastation of the earthquake. Despite the magnitude of the earthquake, only a handful of tourist destination has been affected.

The recent devastating mega-earthquake followed by blockade, which began on 23 September 2015, is an economic and humanitarian crisis which has severely affected Nepal and its economy. As a landlocked nation, Nepal imports all of its petroleum supplies from India. Roughly 300 fuel trucks enter from India on a normal day, but this has dwindled to a sporadic passage of 5–10 fuel trucks daily since the start of the crisis, though shipments of perishables like fruits and vegetables have generally been allowed to pass. This current political situation ―blockade‖ has badly affected the tourism sector.

Short-term Recovery Strategies

Recovery from the earthquake in Nepal is still in initial phase. For most disasters, the immediate response phase can last from one week to six months. During this phase, the community is triaging the initial impacts of the disaster and assessing the real physical impacts to the tourism industry, as well as the perceived impacts. This section suggests steps to take when a disaster occurs. These steps can be useful insights in case of Nepal too.

• Acknowledge the Disaster is Occurring

• To Withhold Information or Not, That is the Question

• Communicating with Tourists What to Do When The Tourism Organization is Impacted by Disaster

• Role of the Tourism Industry in the Community,

• Post Disaster Assessing the Damage

• Is the Community Ready to Receive Tourists?

• Convene an Industry Stakeholders Meeting

• Create an Industry Task Force

• Financing and Fundraising

• Addressing