Wednesday, February 15, 2006

- Lekha Nath Bhandari, MD, Ample Travels Pvt. Ltd., Thamel

It is crystal clear that tourism has become the biggest industry in the world. In Nepal, tourism has been playing vital role in providing massive employment opportunities as well as it is contributing as a major source of foreign currency earning. However, tourism in our country is facing severe problems due to political instability. This is the reason why tourist arrival has been declining year after the year. On the contrary, so many foreign volunteers are more attracted in Nepal in recent years, which is certainly a ray of HOPE to increase the arrival; though volunteers do not spend big amount of money. According to the sources of NTB (Nepal Tourism Board) and TIA (Tribhuvan International Airport) only 288,356 tourists visited Nepal in the year 2004 by air transport whereas nearly half million tourists visited Nepal in the year 2000. Since, Nepalese tourism entrepreneurs are facing heavy loss in last few years; now time has come to promote volunteer tourism in Nepal due to several seasons.

Rationale of Volunteer Tourism

The developing countries and the countries those are obstructed by insurgency or natural calamities need volunteer tourists to rebuild infrastructure. Thousands of foreign volunteers' contribution for the reconstruction of the Ache province of Indonesia after the Tsunami of 26 December 2004, is highly appreciable. Volunteer tourism is equally potential as adventure tourism in Nepal. At first, Nepal is a poor country, which lacks fundamental needs of its people. The existing basic infrastructures are also being destroyed due to political conflict. As a result, people are lacking basic requirements, for instance - food, shelter, clothes, medicines, transportation, electricity, health services, primary education, etc. These are the main reasons that thousands of foreign volunteers have visited Nepal to assist community development over last few years. In broad spectrum, immense need of volunteer workers is inevitable in the developingcountries like ours.

Community development is also being interrupted due to violence in the conflict-affected areas. Volunteers have been involved as many activities. They have renovated many primary schools, health posts in the rural areas, trained local people how to use local products and utilize their skills. For example, Edmund Hillary has built several schools and health posts with the co-operation of local people in the Khumbu region, which is remarkable contribution for the community development. Hundreds of NGOs and INGOs are working for the community development with their encouragements. Some of the NGOs have aimed to reach villages with foreign volunteers and working in associations with local people. Loins clubs, Rotary Clubs and Leos' also have conducted several eye camps, dental camps and basic medical camps for the treatment to the villagers.

Though volunteer tourists do not spend big amount of money during their Nepal visit however, poor people especially in the villages can directly benefit from them. Volunteer tourists have been teaching in the government schools and colleges: Some of them are working hard to teachers' program, developing eco- tourism, train farmers for modern agriculture and horticulture, providing support to orphans and street children, etc. Tourists of this kind also get a good opportunity to gain experience of local culture, tradition and the rustic life style of Nepali people. By means of volunteer tourism, tourists can have the best opportunity to visit ethnic people, experience their culture, and thus get maximum satisfaction with the work doing better for the poor and backward people. Because tourists are always enthusiastic to observe strange culture and traditions.

Moreover, by the promotion of volunteer tourism people in the rural areas locals will be more conscious to prevent their ethnic culture, tradition and enhance it worldwide. Similarly, volunteers will help to build bridge to utilize local skills, arts and architecture to empower the villagers and share the ideas and skills with the local people. Therefore, it can be concluded that promotion of volunteer tourism will be a milestone to increase massive flow of arrival of tourism that will contribute to help poverty alleviation through tourism development. Text courtesy: Village Tourism Promotion Forum-Nepal 2005 issue-ed. Thanks the author-ed.