Tourism not only provides great opportunities for employment in Nepal, it also brings in large amounts of revenue necessary to pay for the import of goods and services. The earning from the tourism sector is regarded as indispensable as compared to other sectors in Nepal, such as the manufacturing industry, are relatively underdeveloped. The sector is also a major foreign exchange earner in Nepal.

The brightest aspect in Nepal’s tourism sector is the freewheeling tourism model of the private sector that caters to visitors of all segment. Given the natural and cultural strengths of Nepal, the tourism sector has for decades been viewed as one of the most important engines of growth and development, and as such, has been the key focus of the government.

We are well aware of the physical beauty our country. Alongside the eight mountains among the world’s 10 highest peaks, the small but beautiful Pokhara offers adventure tourism and wonderful scenic views of its natural surroundings. The recently developed Great Himalayan Trail is well on its way to revitalising trekking. There is a vast potential for pilgrimage tourism to Doleshwar, Lumbini, Muktinath and Pashupatinath. Also, Chitwan gives, potentially, the finest wildlife experience in the world.

Despite of all positive circumstances, Nepal has still a long way to go to tap full potential of tourism business. Nepal needs to raise service standards to promote tourism business. Nepal should take immediate tangible measures to promote tourism sector including creating a premium brand of experiential tourism apart from the existing value-for-money backpackers’ tourism, the positioning of exotic Nepal, upgrading tourism and hospitality infrastructure, adding a new international airport, additional terminals and new air-routes and domestic and foreign investments in tourism services.

The world will soon celebrate World Tourism Day on September 27 – a day which is marked to raise awareness on the social, cultural, political and economic importance of tourism. So, it is relevant to talk about tourism. In order to emphasise the tourism potential in Nepal, The New Business Age (NBA) group organised the first edition of Tourism & Aviation Next 2013 conference last week aimed at exploring the country’s tourism potential.

Top tourism officials, leaders of the tourism industry in Nepal along with some top honchos of the Malaysian and Indian tourism governance were present at the conclave which emphasised on some core issues regarded as crucial to boost the tourism industry of Nepal.  Obviously, the conclave is just a beginning. There should be many such events to chart out the future of Nepal’s tourism sector since it is lucrative and has a high turnover. Sincere effort from the government and the private sector is a must to boost this sector. As well aware as we are of these advantages, it is time we channeled our energies to organizing more of such events to truly prioritize on improving tourism in Nepal.