Horses graze on hilly pastures on the Mundhum Trekking Trial in Bhojpur district.
ITAHARI: Koshi Province is home to the world’s highest peak, Mt. Everest, and Nepal’s lowest elevation, Kechana Kawal. Apart from these, the province is home to dozens of other attractive destinations. However, these destinations are in the shadow due to a lack of promotional initiatives by the provincial government.
Five of the 14 8,000-meter mountains – Everest, the third-highest mountain, Kanchanjunga; the fourth-highest mountain, Lhotse; the fifth-highest mountain, Makalu; and the sixth-highest mountain, Cho Oyu – are located in this province. Likewise, the province is rich in natural and biological diversity and has the potential to earn substantial income from tourism.
Stakeholders say the tourism industry of the province is seeing a downturn due to frequent changes in provincial government as well as external reasons. They say that the three tiers of government are not giving necessary priority to the development of infrastructure.
Basudev Baral, a tourism entrepreneur from Dharan, said the province has failed to effectively market and promote its tourist attractions. “The provincial government has not been able to work in this area. For this reason, we are failing to get tourists from even the neighboring countries,” he added.
He argues that the officials in the provincial government and the relevant ministry do not have a comprehensive understanding of tourism yet. “For the people in the government, tourism means organizing official programs and giving speeches. As a majority of the budget allocated for tourism is spent on these programs, how can we attract tourists?” he questioned.
Five of the 14 8,000-meter mountains – Everest, the third-highest mountain, Kanchanjunga; the fourth-highest mountain, Lhotse; the fifth-highest mountain, Makalu; and the sixth-highest mountain, Cho Oyu – are located in this province.
According to tourism entrepreneurs, Indians from bordering towns from Jogbani to Siliguri are visiting Darjeeling and Sikkim instead of visiting comparatively more attractive and accessible destinations in the province. “Low occupancy at hotels in destinations like Shree Antu doesn’t bode well for the tourism industry,” Baral said. “The government has not been able to promote Nepal in major tourist markets. Likewise, domestic tourists are not treated on par with foreign tourists. Such hindrances should be addressed immediately.”
Baral said that the provincial government hasn’t gone beyond the province for tourism promotion. “We have not been able to promote our attractions in neighboring Indian towns as well as other Nepali cities outside the province,” Baral said. “People from Kathmandu are traveling in droves to Darjeeling and Sikkim through the province but not visiting tourism attractions here. This is all due to a lack of promotion and publicity.” He added that tourism budgets were being expended to favor people close to the parties represented in the government.
Bhavish Shrestha, the coordinator of the tourism department of the Koshi Provincial Chapter of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), agreed with Baral and said tourism is not prospering as expected in the province. “Hotels have low occupancy. Tour operators also don’t look busy. This all shows tourism activities have slowed in Koshi,” he added.
Shrestha said that the government and the private sector should work together to attract tourists. “But the irony of Koshi Province is that it feels like there is no government. We lack political stability,” he added. “Therefore, nothing is working for tourism at the provincial level.”
Although most of the high peaks are in Koshi Province, tourists have to travel to Kathmandu to enjoy mountain flights.
He also said that tourism entrepreneurs have been affected due to the high-interest rates charged by banks. “Few foreign tourists come to the mountains for climbing expeditions. Otherwise, we don’t get many foreign tourists in the Tarai plains,” Shrestha said. “Indians are our potential tourists. But there is no proper environment to bring them here. Our leaders are bent on criticizing India for everything which is affecting arrivals of Indian tourists.”
Shrestha also said traffic police were giving unnecessary torture to Indian vehicles in the name of checking documents. “It takes as much as six hours to reach Bhedetar from the Nepal-India border at Biratnagar. How can we bring tourists if the situation remains the same?” he questioned.
Even domestic tourists do not find a conducive environment to travel through Koshi region. Barahakshetra in Sunsari, Halesi in Khotang, and Pathibhara in Taplejung are major religious destinations of Koshi. But tourists are facing difficulty due to the sorry state of roads, he added
Investment in the hospitality sector, however, is increasing. Some new five-star hotels are coming up in the province. The private sector has invested in adventure activities ranging from paragliding to rafting. “But we lack branding initiative. Although the sector holds immense potential, the private sector is disappointed with the government’s lackluster attitude,” Shrestha added.
Although most of the high peaks are in Koshi Province, tourists have to travel to Kathmandu to enjoy mountain flights. “We have 14 airports in Koshi Province. Why can’t mountain flights be operated from one of these airports?” he wondered.
