SANGAM

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.