Analysis of tourist visitation to the location
Discuss about the Meta-Analysis Of the International Tourism Demand.
Kathmandu is the largest city in Nepal in the Asian continent, and is the country’s capital. The place used to be inaccessible to outsiders, and is today a hotspot for tourists and travellers. The city is also called the Kathmandu Valley region, and today the city is known for its emerging urban lifestyle mixed with culture and values. It forms the gateway for tourism to the rest of the country. It is as well the centre of the country’s economy. With urban infrastructure and other developing structural elements. Choosing the Kathmandu Valley as a case study, this assignment will be focusing on international tourism from the perspective of students from Australia. (Ambrose, and Paine, 2018).
The Kathmandu Valley is a region of 600 km in central Nepal, and has the capital city as its centre. Besides the capital city of Kathmandu, three other cities with their attractions constitute the Valley- Boudhanath, Bhaktapur and Patan, which is a UNESCO-declared world heritage site.
Nepal’s tourism sector is quite crucial for promoting the holistic development of the country, including economically. The government and the related ministries have been concentrating on, and promoting, tourism sector, industry, activities and other associated factors. A 2016 Nepal Tourism Statistics publication had been prepared with the objective of making all information and details public so that awareness about the country and its tourism can spread far and wide. The statistics report have detailed out specifications about the tourism sector. According to the report, tourism is quite active and flourishing, especially international tourism. The report has established several findings about how tourists like to come to Nepal, what are the preferences of the tourists and so on and so forth. (Vanhove, 2017)
Tourist come to Nepal by air in large numbers. From 2015 to 2016, their number has increased to more than 5 lakhs from 4 lakhs of tourist visits by air. The average length of stay is for a little more than 13 days. The numbers of male and female tourists have risen 3 lakhs in 2016 compared to 2015. Tourists come to Nepal for all purposes- holiday, pilgrimage, trekking, and business. The annual revenues earned from the tourist visits have climbed to more than 50 lakhs in terms of US dollars compared to 2015. There are several tourism related enterprises which capitalise on the tourism sector, such as trekking agencies and hotels.
Factors that make the destination attractive to tourists
The Australian-Nepalese relationship has been basically built on the foundation of development collaboration, assistance in tourism and education resources and services and other related coordinated activities. The Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that Nepal, especially Kathmandu Valley is one of the topmost preferred places to visit for the Australian people. For the Australians, Nepal is considered to be a far-flung and unspoiled location, and the people of Australia like places which are less travelled as well as relatively safe. (Mason, 2015).
There are several factors why Kathmandu Valley is quite attractive to the Australian tourists. For them the country is unique, cost effective, less chaotic and new. The tourists prefer all sorts of attractions that Nepal offers, chiefly because of the chances to have adventures. Nepal, especially Kathmandu Valley, has attractions ranging from mountain activities like hiking and trekking, to sightseeing and experiencing new culture and elements of nature. The country is also reasonably priced place to tour and enjoy. Safety is relative for tourists and people all over the world take Nepal as one of the best tourism hotspots.
There are several factors which affect and influence tourism and tourists. These help in decision making and planning and touring in foreign countries. An important multifaceted theory of tourism is believed to be the best approach to understand why tourism works for countries like Nepal. (Boniface, et al 2016.)
- Motivation- Motivation, from the perspective of tourism, is defined as the state of mind that attuned to travelling and having adventures. The desire to experience new and entertaining drives a person to become a tourist in a new country. Several theorists have put forth ideas. For instance, Dann has stipulated that there are seven approaches to the tourism motivation- First, desire to travel in response to filling the gaps. Second is the pull of the destination. Third, motivational factor of experiencing fantasy and magical stimulation. Fourthly, the purpose of travelling and rejuvenating self. Fifth, motivational typologies being put into use. Sixthly, the desire to have more and more experiences. Seventh, motivation to find spirituality and to discover self.
- Expectation- Tourist expectations are crucial and vital to meet for tourism industries. Low expectations of tourists can often be utilised to promote unique tourism packages to increase expectations. Once the expectations increase, it is crucial to maintain the level of tourism services and activities so that the expectations do not fall. Theorists Akama and Kieti feel that expectations are formed mainly through information, advertisements, promotions of places and their unique selling points and other strategies.
- Satisfaction- Satisfaction is where the need and the performance meet. The need of the tourist is met by the service of the tourism agency, industry and sector, and is crucial for successful tourism venture. The Cognitive Affective model is one of the theories related to tourism satisfaction, which examines customer or consumer satisfaction. Satisfaction, according to this model is influenced by cognitive evaluations and expectations. These are responsible for creating the mechanism of satisfaction.
The Nepalese government and tourism industries have realised the importance of the tourism factors that contribute to the Nepalese economy. The benefits of tourism include economic growth, generation of employment, alleviation of poverty, potential of owing international tourist market shares and so on. The South Asian countries possess a mere percent of international tourism market due to developing status of most Asian countries. Tourism sector for Nepal has the potential to give the motivation to various sections of the Nepalese society and culture. Tourism development today has become a contemporary and relevant venture, with the authorities making efforts to socially and economically transform the tourism and other sectors of the country. Recent developments have seen Nepal collaborate with various countries like Australia in making the country progressively developed and well equipped. By 2016, Nepal has created a record of increased growth in tourists visiting the main Kathmandu Valley. (Page, and Hall, 2014)
- Developing tourism policies- the government is still in the process of creating, amending and bringing into force the various tourism policies. The gradual stage of policy making has somehow created hurdles for various tourism based businesses an services. delays are caused in delivering the desired results. Often the incomplete policies create chaos for tourists. The government needs to plan out strategically the policies, develop them stage by stage and then enforce them, ensuring a smooth and sustained application of these policies.
- Budget allocation- resource allotment and budget allocation are serious challenges when it comes to tourism. The country is still developing and the country is often short in resources and budgets for tourism. The country needs to prioritise plans and mechanisms to increase resource and budget availability for tourism besides other sectors. (Vargas-Sánchez, et al 2015)
- Climate change- tourism can get highly affected by climate changes. Nepal is a hotbed of climatic shifts and the weather is often fickle minded. Often most tourism activities are seasonal and bound by the weather conditions. Weather patterns are constantly changing, shifting the focus from activities that are quite popular among the tourists in Nepal. The infamous earthquake at Kathmandu is one example of how strong climatic shifts can affect the tourism industry. The country was not equipped for this natural disaster and thousands of tourists were stranded and affected.
- Economic crisis- the country has loads of political, economic, socio-cultural, technical, environmental and legal factors which often affect the tourist activities and services. Power crises often take place in the country. Political unrest often emerges. Borders with other countries often pose issues as well.
- Tourism competitiveness- competition with other countries with similar geographical and service attractions can severely affect the tourism sector of the developing nation of Nepal. Nepal’s infrastructure, connectivity and other factors are still in the process of being developed. The country is rich in natural resources but is still not very well equipped with all facilities. The government is making efforts to improve the position in the competitive tourism market.
- Lack of investment promotion- the investment process is weak considerably and the promotion of the country’s infrastructure is yet to become effective. Public and private investment campaigns and heavy promotion are strongly required to improvise the tourism situation in the country. (Sharpley, 2018)
- Lack of creativity and innovation- the highly active nature of demands and needs of tourists change constantly and the tourism industry needs to continuously update its services, packages and be creative and innovative in attracting an increasing number of tourists.
- Human resource management- the management of human resources is quite crucial for an effective tourism sector in the country. Tourism industry is closely related to hospitality sector and therefore the human resource management is a common requirement. As in hospitality sector, the professionals in the tourism industry need to be trained in handling tourists, communicating at all levels to make tourists comfortable and being able to deal with all situations.
There is a strong need for retention of the rate of tourism as well as generation rate of tourism related income. The priority of the government is to utilise and maximise the benefits of tourism, to maintain and update the existing system, to avoid or resolve the weaknesses, to combat the challenges in a strategic manner and to realise various potentials and put into actions the various plans related to tourism.
Issues related to tourism and destination development at the location
The study of the impact of tourism in any country brings out the negative and positive results. The overall impact can be multifaceted. There are mainly three types of categories which show how the impact is created. (Baggio, and Sainaghi, 2016)
- Environmental impact is the effect created on the natural surroundings such as the quality and quantity of the flora, the fauna, the air, the vegetation, the water, the natural processes, the wildlife and other natural aspects.
- Socio cultural impact is the effect created on the interactions with the people of the society, the cultural factors, the attitudes, behaviours, values and other aspects. The impact can be most felt in terms of sensitivity towards tourists, the acceptance of the people to outsiders, the resentment at perceiving loss of cultural values and so on.
- Economic impact is the effect created in terms of employment, management of human resources, revenue earning, activities and services being utilised, stability in social conditions and so on. (Gretzel et al 2015)
From the perspective of the environmental impact, the tourist’s desire for nature and natural activities can create both positive and negative impact. On one hand, the use of natural resources can encourage the tourists to enjoy while respecting the surroundings. For instance trekking in the mountains does not create any negative impact provided the tourists respect nature. The impact is negative if the natural resources become over used, neglected or carelessly used. For instance tourists often smoke in the woods where the areas are sensitive and are likely to catch fire.
From the perspective of the socio-cultural impact, the results can be mixed. On one hand the tourists aim to see the authentic social and cultural set up. They like to experience the culture first hand and try to absorb in the social norms and customs while being in the country. They respect the society and follow the adage of ‘when in Rome do as Rome does’. This helps them to witness the local culture and the national features of the country without disturbing the elements. However, tourists can often end up creating negative effects. Cultural clash, misunderstanding of the culture and miscommunication in form of language barriers can lead to tourists making mistakes unwittingly. In highly sensitive areas, such mistakes can lead to chaos and confusion and distress among the locals. (Edgell 2015)
From the perspective of economic impact, the effect is generally positive as more tourists come to a country, more revenues and other benefits manage to influence the country. Global and national tourism contribute to the world’s GDP and the country’s GDP respectively. The positive impact is seen in terms of increase in jobs, business opportunities, better quality of life for the locals, increase of wealth for the country, preservation of historical sites, conservation of resources, increase in developmental activities, motivation to improve the infrastructure and so on and so forth. The negative impact is basically seen in terms of the socio-cultural and environmental effects as discussed above.
Conclusion
Identify and discuss four policy implications to achieve sustainable tourism outcomes for the destination
Tourists visit the mountains for activities and Nepal focuses on these activities majorly. The issue of sustainable development is basically focused on increasing tourism prospects, managing development of maximisation of benefits of tourism while protecting the environment, the society and the economy of the country. Countries like Nepal need to strongly support the tourism sector for the sake of economic and non-economic effects. (Honget al 2015)
Negative and positive impacts of tourism activity on the host community at the location
The four folded approach to developing sustainable tourism sector consists of the step by step process, which brings the implications of creating an effective policy or efficient sets of policies. Firstly Nepal should assess, evaluate and analyse the situation in the tourism sector. The country can draw up a vision for sustainable tourism development. The vison can lay down a cross sectoral examination of the tourism and other related industries so that the country can understand the progress, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The country should also consider the political, economic, socio-cultural, technical, environmental and legal aspects before finalising a flexible and progressive, well planned mission statement.
Nepal can move on to a series of next steps towards sustainable tourism development. First the country can start planning the tourism. The country has to decide the policies related to tourism and accordingly plan out what the tourism sector should entail. The tourism operations, management, investment, promotion and marketing then will be decided according to the planning and mission. Policies should ensure that all activities and operations in this sector should create more positive impact. The next step in policy making is on the capacity building. Nepal has to understand its own capacity of handling tourism without too much of negative impact. Capacity in terms of financial and human resources should be carefully planned. Policies should be laid down deciding on the extent to which the environmental resources are to be used, the safe areas to have maximum tourism, deliverance of effective tourism packages, services and facilities in strategic areas without affecting anything. (Schroeder, and Pennington-Gray 2015)
The final step in the policy making is to monitor and regulate the situation. The policies of Nepal should include the actions to be taken and the resources to be utilised to prevent, protect, avoid and resolve. The tourism products and services should be closely watched and supervised by selected agencies and professionals.
Tourism needs to be a sustainable venture in any country and should be encouraged as long as it does not create any negative impact.
References
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