True, tourist numbers have gone up by about 25 percent in the first seven months of the year. Total number of arrivals crossed 280,000 in July, which is 40 percent of the NTY target. Whether or not the country can lure 720,000 tourists in the next five months is debatable. Even with the tourist season round the corner, the target of 1 million looks a bit far-fetched. That is not where the worries end. The average income per tourist per day had fallen by US$22 in 2010 from the previous year and tourism entrepreneurs complain that the problem has continued to haunt them this year. This is surely a problem because our aim is not only to bring in a certain number of tourists; it is to attract high-end tourists as well.
What has led to this? Those in the industry say that a drop in the number of European and American tourists coming to the country for adventure tourism such as trekking, rafting and mountaineering has led to this. They say that there has been a rise in the number of Indian and Chinese tourists, which is good, but that it is happening at the cost of high-end tourists from Europe and America is worrisome. This is a valid concern and something that we must take a look into.
Industry experts say that the expected number of people has so far not visited the country because the NTY 2011 promotional campaign kicked off quite late this year due to the delay in the promulgation of the budget. This is a valid argument because political wrangling among parties had delayed the budget last year. But shouldn’t preparations for such a mega event have started a few years earlier? Some contend that the effect of the campaign will be seen in the coming year, which is good. A rise in tourist numbers any year is a good thing. But again, shouldn’t we have left any stone unturned to achieve something that we have targeted?
We are also skeptical if 1 million was indeed an achievable target in the first place considering the limited number of airlines that fly into the country and the serious shortage of hotel rooms to accommodate such a huge number of visitors. Remember that we have to take into account the fact that tourist arrivals are not evenly spread throughout the year; rather the flow is heavy during the tourist seasons from October to March while it is quite dismal the rest of the year. The question is: Do we have the infrastructure to handle such a rush if there is one? The answer sadly is a no.
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