The Tamesis
kathmandu – The four main political parties have put tourism at the center of their election manifestos, pledging an overhaul of aviation safety, diplomatic efforts to secure increased air inbound routes with India and setting ambitious targets to double tourist arrivals and spending within five years.
What these pledges have in common is a commitment to remove Nepal from the European Commission’s aviation safety list and expand international flights to the country’s two new international airports.
The manifesto of Rabi Lamichane’s National People’s Party (RSP) pledged to double tourist numbers and average spending over the next five years, while increasing length of stay.
Nepal has received slightly more than 1 million tourists per year in the past three years, but tourist numbers have not yet returned to pre-COVID-19 levels. Industry stakeholders cited frequent plane crashes, poor road infrastructure and weak international promotion as major deterrents.
The RSP manifesto of former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah (popularly known as Balun) as possible prime minister states that special focus will be given to Karnali and Sudurpashim provinces to develop new destinations to tap what it calls rich but underutilized natural resources.
The party proposed a “one-door policy” to issue permits for trekking, national parks and heritage sites through digital platforms, aiming to reduce time and costs for tourists. It also promised to deploy drones in mountainous areas for search and rescue operations and promote hill stations within 1.5 hours of border towns with India to attract short-haul Indian tourists.
On aviation reforms, the RSP reiterated its long-delayed plan to split the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal into two separate entities – a regulator and a service provider. The restructuring, demanded by international regulators for years, has been stalled under successive governments.
The party also promised to conduct the necessary technical and legal audits to remove Nepal from the European Commission’s aviation safety list. According to sources, the debt-ridden Nepal Airlines will be reorganized according to the public-private partnership model, with the government retaining 51% of the shares.
RSP further said that fee discounts and marketing incentives will be provided to enable Gautam Buddha International Airport and Pokhara International Airport to operate at full capacity. It also pledged to step up diplomatic engagement with India to secure more cross-border air entry routes.
For nearly two decades, Nepal has been urging India to open four cross-border routes at Janakpur, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj and Mahendra Nagar to facilitate international flights to the new airports in Bhairahawa and Pokhara.
The Nepali Congress has taken a different approach, prioritizing health and spiritual tourism. Its manifesto proposes launching an ‘Aarogya Nepal’ movement integrating yoga, meditation, Ayurveda and herbal medicine as a national pride project. The party said it would make Nepal the spiritual capital of the world and launch a “health and digital nomad visa” for foreign tourists.
The conference plans to build wellness areas and yoga laboratories in major tourist areas, and promote community B&B and urban B&B projects to allow tourists to experience Nepali civilization and lifestyle. Aboriginal clothing, food and handicrafts will be packaged and branded as tourism products.
It also promised to develop cultural villages in key destinations and transform community forests and wetlands into eco-tourism hubs with local participation.
On cultural and spiritual studies, the party promised to establish international research centers in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Lumbini, Janakpur, Muktinath and Karnali. It envisages an integrated tourism circuit connecting Muktinath, Janakpur and Lumbini through improved air and road connectivity, including digital corridors such as the ‘Janakpur-Lumbini-Kathmandu’ spiritual route and the ‘Buddha to Shiva’ route.
On the aviation front, the Congress manifesto promised to reduce airport operating costs, landing and parking charges and additional aviation fuel surcharges to make Nepal more cost-competitive. It also supports splitting the Civil Aviation Authority into two autonomous bodies and a diplomatic move to remove Nepal from the European aviation safety list.
The party said it would launch high-level diplomatic efforts to fully operate Pokhara and Bhairahawa airports and establish direct links with major cities around the world. Within 10 years, it will attract 3 million tourists every year and increase the contribution of tourism to GDP to 15% to 20%. It also promised to reform Nepal Airlines within six months and transform it into a “people’s flagship airline”.
The Congress also recommended formulating a Nepali gastronomy guide that covers indigenous dishes and ingredients from all seven provinces, integrating organic farming and local beverages into quality-certified tourism supply chains, and promoting herbal-infused Nepali cuisine as “medicinal foods.”
The Nepal Communist Party-Marxist-Leninist manifesto also prioritizes tourism infrastructure development, marketing, expansion of air services, strengthening internal security and opening of new destinations to double tourist arrivals in five years. Emphasize “tourist safety first”, improve service quality and extend tourists’ stay.
The party said it would work with international airlines to improve connectivity, review visa policies and domestic airfares to make “destination Nepal” more attractive, and encourage private investment in luxury resorts, eco-lodges and wellness centres. It also plans to actively promote internationally through social media, travel bloggers, influencers and documentaries, as well as actively engage the Nepali diaspora.
The Communist Party of Nepal, led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, has promised to introduce technical reforms to Nepal Airlines and private airlines and take legal steps to ensure their removal from the European Commission’s aviation safety list. It promised to expand international flights from Shirahawa and Pokhara and promote ecotourism, adventure tourism, health and wellness tourism, and herbal tourism.
The party also plans to develop more than 15 hill stations and resorts near the Indian border as entertainment centres, wedding destinations and eco-tourism areas, and open 97 lesser-known Himalayan peaks for mountaineering.
Prominent hotelier Yogendra Shakya welcomed the focus on tourism but warned implementation will be key. “The targets are not overly ambitious, but it depends on how they are achieved. We will retain the documents and start questioning them once they are in government. They must not repeat empty promises,” he said.
According to the London-based World Travel and Tourism Council, Nepal’s tourism industry generated revenue of 327.9 billion rupees ($2.5 billion) in 2023 and directly and indirectly supported 1.19 million jobs, accounting for 15.2% of total employment. The industry’s total contribution to GDP in 2023 was 358.9 billion rupees ($2.7 billion), or 6.6%, slightly lower than the 6.7% in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic.
