NTY moves for international promotion
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 29 -
The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has begun to promote Nepal Tourism Year 2011 aggressively in the international arena in the face of uncertainties in budget allocation and time constraints.
The NTB will be holding promos at the JATA World Travel Fair, Japan in September, in the US in October and in London and China in November.
“We will move to other destinations gradually,” said NTB chief executive officer Prachanda Man Shrestha.
The government has allocated Rs. 230 million to carry out promotional activities at both domestic and international levels. The NTB plans to spend Rs. 150 million on international promotion and Rs. 50 million in the domestic sector. The NTB’s publicity campaign, however, is running behind schedule.
“We cannot wait for the government budget,” said Yogendra Sakya, coordinator of the NTY 2011 implementation committee. He added that the private sector would “leave no stone unturned” to make the campaign a success.
The government had announced the NTY 2011 campaign on Oct. 25, 2008 in a bid to broaden the tourism base as a national priority and mainstream tourism into the national development process.
Apart from budget uncertainties, NTY 2011 has been bedevilled by issues like purchase of aircraft by Nepal Airlines Corporation, eroding competitiveness of travel packages, deteriorating garbage management and improvement of Tribhuvan International Airport.
The campaign had been announced as a public-private-partnership, however, the government’s interest and ownership is absent, said Shrestha. “We are requesting government line agencies and development partners to own NTY 2011 and bring out their programmes to support the campaign,” he added.
Bhola Bikram Thapa, member of the NTY 2011 implementation committee who is coordinating the aviation sector, said that there had been a slight improvement in services at TIA. However, the international airport needs to do more to provide full functional services, he added.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Are Nepali skies safe?
SANGAM PRASAIN
AUG 27 -
On Tuesday, the day the ill-fated Agni Air Flight 9N AHE crashed in Makwanpur, a little known aviation news went unnoticed. The regulatory body of aviation in Nepal, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), grounded five aircraft belonging to Makalu Air and Air Kasthamandap. The reason: the doors of two aircraft opened mid-air. Not an extremely-dangerous scenario by itself, but coming on the back of the Agni Air crash, it points towards a malaise evident in Nepali aviation: a haphazard regulatory body that has overlooked airline operators cutting corners to compromise on safety.
Since 1949, the year the first aircraft landed in Nepal, there have been 63 different crashes involving both airplanes and helicopters, in which 628 people have died. Of these crashes, 95 percent have been said to occur due to what is known in aviation terminology as CFIT, or Controlled Flight Into Terrain—a state of flight when the pilots have full control of the flight and yet the plane hits terrain. Given our topography and climate, especially during the monsoon, it is natural that pilots have to be extra careful while flying, and the ground support staff has to be equally competent to ensure the aircraft is in perfect flying condition.
Unfortunately, it is here that problems lie. Captain Vijay Lama, who has been flying for 23 years, says everyone blames the pilot, but the reality is that “safety begins on the ground and ends on the ground.” He questions CAAN’s policy of giving operating licenses to nearly anyone who applies for it. The regulatory body itself does not enforce the safety regulations it has recommended to the airline operators.
Indeed, among aviation experts and enthusiasts, there are hushed rumours of how airline operators use unscrupulous means to ensure their flights land at certain airports when other airlines have been barred from landing due to poor flying conditions. A CAAN official who did not want to be named says, “If the Agni Air flight had a technical problem, or there was bad weather, who gave the clearance for it to take off?”
Reports suggest that continuous bad weather at Lukla airport for eight consecutive days forced all flights to and from the Everest hub to be cancelled, until the day Captain Laxman Prakash Shah ‘Lucky’ took off in the morning. Lama, who has been a pilot for 23 years, says pilots in Nepal have to operate under tremendous pressure. “There are pilots flying eight hours a day six days a week. They might deny it, but accumulated fatigue does occur. On top of that, there is pressure from everywhere—political leaders getting late for a meeting, airline operators who will lose out on revenue—for pilots to fly no matter what the weather conditions are like.”
The 2006 Ghunsa crash, off-the-record reports suggest, occurred due to the minister’s assistant’s insistence that the minister had to return to Kathmandu for a meeting that very day. This statement is confirmed in the report In Search of Safer Skies: A Report on Aviation Safety, written by journalist Toya Dahal in 2008. Sadly, as aviation enthusiast Hemant Arjyal says, one can only conjecture after the crash has occurred.
The biggest failure towards making Nepali skies safer seems to have been on part of the regulatory body. CAAN’s non-stringent regulation mechanism and willingness to bow under operator pressure remains a major problem, without which, aviation experts agree, the issue of aviation safety cannot be resolved.
For example, there are reports that private airlines, to cut down on costs, remove the back-up generator from one aircraft and use that as the primary generator for another aircraft (an aircraft usually has a backup generator if the primary fails, and even if the backup fails, it can fly on the battery to land safely, at least). Lama asks, “Has CAAN been honest enough to check whether operators are maintaining their aircrafts properly or not?” As Dahal’s report says, CAAN has given air-worthiness certificates, necessary for any commercial aircraft, to operators who do not even have a single aircraft. Repeated efforts to reach CAAN or its officials for comments remained unanswered.
Airline operators deny that they pressure their pilots to fly in bad weather. “Weather is something which is not in one’s hands. It remains the control tower’s jurisdiction whether or not to allow the aircraft to fly. After that, the captain can decide whether the conditions are okay for flying or not,” says Bikas J.B. Rana, chairman of Fishtail Air and ex-president of Airline Operators Association of Nepal. He also says airline operators have to remain within CAAN safety and maintenance guidelines, as there are “regular audits” every six months to a year. “Operators do not want to violate safety regulations.”
Instead, Rana says the most difficult part about flying in Nepal is the terrain, more specifically, the STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) airfields located in mountainous areas like Lukla. “It is more challenging to land on STOLs than on any other airfield.”
Rana believes Nepal’s aviation standards are stringent, and that maintenance and pilots are “no less than international standards”.
Still, another aircraft has just crashed, and a probe commission has been formed to look into why 9N AHE crashed. The CAAN source, however, remains sceptic. He says that airline operators control the regulatory body to such an extent that some airlines do not even have their own maintenance engineers. “What can be expected from a crash report if the investigating members are all connected to airline operators?” the source says. Arjyal has a similar opinion. “Why should CAAN be any different than other government bodies which are as corrupt?”
Major air crashes in Nepal
Mar. 3, 1955 : A DC-3 belonging to Kalinga Air crashed in Simra, killing two. This was Nepal's first air crash.
July 12, 1969 : A DC-3 belonging to erstwhile-Royal Nepal Airlines crashed in Hetauda, killing 35.
July 31, 1992 : A Thai Airways Airbus A310 crashed into Ghyangphedi, killing 113 people.
Sept. 28, 1992 : In Nepal's most-fatal air crash so far, a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A300 crashed into Bhattedanda in Lalitpur, killing 167 people.
Oct. 10, 1999 : An Avro HS-748 belonging to Necon Air crashed in Ramkot near Kathmandu, killing 15.
July 27, 2000 : A Twin-Otter belonging to Royal Nepal Airlines crashed in Dadeldhura, killing 25.
Sept. 22, 2002 : A Twin-Otter belonging to Shangrila Air crashed in Kaski, killing 18.
June 21, 2006 : A Yeti Airlines Twin-Otter crashed at Jumla Airport, killing 9.
Sept. 23, 2006 : A MI-17 helicopter belonging to Shree Air crashed in Ghunsa, Taplejung, killing 24. Among others, conservationists Chandra Gurung and Tirtha Man Maskey, and geographer Harka Gurung were killed.
Mar. 3, 2008 : A MI-8 helicopter belonging to UNMIN crashed in Ramechhap, killing 10.
Oct. 8, 2008 : A Twin-Otter belonging to Yeti Airlines crashed in Lukla, killing 18. Only the Captain survived.
Aug. 24, 2010 : A Dornier belonging to Agni Air crashed in Makwanpur, killing 14.
SANGAM PRASAIN
AUG 27 -
On Tuesday, the day the ill-fated Agni Air Flight 9N AHE crashed in Makwanpur, a little known aviation news went unnoticed. The regulatory body of aviation in Nepal, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), grounded five aircraft belonging to Makalu Air and Air Kasthamandap. The reason: the doors of two aircraft opened mid-air. Not an extremely-dangerous scenario by itself, but coming on the back of the Agni Air crash, it points towards a malaise evident in Nepali aviation: a haphazard regulatory body that has overlooked airline operators cutting corners to compromise on safety.
Since 1949, the year the first aircraft landed in Nepal, there have been 63 different crashes involving both airplanes and helicopters, in which 628 people have died. Of these crashes, 95 percent have been said to occur due to what is known in aviation terminology as CFIT, or Controlled Flight Into Terrain—a state of flight when the pilots have full control of the flight and yet the plane hits terrain. Given our topography and climate, especially during the monsoon, it is natural that pilots have to be extra careful while flying, and the ground support staff has to be equally competent to ensure the aircraft is in perfect flying condition.
Unfortunately, it is here that problems lie. Captain Vijay Lama, who has been flying for 23 years, says everyone blames the pilot, but the reality is that “safety begins on the ground and ends on the ground.” He questions CAAN’s policy of giving operating licenses to nearly anyone who applies for it. The regulatory body itself does not enforce the safety regulations it has recommended to the airline operators.
Indeed, among aviation experts and enthusiasts, there are hushed rumours of how airline operators use unscrupulous means to ensure their flights land at certain airports when other airlines have been barred from landing due to poor flying conditions. A CAAN official who did not want to be named says, “If the Agni Air flight had a technical problem, or there was bad weather, who gave the clearance for it to take off?”
Reports suggest that continuous bad weather at Lukla airport for eight consecutive days forced all flights to and from the Everest hub to be cancelled, until the day Captain Laxman Prakash Shah ‘Lucky’ took off in the morning. Lama, who has been a pilot for 23 years, says pilots in Nepal have to operate under tremendous pressure. “There are pilots flying eight hours a day six days a week. They might deny it, but accumulated fatigue does occur. On top of that, there is pressure from everywhere—political leaders getting late for a meeting, airline operators who will lose out on revenue—for pilots to fly no matter what the weather conditions are like.”
The 2006 Ghunsa crash, off-the-record reports suggest, occurred due to the minister’s assistant’s insistence that the minister had to return to Kathmandu for a meeting that very day. This statement is confirmed in the report In Search of Safer Skies: A Report on Aviation Safety, written by journalist Toya Dahal in 2008. Sadly, as aviation enthusiast Hemant Arjyal says, one can only conjecture after the crash has occurred.
The biggest failure towards making Nepali skies safer seems to have been on part of the regulatory body. CAAN’s non-stringent regulation mechanism and willingness to bow under operator pressure remains a major problem, without which, aviation experts agree, the issue of aviation safety cannot be resolved.
For example, there are reports that private airlines, to cut down on costs, remove the back-up generator from one aircraft and use that as the primary generator for another aircraft (an aircraft usually has a backup generator if the primary fails, and even if the backup fails, it can fly on the battery to land safely, at least). Lama asks, “Has CAAN been honest enough to check whether operators are maintaining their aircrafts properly or not?” As Dahal’s report says, CAAN has given air-worthiness certificates, necessary for any commercial aircraft, to operators who do not even have a single aircraft. Repeated efforts to reach CAAN or its officials for comments remained unanswered.
Airline operators deny that they pressure their pilots to fly in bad weather. “Weather is something which is not in one’s hands. It remains the control tower’s jurisdiction whether or not to allow the aircraft to fly. After that, the captain can decide whether the conditions are okay for flying or not,” says Bikas J.B. Rana, chairman of Fishtail Air and ex-president of Airline Operators Association of Nepal. He also says airline operators have to remain within CAAN safety and maintenance guidelines, as there are “regular audits” every six months to a year. “Operators do not want to violate safety regulations.”
Instead, Rana says the most difficult part about flying in Nepal is the terrain, more specifically, the STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) airfields located in mountainous areas like Lukla. “It is more challenging to land on STOLs than on any other airfield.”
Rana believes Nepal’s aviation standards are stringent, and that maintenance and pilots are “no less than international standards”.
Still, another aircraft has just crashed, and a probe commission has been formed to look into why 9N AHE crashed. The CAAN source, however, remains sceptic. He says that airline operators control the regulatory body to such an extent that some airlines do not even have their own maintenance engineers. “What can be expected from a crash report if the investigating members are all connected to airline operators?” the source says. Arjyal has a similar opinion. “Why should CAAN be any different than other government bodies which are as corrupt?”
Major air crashes in Nepal
Mar. 3, 1955 : A DC-3 belonging to Kalinga Air crashed in Simra, killing two. This was Nepal's first air crash.
July 12, 1969 : A DC-3 belonging to erstwhile-Royal Nepal Airlines crashed in Hetauda, killing 35.
July 31, 1992 : A Thai Airways Airbus A310 crashed into Ghyangphedi, killing 113 people.
Sept. 28, 1992 : In Nepal's most-fatal air crash so far, a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A300 crashed into Bhattedanda in Lalitpur, killing 167 people.
Oct. 10, 1999 : An Avro HS-748 belonging to Necon Air crashed in Ramkot near Kathmandu, killing 15.
July 27, 2000 : A Twin-Otter belonging to Royal Nepal Airlines crashed in Dadeldhura, killing 25.
Sept. 22, 2002 : A Twin-Otter belonging to Shangrila Air crashed in Kaski, killing 18.
June 21, 2006 : A Yeti Airlines Twin-Otter crashed at Jumla Airport, killing 9.
Sept. 23, 2006 : A MI-17 helicopter belonging to Shree Air crashed in Ghunsa, Taplejung, killing 24. Among others, conservationists Chandra Gurung and Tirtha Man Maskey, and geographer Harka Gurung were killed.
Mar. 3, 2008 : A MI-8 helicopter belonging to UNMIN crashed in Ramechhap, killing 10.
Oct. 8, 2008 : A Twin-Otter belonging to Yeti Airlines crashed in Lukla, killing 18. Only the Captain survived.
Aug. 24, 2010 : A Dornier belonging to Agni Air crashed in Makwanpur, killing 14.
Budget blues may hit promo
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 25 -
With uncertainty lingering over the announcement of a full budget, the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), has started lobbying with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to release the budget allocated for the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 (NTY-2011) promotion. The government has allocated Rs. 230 million for the promotion.
Only four months are left for the promo to begin. The government has scheduled it from Jan. 14.
“The government has made a positive move just when the weak economy is hitting the pace of growth,” said Laxman Prasad Bhattarai, spokesperson at MoTCA.
NTY-2011 could be the driver to pace the growth forecast to step up from 2011 onwards, Bhattarai said.
Plans for a massive promotion of NTY-2011 abroad have been hit by the delay in budget. The concerned stakeholders and authorities are disheartened by the government’s apathy. The NTY-2011 working committee had scheduled the international promotion campaign from the first week of August. However, lack of a full budget has hampered that.
Yogendra Shakya, coordinator of the NTY-2011 implementation committee, said that by now the private sector investment for the campaign preparation at the domestic level has reached over Rs. 20 million.
According to him, the committee had three strategic programmes at the domestic level - Political commitment, capacity building of the private sector and product. Among these, the committee has succeeded in getting the political sector’s commitment. Similarly, capacity building of hotels and aviation is going on. Hotels have invested over Rs. 300 million while numbers of new tourist standard hotels have been established at the regional level.
In terms of product building, the private sector has discovered new trekking trails. “Recently, we discovered a 140 days Great Himalayan trekking trails as a new product,” Shakya said.
While the private sector has the major role in product and programme development, the government is a major facilitator for infrastructure development and policy making in the tourism sector.
“The NTY-2011 working committee is coordinating with the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works and the Ministry of Local Development for infrastructure development and removal of garbage,” Shakya said.
Bringing in one million tourists in the post-conflict period means creating more business and income-generating activities. Moreover, it can be a vital way to regain lost glory and re-establish the country’s image as a popular holiday destination.
However, bad politics and a weak bureaucracy unable to take independent decisions have put the campaign’s success in the shadow of doubt,” a government official said.
Although, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) organizes regular tourism promotional events, NTY-2011 needs a separate and aggressive promotional campaign, Aditya Baral, the Board’s spokesman said.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 25 -
With uncertainty lingering over the announcement of a full budget, the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), has started lobbying with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to release the budget allocated for the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 (NTY-2011) promotion. The government has allocated Rs. 230 million for the promotion.
Only four months are left for the promo to begin. The government has scheduled it from Jan. 14.
“The government has made a positive move just when the weak economy is hitting the pace of growth,” said Laxman Prasad Bhattarai, spokesperson at MoTCA.
NTY-2011 could be the driver to pace the growth forecast to step up from 2011 onwards, Bhattarai said.
Plans for a massive promotion of NTY-2011 abroad have been hit by the delay in budget. The concerned stakeholders and authorities are disheartened by the government’s apathy. The NTY-2011 working committee had scheduled the international promotion campaign from the first week of August. However, lack of a full budget has hampered that.
Yogendra Shakya, coordinator of the NTY-2011 implementation committee, said that by now the private sector investment for the campaign preparation at the domestic level has reached over Rs. 20 million.
According to him, the committee had three strategic programmes at the domestic level - Political commitment, capacity building of the private sector and product. Among these, the committee has succeeded in getting the political sector’s commitment. Similarly, capacity building of hotels and aviation is going on. Hotels have invested over Rs. 300 million while numbers of new tourist standard hotels have been established at the regional level.
In terms of product building, the private sector has discovered new trekking trails. “Recently, we discovered a 140 days Great Himalayan trekking trails as a new product,” Shakya said.
While the private sector has the major role in product and programme development, the government is a major facilitator for infrastructure development and policy making in the tourism sector.
“The NTY-2011 working committee is coordinating with the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works and the Ministry of Local Development for infrastructure development and removal of garbage,” Shakya said.
Bringing in one million tourists in the post-conflict period means creating more business and income-generating activities. Moreover, it can be a vital way to regain lost glory and re-establish the country’s image as a popular holiday destination.
However, bad politics and a weak bureaucracy unable to take independent decisions have put the campaign’s success in the shadow of doubt,” a government official said.
Although, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) organizes regular tourism promotional events, NTY-2011 needs a separate and aggressive promotional campaign, Aditya Baral, the Board’s spokesman said.
Mustang folks out of bounds
SANGAM PRASAIN
POKHARA, AUG 27 -
Locals of Upper Mustang on Friday have threatened to bar tourists’ entry into the region from Oct. 1 as a protest against the government’s failure to distribute resources collected from the tourists.
According to locals, the Local Self Governance Act provisions that 30 percent of the revenue collected from a tourist area goes for development work of the concerned place, but Upper Mustang has not received its share for over 15 years.
As a result, the region still lacks electricity, roads, schools and hospitals. Food shortage is a perennial problem as the topography of Upper Mustang is unfavourable for crops.
The people of Upper Mustang say that the government is cheating them. “If the government had provided the fund as agreed there wouldn’t be all these problems that we’re having right now,” Raju Bista of Upper Mustang Youth Society said. “The government is simply taking from us and not giving back.” According to Annapurna Conservation Area Project, the government has collected more than Rs. 770 million in revenue through tourism from Upper Mustang, which started from 1993.
The government and the concerned ministries were informed of the people’s protest three months ago.
Rajendra Bajgain, general secretary of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN), said it was not TAAN’s responsibility to negotiate with the government.
The issue is one of resource allocation and the government is fully responsible for that. The matter has been hanging fire for a long time. “This shows that the Ministry of Home Affairs is reluctant to settle the issue,” said Bajgain. He added though that the locals do not have right to bar entry into the region as such acts will affect the tourism sector ultimately.
Spokesman at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation Laxman Prasad Bhattarai said that the issue was not associated with his ministry. He added that the Home Ministry is looking after the issue.
Jay Mukunda Khanal, spokesperson at the Home Ministry said that the issue was of revenue distribution and the Ministry of Finance should take a call on it. “We will dispatch a letter in this regard to the Finance Ministry on Monday,” he said.
The picturesque, majestic windswept landscapes, flat-roofed stone houses and their inhabitants who follow Tibetan culture draw tourists from all over the world to this region. Upper Mustang, a four-day walk from district headquarters Jomsom, is a place where foreign visitors are required to pay US$ 500 per head as entry fee for 10 days.
Meanwhile, the decision taken by the Upper Mustang folk has miffed tourism entrepreneurs in Pokhara who said that shutting off a popular tourist destination just ahead of Nepal Tourism Year 2011 was a bad idea.
SANGAM PRASAIN
POKHARA, AUG 27 -
Locals of Upper Mustang on Friday have threatened to bar tourists’ entry into the region from Oct. 1 as a protest against the government’s failure to distribute resources collected from the tourists.
According to locals, the Local Self Governance Act provisions that 30 percent of the revenue collected from a tourist area goes for development work of the concerned place, but Upper Mustang has not received its share for over 15 years.
As a result, the region still lacks electricity, roads, schools and hospitals. Food shortage is a perennial problem as the topography of Upper Mustang is unfavourable for crops.
The people of Upper Mustang say that the government is cheating them. “If the government had provided the fund as agreed there wouldn’t be all these problems that we’re having right now,” Raju Bista of Upper Mustang Youth Society said. “The government is simply taking from us and not giving back.” According to Annapurna Conservation Area Project, the government has collected more than Rs. 770 million in revenue through tourism from Upper Mustang, which started from 1993.
The government and the concerned ministries were informed of the people’s protest three months ago.
Rajendra Bajgain, general secretary of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN), said it was not TAAN’s responsibility to negotiate with the government.
The issue is one of resource allocation and the government is fully responsible for that. The matter has been hanging fire for a long time. “This shows that the Ministry of Home Affairs is reluctant to settle the issue,” said Bajgain. He added though that the locals do not have right to bar entry into the region as such acts will affect the tourism sector ultimately.
Spokesman at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation Laxman Prasad Bhattarai said that the issue was not associated with his ministry. He added that the Home Ministry is looking after the issue.
Jay Mukunda Khanal, spokesperson at the Home Ministry said that the issue was of revenue distribution and the Ministry of Finance should take a call on it. “We will dispatch a letter in this regard to the Finance Ministry on Monday,” he said.
The picturesque, majestic windswept landscapes, flat-roofed stone houses and their inhabitants who follow Tibetan culture draw tourists from all over the world to this region. Upper Mustang, a four-day walk from district headquarters Jomsom, is a place where foreign visitors are required to pay US$ 500 per head as entry fee for 10 days.
Meanwhile, the decision taken by the Upper Mustang folk has miffed tourism entrepreneurs in Pokhara who said that shutting off a popular tourist destination just ahead of Nepal Tourism Year 2011 was a bad idea.
Nepalis struck by wanderlust
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 27 -
Nepali outbound has been gradually increasing thanks to affordable tour packages and rising disposable income.
According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the number of Nepali holidaymakers visiting foreign countries increased by 26 percent to 27,679 in 2009 from 21,899 in 2008.
Tour operators say that the most popular destination for Nepali fun seekers is Thailand followed by Malaysia and Singapore. More Nepali travellers are making trips to European destinations and Japan too.
Changing lifestyles of the younger generation combined with simplified visa procedures and easy availability of tour packages have spurred Nepalis to travel and see the world, said travel agents.
Bhola Bikram Thapa, managing director of President Travel & Tours, said that outbound figures could double this year considering present sales trends.
Simplification of visa procedures by European countries has also encouraged Nepali travellers to spend their holidays on the Continent.
“Last year, we sold around 800-1,000 packages which represented a slight growth over the previous year,” he added.
An expanding middle class in Nepal is another reason for the growth in outbound. A recent report published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) entitled The Rise of Asia’s Middle Class said that there were 1.41 million people in Nepal earning US$ 4-10 per day. Similarly, 230,000 Nepalis earn US$ 10-20 per day and 100,000 people make more than US$ 20 per day.
With the Dashain festival approaching, travel agents said that bookings were picking up. The holidays start from mid-September. Most of the bookings are for tour packages to Bangkok.
Marco Polo Travels, that deals in tours to Thailand, Malaysia, Egypt and China, has already sold 150 packages. Last year, the agency sold over 500 packages.
“People want to get away from their daily routine here. And these packages offer what they want,” said Prajita Satyal, sales executive of Marco Polo Travels.
“Nepalis prefer to spend their holidays in Bangkok because of the wide range of amusements available there from shopping and safari to speed boat rides and visit to Coral Island,” she said.
Marco Polo’s five-night, six-day package with three nights in Bangkok, two in Pattaya and a day trip to Coral Island costs Rs. 44,000 including airfare. Accommodation is provided in three-star hotels.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 27 -
Nepali outbound has been gradually increasing thanks to affordable tour packages and rising disposable income.
According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the number of Nepali holidaymakers visiting foreign countries increased by 26 percent to 27,679 in 2009 from 21,899 in 2008.
Tour operators say that the most popular destination for Nepali fun seekers is Thailand followed by Malaysia and Singapore. More Nepali travellers are making trips to European destinations and Japan too.
Changing lifestyles of the younger generation combined with simplified visa procedures and easy availability of tour packages have spurred Nepalis to travel and see the world, said travel agents.
Bhola Bikram Thapa, managing director of President Travel & Tours, said that outbound figures could double this year considering present sales trends.
Simplification of visa procedures by European countries has also encouraged Nepali travellers to spend their holidays on the Continent.
“Last year, we sold around 800-1,000 packages which represented a slight growth over the previous year,” he added.
An expanding middle class in Nepal is another reason for the growth in outbound. A recent report published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) entitled The Rise of Asia’s Middle Class said that there were 1.41 million people in Nepal earning US$ 4-10 per day. Similarly, 230,000 Nepalis earn US$ 10-20 per day and 100,000 people make more than US$ 20 per day.
With the Dashain festival approaching, travel agents said that bookings were picking up. The holidays start from mid-September. Most of the bookings are for tour packages to Bangkok.
Marco Polo Travels, that deals in tours to Thailand, Malaysia, Egypt and China, has already sold 150 packages. Last year, the agency sold over 500 packages.
“People want to get away from their daily routine here. And these packages offer what they want,” said Prajita Satyal, sales executive of Marco Polo Travels.
“Nepalis prefer to spend their holidays in Bangkok because of the wide range of amusements available there from shopping and safari to speed boat rides and visit to Coral Island,” she said.
Marco Polo’s five-night, six-day package with three nights in Bangkok, two in Pattaya and a day trip to Coral Island costs Rs. 44,000 including airfare. Accommodation is provided in three-star hotels.
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