Sustainable Rural Tourism Development in Nepal - New Initiatives in Institutional Development

The overriding objective of the tenth five-year plan of Nepal is poverty alleviation. His Majesty?s Government of Nepal recognizes tourism as a priority sector and considers it as a major contributor to Nepal?s economy. As the problem of poverty is confined more in the rural areas, and considering tourism as a viable means to address the issue, the government has included rural tourism programme in the tenth plan. In order to establish forward and backward linkages, the government under this programme has supported to establish tourism section at District Development Committee (DDC) and Tourism Development Committee at Village Development Committee (VDC). With the view of empowering local authority to manage local resources, including tourism development efficiently and effectively, the government has introduced a series of legislative measures, designed to decentralize central administration and government service to the district and village level.



The Local Self-Government Act 1998 is considered as milestone legislation in this front. The Act requires formulation of Village Development Committee plans and District Development Committee plans and implementation through community-based organizations like, Community Organizations, User Groups, User Committees and Functional groups. Further, The Act intends to discharge resources management authority and responsibility to local government. Moreover, the Act authorizes local government to collect revenue from local culture and natural resources base.



With the view of distributing tourism benefits to the rural poor, the government has implemented Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Programme for two and half years in 6 districts covering 48 VDCs. The programme is a joint undertaking of His Majesty?s Government of Nepal, DFID, UNDP and SNV-Nepal. The programme aims at supporting government's policy of reducing poverty through establishing and strengthening forward and backward linkages.

The Programme has been implementing its field activities through local governments like DDC and VDC. In order to make the programme a sustainable on institutional ground, it envisions establishing Tourism Sections at DDCs, Tourism Development Committees at VDCs. Accordingly, a total of six District Tourism Sections; one in each DDC has already been established. With the view of linking these local level tourism institutions, a Sustainable Tourism Development Unit at Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has already been established. In this way a linkage at micro, meso and macro level would be maintained.

Likewise, a mechanism of linking tourism activities in protected areas and buffer zones with Nepal Tourism Board, through establishing a Tourism Unit at national parks and Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation respectively has been provisioned. Accordingly, tourism section at Langtang National Park has already been formed. Likewise, establishment of tourism unit in Sagarmatha National Park is underway. The Department of National parks and Wildlife Conservation Office, through establishing a Tourism Section have coordinated tourism activities in protected areas.



Similarly, in order to sustain the institutional linkage on the financial ground, the Programme has a provision of establishing Sustainable Tourism Development Fund (STDF) and Sustainable Tourism Village Fund (STVF) at DDC and VDC levels respectively. These funds shall be provided to locals for tourism infrastructure support, soft loan for rural poor to undertake micro enterprises and other capacity enhancement activities. Moreover, in order to strengthen the linkage, the government through the TRPAP has been preparing pro-poor tourism policy, which highlights the kind of institutional linkages to be established from the grassroots to the central level.



In order to deliver the services more efficiently, community based institutions like Community Organizations (CO), User Groups (UG), and Functional Groups (FG) at settlement levels are being formed and strengthened. The COs is of three types, male, female and mixed group. At least 80% people at a settlement are organised in Community Groups. Similarly User Groups are formed and strengthened at buffer zones. At least 50% women participation is sought and women leadership is ensured in each Community Organization. FGs are formed to undertake various tourism enterprises related activities, like cottage industries, lodge management and vegetable production to name few. It represents for a people from Cos and Ugs. With the view of integrating tourism development in the protected area management, buffer zone user groups, buffer zone user committees and functional groups are being sensitized. The buffer zone user committee would act as Village Tourism Development Committee in the buffer zone.



In view of implementing integrated sustainable tourism development programme at grass roots level, with the financial and technical support from TRPAP, Rasuwa, Dolpa and Taplejung have already been prepared District Tourism Management Plans. Preparation of the District Tourism Plan for Chitwan and Rupandehi is ongoing. Having tourism plans at place, the local government would be able to implement tourism programmes very systematically in the days to come. The strategy would ultimately support for reducing poverty in rural areas through sustainable tourism promotion.

- Rural Tourism Feature/TRPAP