Will COVID-19 survival strategy permanently change Nepal’s tourism industry?

In November 2020, in the middle of major festivals in the region, I visited Lumbini — the birthplace of Buddha and a much admired destination in Nepal for devout Buddhists and people seeking peace and spirituality.

Hotels and infrastructure had improved remarkably since I last visited three years ago. Just before dusk, I entered a magnificent, three-storied hotel after its janitor lazily opened a large front gate. Ordinarily, such a gate would have remained open 24 hours if the hotel is offering its services. Yes, it was. I was the lone guest that night. The 60-room hotel, which opened one year before the coronavirus outbreak, was staffed by just two people, the janitor and the owner. They maintained the rooms and served limited meals to occasional guests.

The owner said he will try to endure this financial difficulty for another year and if things don’t improve, he will dispose of the property. The challenge, he said, is how to attract guests beyond the pilgrims and tourists who previously filled hotels and restaurants in Lumbini.  Before the pandemic, tourism accounted for nearly 7 percent of Nepal’s GDP.

Before the pandemic, tourism accounted for nearly 7 percent of Nepal’s GDP

I stayed three days and discovered most hotels in the area have been empty for months. The Mayadevi temple – the center of Buddha’s birthplace site – and monasteries inside Lumbini’s sacred garden were all closed. I found myself the lone visitor inside the sacred garden, a tranquil place that in pre-pandemic times was filled with meditating pilgrims and colorful prayer flags fluttering in the breeze.

To examine how other major tourism destinations are coping with consequences of the pandemic, I visited Sauraha and Pokhara. Sauraha is near Chitwan National Park in south-central Nepal. Pokhara is a quiet, picturesque city and a gateway for expeditions to the Himalayas.

Both Pokhara and Sauraha were no different. The main street along Fewa Lake in Pokhara has several upmarket restaurants with views of the magnificent Annapurna peaks. It was a heart-rending sight to see the restaurants open, tables decorated with fresh bouquets, and impeccably dressed young waitresses waiting for diners. But customers were few in number.

Still, the spirit of Nepal’s tourism entrepreneurs remains undaunted.

Several prominent tourism business owners told me a survival strategy was emerging in response to the coronavirus – to create a domestic tourist base and rely less on foreign tourists. 

For example, several Pokhara hotels had reduced rates and restaurants repriced menus to lure more domestic tourists. Operators of paragliding and zip-flyer attractions cut prices in half — and the effect was immediately visible. People from nearby cities and towns who previously saw paragliding as costly entertainment for foreigners now found prices within their reach. Most paragliding companies had full bookings every day. The president of the local paragliding association told me the lower price for the adventure sport will be a permanent change.

The pandemic did a lot of damage to Nepal’s tourism industry. It will take years to fully recover, but it looks like the industry took a good lesson out of it.

About a month later, I visited all three places again and found many hotels and tourism businesses had reduced prices to attract local customers. This is a dramatic departure from a business marketing strategy that centered on foreigners and mostly ignored domestic tourists, or, at times, offended them.

Local tourism opportunities also lie in protected areas such as the Chitwan National Park, a subtropical forest and grasslands area that is home to one-horned rhinos, Bengal tigers, and many bird species.  A recent World Bank report noted how COVID-19 economic recovery plans that promote sustainable tourism in protected areas can create jobs in a local economy while preserving biodiversity.

The pandemic did a lot of damage to Nepal’s tourism industry. It will take years to fully recover, but it looks like the industry took a good lesson out of it.