Interview VoiceOver 2015 members: Khaled Alduais and Ram Ghimire

Cultural tourism in Nepal

The main benefits of tourism are undoubtedly income of foreign currency and employment. At the same time, tourism can be a threat to local culture and put pressure on the environment and on available resources, such as water. Nevertheless, Khaled Alduais (Yemen), who worked in Yemen’s national tourism industry for years, sees tourism foremost as “a key driver for socio-economic progress.”

Boost development
Khaled: “Yemen is among the poorest countries in the Arab world and it is turning to tourism to boost economic development. Recognition of the Yemeni tourism assets and concern over finite oil revenue as well as limited alternative sources of wealth, has led the government to place a high priority on tourism development.”

Unfortunately Yemen saw a fierce drop in the number of tourists last year, caused by terrorism attacks. According to the Ministry of Tourism, terrorism has clearly affected the industry and caused huge losses, worker layoffs and the closing of many tourist facilities. In its efforts to minimize the negative effects of terrorism, the Ministry of Tourism is now sharply focussing on security, Khaled explains.

Finding a balance
Since the tourism industry in Yemen is in its early stages of development and tourist numbers are still quite small, Khaled does not yet see any negative impacts. “The Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Tourism mentions sustainable tourism development, but it is not yet clear how to reach this sustainability”, he comments. According to Khaled himself, sustainable tourism is about finding a balance between usage and limits. “Continuous monitoring of impacts and planning of preventive measures is of big importance.”

“I personally contribute to sustainable tourism by promoting it as a strategic conservation and business development tool”, Khaled continues. “I believe that people have the right to travel where and how they wish, but all tourism activities must be developed and implemented with consideration for the environment, the host communities and their values”, he concludes.

Adverse impact
Ram Ghimire, working for the Ministry of Tourism in Nepal, has experienced some of the downsides of tourism. “In Nepal the problem is mainly the adverse impact on the environment, especially in the Himalayan region. Moreover, tourism has influenced indigenous culture.” Ram also sees that despite the tremendous opportunities of the tourism sector in Nepal, tourism has not yet contributed to attaining an equitable and balanced economic growth.

Ram sees several reasons for the lack of benefits of tourism.“Firstly, the benefits are now concentrated on a small section of society. Secondly, rural tourism or community based tourism is yet to be developed. Therefore benefits for the local communities are considerably low. However, tourism in Nepal, if developed properly could contribute significantly to attaining a prosperous, modern and just Nepal.”

Outreach trainings
“As an ardent follower of sustainable tourism, I have developed different modules of sustainable tourism development, especially for mobile outreach trainings that we impart to thousands of people. ‘Capacity Development for Responsible Tourism’, ‘Small Hotel, Lodge Management and Ecotourism Management’ and ‘Agri-tourism’ are just a few of these modules.”

To make tourism more sustainable in Nepal, everybody has a role to play, according to Ram. “The government should keep policies intact and ensure efficient and effective implementation. The Western tourism organizations should contribute to capacity development of tourism organizations in Nepal, by providing trainings and exposures to best practice cases. Lastly, the international NGO's should encourage tourism organizations by providing technical and financial support to the innovative tourism projects. The benefits of the tourism sector will then undoubtedly become more clear, while negative impacts will be minimized.”