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KATHMANDU, APRIL 3
Now that COVID-19 is behind us, we see a smattering of tourists. I recently sighted a couple of Western tourists in Bhaktapur, three in Ason and about four or five in Patan Durbar Square. Watching tourists on the streets is my interest, not a research project. They all gave me hope for the tourist deluge on the horizon that would follow despite the ongoing acrimonious conflict between two neighbours in Eastern Europe.
Imagine my happiness and relief when I saw the picture of 15 religious tourists, 11 in saffron robes, three in all white and one in a mix of saffron and white dresses (THT, March 31, Page 3). Our religious tourism is bound to soar with the joint promotion of the Ramayana circuit. Our travel traders should aim at seven million tourists for the coming fiscal year, two million backlogs from 2020 and 2.5 million each for 2021 and 2022.
Like the Gorgon's heads, our casinos have multiplied from one into God knows how many.
However, many do not mean all milk and honey. Singapore has only two casinos that entered the prosperous city-state only in 2010 as against 1968 in the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. Yet Singapore is in the fourth position, having grossed billions of dollars within the first three years of the entry of casinos.
The casino is not different from our other failure stories, such as garments, airlines and Himalayan water. One reason for this sorry state of affairs, particularly in the tourism business, including casinos, could be the entry of oligarchs and their union cadres. The republic needs billionaires like Stanley Ho to run casinos and hotels profitably.
The Tatas and Ambani have reportedly bought two of the most iconic hotels in the US. We need to learn from them and not leave business in the hands of oligarchs, bureaucrats and small-time, fly-by-night, high-flying speculators.
There seem to be holes in our legal system as well. Revoking licences of capital-intensive businesses like casinos, hotels and airlines for arrears amounting to Rs 90 or 900 million sounds ludicrous. Is revoking tantamount to writing off the dues? The owners must have already possessed a handful of licenses.
Once, an airlines honcho told me that he has two domestic airlines licenses, which he said are necessary for tax and other operational reasons.
We can learn about the airlines business from Sir Richard Branson and Michael O'Leary, one of the most ruthless and successful airline entrepreneurs.
We should follow in the footsteps of Stanley Ho to clad our casino business in dignity and prestige. And we can look up to the Oberoi, Tatas and now Ambanis to grasp the essence of the hotel business.
