Feasibility of Domestic Tourism in Nepal

If we look at the global trend of domestic tourism, it has been found that domestic tourism has contributed over 73% of total travel and tourism spending in 2017 and it is likely to exceed in the upcoming years too.

Most of the advanced countries across the world have focused on the key significance of domestic tourism to boost their national economic growth without relying on external factors.

Nepal’s government in this regard should also mull seriously over promoting domestic tourism to uplift the ailing national economy at this critical juncture in the country which has been discouraged by the Covid-19 pandemic in the past two years.

It is taken for granted that domestic tourism could be a major key driver of the national tourism sector in Nepal which we have overlooked so far and depended more on foreign tourist arrivals.

Domestic tourism if promoted appropriately can be a good tool to eliminate the increasing poverty, and unemployment and also contribute to upgrading the infrastructure.

For example, China has successfully fostered domestic tourism to surpass all other countries in the world. This has been possible after the increase in domestic spending following government support and the growth of the middle class in China.

China now has the leading domestic tourism market which can be replicated in Nepal as well provided the government and private tourism sector agree to collaborate and coordinate well in this sector.

Nepal’s government has already encouraged its civil servants to go on paid holidays which could be a good stepping stone in laying the foundation for promoting domestic tourism in the country.

In this regard, tourist destinations including hotels and restaurants should also arrange for separate economic tourism tariffs for domestic tourists to make their trips most affordable across the country.

With over 50% of the world’s population turning into middle class can now afford to spend on travel. Even India is developing the increasing trend of domestic tourism these days to sustain tourism and the economy.

In the next ten years, an additional 65 million Chinese and 9 million Indians will enter the middle class and will be able to travel around the world. And if Nepal can attract Indian and Chinese travelers can also boost its tourism sector far better.

Similarly, Nepal is also developing a middle class capable of spending on domestic tourism with the increasing trend of income and business. This could usher in a new era of highly developed domestic tourism.

We should not ignore the examples of the USA, Brazil, India, China, Germany, and Argentina in boosting domestic tourism.