After the peace agreement in 2006, we registered a significant increase in tourist arrivals in the country. This clearly proves that the growth of tourism industry is directly proportional to peace and security. In other words, safety of tourists is the basic requirement for any tour operator trying to sell Nepal in the international market. A negative image, like a recent cover

story in Time Magazine highlighting Nepal’s ‘poor state of affairs’ marked with bandhs, fuel crisis and violence, tends to hit the country’s international tourism in a big way. We need to remember that in the international forum, we are competing with giant tourist destinations, which woo tourists with attractive sops besides guaranteeing safety and security.

As a tourism personnel, among the factors constricting tourism is firstly poor connectivity. Fewer number of international flights tend to curtail arrivals. Secondly, we need to ensure smooth transportation of tourists within the country. Wastage of a single day of a tourist due to bandhs or fuel crisis is very damaging.

The bottomline for develop is political stability. Hopefully, things should stabilise after this polls. And with sustained peace and security, we will be in a better position to market ourselves in the international tourism market.