Once the tourism industry bounces back, it will also add to the dwindling foreign exchange reserve
With the government easing travel restrictions last month, the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Nepal tripled in March as compared to the tourist arrival in the same period of last year. The number of foreign tourists showed a jump after the government removed the mandatory provision of RT-PCR report for fully-vaccinated international tourists. The new travel advisory has helped in attracting a large number of tourists in March. As Nepal has also expedited the vaccination drive, cases of coronavirus infection have also dropped significantly with no report of deaths related to it in recent weeks. Nepal is thus seen as being safe for travel, trekking and mountaineering. Nepal could have witnessed a surge in international tourist arrivals this season had there not been a war between Russia and Ukraine, which has not only crippled Europe but also the entire world. The war has particularly affected Nepal's mountaineering sector, which would otherwise have attracted many more climbers during the spring season. As per the Department of Tourism (DoT), only 142 climbers from various countries have been issued to climb 12 peaks, including Mt Everest, during this year's spring. Last year, the number of international climbers stood at 742 despite the rising cases of the coronavirus infection.
As per the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), a total of 42,000 tourist visited Nepal in March, compared to just 14,977 foreigners entering the country in the same period last year.
The figure is more than double the number of tourists visiting the country in February when 20,000 tourists arrived in Nepal. A total of 79,747 tourists have visited the country in the first three months of this year already.
The largest number of visitors totalling 15,000 were from India, followed by the USA, the UK and Bangladesh in March.
Only 431 Chinese nationals visited Nepal in March, largely due to the spread of the virus in major Chinese cities, including Shanghai.
Nepal could witness a surge in tourist arrivals in the coming months should the present trend remain undisturbed. The government is all set to begin commercial international flights from the newly-built Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) before May 16, the day of Buddha Jayanti. A large number of tourists from Buddhist countries are expected to visit Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, following the operation of the GBIA. The private sector has already made huge investments in the hospitality industry in and around the Lumbini area, hoping to attract tens of thousands of religious tourists from East and South-East Asian countries. Hotel entrepreneur Ben Bensley's decision to own and run Shinta Mani Hotels in Mustang is yet another feather in the cap of Nepal's hospitality industry. Although the number of foreign tourists has witnessed an increase with the fading of the coronavirus pandemic that had crippled the tourism industry for the last two years, this number should increase up to half-a-million a year to fully revive this sector that contributes around 5 per cent to the country's GDP and also helps generate employment for millions of Nepalis. Once the tourism industry bounces back to the pre-pandemic level, it will also add to the dwindling foreign exchange reserve to maintain the balance of payments.
Hiding illegal wealth
Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) chairperson Rajendra Lingden made a serious charge against the major political parties the other day that they had stashed away billions of rupees in foreign banks. He said this while speaking at a mass gathering in Bhairahawa, where he accused the leaders of the three major political forces, namely, the Nepali Congress, the UML and the Maoist Centre, of depositing around Rs 70 billion in Swiss bank accounts – money amassed through corruption and other illegal activities. He, however, stopped short of revealing the names of those political leaders and industrialists who had moved their illegal wealth abroad.
The issue of illegal money finding their way into foreign banks has surfaced from time to time, but nothing has been done as it involves prominent political figures and big businesspersons. According to Lingden, a committee had even been formed by the political parties themselves to bring back the money stashed away in Swiss banks, but the committee has not submitted its report yet. It's surprising why foreign governments that preach about corruption control in Third World countries don't question the entry of so much money earned illegally into their banks.
A version of this article appears in the print on April 6, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.