Nepal: Long dark Covid-19 shadow looms over tourism destination Thamel

Kamal Raj Singh Suwal just had started his restaurant in Thamel, one of the major tourist hubs in the Nepali capital when the COVID-19 pandemic was slowly spreading globally in 2019.

By Binod Prasad Adhikari Kamal Raj Singh Suwal just had started his restaurant in Thamel, one of the major tourist hubs in the Nepali capital when the COVID-19 pandemic was slowly spreading globally in 2019.

With the onset of the pandemic, his business came to a complete halt. His shop which earlier use to be filled with foodies, craving for street foods, now has turned into go-down, and Suwal comes to the place every morning to check if any mouse has entered the vicinity, adding on to the losses. "I started my business sometime before the COVID-19 pandemic. I managed to pass many obstacles, but the lack of activity in Thamel makes me restless. Not only mine, but all the businesses in Thamel, whether it is shops, hotels, restaurants, bars and others, have been impacted. There is not a single business, which hasn't been impacted," Suwal told ANI.

There used to be big crowds at the tourism hotspot for refreshment and recreation until the enforcement of lockdown last year, with Fridays and Saturdays being the busiest days for the businesses in Thamel. With tourists off the Himalayan Nation, the streets of Thamel, which earlier used to be abuzz with foreigners, now wears a deserted look. Many of the businesses have already have bid adieu to the tourist hotspot searching for opportunities elsewhere, and those left behind are struggling to remain afloat.

"It actually is a season favourable for tourism; the months of February and March actually used to have an increasing influx of tourists but now it has nosedived and tourists' presence in the market is almost zero due to the Corona virus pandemic. It is really hitting us hard," GC, a trekking gear shop owner, told ANI. As per a survey made by Kathmandu Living Labs in partnership with organizations, about 17 per cent of the tourism enterprises in Nepal has permanently shut down since March 2020. Former CEO of the Nepal Tourism Board Deepak Raj Joshi had led the survey which stated that most of these businesses were operating in the Thamel area.

"The aviation sector, big hotels and other industries with a bigger investment are still in the wait-and-see mode. But small entrepreneurs have already reached the stage of disappearance," the report highlighted. The survey has found that six per cent of the businesses were never shut notwithstanding the pandemic whereas 77 per cent were temporarily shut. Likewise, 65 per cent of the employees dependent on the tourism industry have been left unemployed by the pandemic.

A shattered Tourism Year campaign: With COVID-19 just surfacing in Wuhan of China at the end of 2019, Nepal on January 1, 2020 with great pump and gaiety, had started the "Visit Nepal Year" campaign. With an aim to bring millions of tourists into the Himalayan Nation, many of the businesses such as Suwal, had entered the Thamel area narrowing their focus on the tourism hotspot.

"I am left behind with the credits only, no income is there. As we lack any other skills, the option of shifting to the other business or place also is not viable for us. I have spent most of my times here in Thamel only doing the business that's why I am still pondering how to work in the coming days," Suwal said in despair. With mounting expenses and zero income, Suwal now has become anxious about the days to come and have been counting on the days that lie ahead. The total business turnover of the Thamel comprises 80 per cent from foreign tourists and 20 per cent from domestic visitors.

As per the record of Thamel Tourism Development Council, about 6,000 businesses are registered in Thamel. "This usually is the time when the Thamel would have received a large influx of tourists. The occupancy used to be 100 per cent by March/ April starting off from February. But the condition has reversed now, you won't be able to spot a single tourist here," Binod Bhusal, one of the suppliers of textiles at a major tourist hub told ANI.

"We had welcomed the year 2020 with great pump and gaiety marking it as Tourism Year, the celebratory event also was held in the same scale and it indeed had given us the hope that tourists would start flowing in. The flow of tourists in between 2017/18 was the strong base in which our expectation stood on and if the same kind of environment is created then we can expect the flow of tourist as earlier which indeed would be good for us," Bhusal added. Light at the end of tunnel:

Amid the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, the influx of foreign tourists to Nepal has increased over 91 per cent, according to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). Over 16,000 foreign tourists visited Nepal in January, 2022 as opposed to 8,874 during the same period in the previous year. The growth in the tourist inflow is 91.3 per cent, while all the incoming tourists used the air route for arrival. During the same period, 17,984 Nepali people left the country for foreign countries.

The tourists who visited Nepal in January, 2022 included 5,505 from SAARC countries, including 3,916 and 1,231 from neighbouring India and Bangladesh respectively. Others were from Europe, Asia and other countries. In 2021, a total of 150,962 foreign tourists visited Nepal and in 2020 the figure stood at 230,000, according to the NTB. In order to lure the tourists to enter Himalayan nation, the Government also has resumed the visa on arrival scheme which was kept on hold in wake of the rising COVID-19 infection fueled by Omicron variant. (ANI)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)