‘Tourism holds immense potential’

2022 was the year, the world officially opened up. People opened their minds to leaving their homes and travelling again. And they did it with a certain sense of vengeance, taking to air, sea, roads and rails to explore destinations that were lying in the back of their mind as ‘I must do this someday’. What was once a necessity, today travel is about discovering ourselves, making deeper connections, building knowledge and experiencing what the world has to offer on multiple levels. Travel today is experiential, immersive and impactful. It is also about giving back and being part of creating positive change. Nepal’s Tourism Revival Action Plan is contemplating declaring a decade-long Visit Nepal campaign. Keynotes on the things that the government plans to do seem distant from what global travel and tourism experts are touting to be the travel trends in the coming years. This gap must be bridged but by whom is the big question. A report suggests that while inflation may feel like a mountain, travellers are willing to climb and no they are not intimidated. Bold adaptability is the theme of spending for travellers in 2023. Wellness and quality of life are fuelling travel in 2023. Solo travel numbers have gone up 24% compared to 2019 and global travellers continue to seek a curated experience that allows them to slow down, sign off and breathe deeply. And while going back to nature and culture is big on the list, it comes with elevated and enhanced technology interface, especially in the form of easy-to-use apps and accurate information. While ‘work from home’ was the big disruption from the pandemic, it’s gone a step further to ‘work from roam’ and experts say that its not a trend, it’s the new normal. People also want to break away from destinations that have travel restrictions, mask mandates, vaccination requirements and quarantines, and they want this with inbuilt safety measures. And that requires a government to be extremely precise in its national health mechanisms. Visit Nepal 2020 was aborted at the onset of the pandemic, a lot of funds were spent, and the report of the work achieved in several months of the inception of the VNY2020 Implementation Committee shows immense promise and futuristic plans. Perhaps the new government will take into consideration this report as something to build upon instead of reinventing the wheel. Tourism holds immense potential is needless to say but are we doing enough to facilitate tourism investment is highly debatable. READ ALSO:

• ‘We need to work collaboratively to maintain global vision and navigate national progress’
• ‘Nepal needs to architect new way of thinking’
• ‘Better policies and national digital strategy are key components every voter must have in mind’
• ‘Our vote will determine quality of leadership in govt’