Vaccination drive offers a glimmer of hope to tourism industry

With the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine and its administration to frontline workers, the business community is a bit optimistic now.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus in Nepal and the subsequent lockdown imposed by the government, economic activities in Nepal had come to a standstill. Among all the sectors, the travel and tourism industry was the most affected, however, stakeholders involved in the sector are now hopeful that their businesses will gradually pick up with the vaccination campaign against COVID-19.

Khum Bahadur Subedi, president of Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal, said, "I am optimistic that with the arrival of the COVID vaccine and its distribution through the vaccination campaign, tourism activities will gather pace." He expressed hope that workers in the tourism industry will get the vaccination through this drive against COVID-19 as the tourist season is approaching.

Likewise, Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents President Achyut Guragain opined that the government should first administer the vaccine to the ministers and lawmakers before doing it among the general public. "If this is done then the people will trust the efficacy of the vaccine brought as grant from the Indian government," he said, adding, "There are rumours that the vaccine may have a serious side effect."

Subedi, meanwhile, mentioned that though the situation is normalising in Nepal it will take some more time for the sector to rebound as many countries across the world are still in lockdown. It is only after the lockdowns in those countries are eased can we expect travellers to visit Nepal, he said. 

"It is apparent that the inflow of visitors to Nepal will not be as it was before the pandemic broke out but even a small number of tourists will help sustain our businesses,” he stated. That is why tourism stakeholders have been urging the government to allow foreigners who have already been vaccinated to come in a hassle-free manner. "We have appealed to the concerned authorities to scrap unnecessary rules like mandatory one-week quarantine for visitors and the need to have a COVID insurance worth Rs 500,000,” Subedi shared.

Though stakeholders say the vaccination campaign is a good initiative they are apprehensive about the implementation mechanism. “If the government is able to successfully implement the campaign then business activities will surely gather pace,” said Guragain.

He further mentioned that the seven-day quarantine and insurance rules should be scrapped immediately as no person would want to be locked up in a room for a week when on holiday. “I think we should now focus on domestic tourism and it should be a long-term strategic plan so that we are prepared for any unforeseen calamity like at present,” he stated. Guragain opined that if the government allows its employees travel leave then it will definitely help boost domestic tourism. The government too needs to encourage people to visit the various domestic destinations, he said, adding that the pandemic has taught them a lesson not to rely only on international visitors.

Subedi further stated that the number of outbound tourists in India and China is considerable so the government should put in a serious effort to open the borders with these neighbouring countries. “If we are able to receive only a small fraction of that segment it will significantly help our businesses,” he mentioned.

Both Subedi and Guragain are hopeful that the government will prioritise workers involved in the tourism industry in the next phase of the vaccination campaign.