Govt readying Tourism Concessional Manual

KATHMANDU: Tourism entrepreneurs may soon be able to conduct tourism-related activities within the protected areas — national parks, wildlife reserves and conservation areas — as the government is developing the Tourism Concession Manual.

Earlier, the government had allowed the private sector to operate hotels, resorts and other tourism activities in the protected areas on contract basis, but it was brought to a halt in July 2012 after they completed their contract period.

“There was no legal framework for this purpose earlier,” informed Shankar Prasad Adhikari, secretary at the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation (MoFSC). “As per the provision of the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act (Clause-5) we are developing the Tourism Concession Manual for protected areas because a well-constructed mechanism is required to leverage this alignment to deliver better conservation outcomes, enhance visitor experience, increase community income through tourism, and tax revenue for government.”

Developing the manual is also crucial as over half of the tourists that come to Nepal visit protected areas, according to Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). The country has 10 national parks, four wildlife reserves and six conservation areas, which are spread over 23.23 per cent of the country’s total land area or 34,185.62 square kilometres. As per NTB, about 200,000 tourists visit the national parks of Tarai region and a similar number of tourists visit wildlife reserves and conservation areas every year.

According to Tikaram Adhikari, director general of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DoNPWC) under MoFSC, the government will design the specifications regarding the type of tourism activities that can be allowed in a particular area and ask for proposals from the private sector.

The department will call for bids for operation of specific activities in various protected areas. The bid evaluation committee has been proposed to be formed under the chairmanship of joint secretary of MoFSC and would comprise members from tourism ministry and DoNPWC to judge the bid submitted by the private sector players. The contract period and its renewal is still under discussion.

“Various activities can be conducted within the protected areas,” Adhikari said, adding, “In the protected areas of Tarai, tea shops, curio shops, forest resort, view tower, tented camps, elephant safari, jungle drive, boating and golf course can be operated. Similarly in the hills and mountains, activities like sky diving, rock climbing, hot air ballooning, microlight flights, paragliding, mountain biking, bungy jumping and rafting could be initiated.”