Coordinated Efforts to Address Tourist Issues with Local Communities

Kathmandu. Coordinated initiatives between federal and provincial governments will be advanced to reduce problems and complaints arising with local communities due to tourists entering Nepal via land routes. A meeting organized by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation's Tourism Section Chief Indu Ghimire on Tuesday, attended by secretaries from provincial governments responsible for tourism, made various decisions regarding the management of activities of tourists arriving in Nepal by land. Secretaries from Koshi, Madhesh, Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali, and Sudurpaschim provinces participated in the meeting. The meeting concluded that tourists arriving in Nepal for pilgrimage using 'sleeper buses' are creating conflicts with local communities for various reasons. The meeting discussed issues where tourists cooking their own food, eating, washing clothes, and defecating have led to misunderstandings and complaints with locals in some places. To manage this, it was decided to request provincial governments to designate specific locations with facilities for pilgrims to rest, cook, and clean in coordination with local levels, and to develop a management model with necessary service charges. It was decided to effectively provide information on traffic rules, vehicle speed, parking, and waste management to tourists traveling in Nepal using jeeps, motorcycles, and private vehicles. Awareness will be increased through tourist information centers, websites, and brochures, and measures will be adopted to reduce the negative impact on local communities due to shortcomings in high-speed driving, haphazard parking, and waste management. The meeting decided to regulate activities of consuming alcohol and making noise late at night in border areas. Following complaints that such activities have negatively impacted local residents and the tourist environment, an agreement was reached to take necessary regulatory initiatives.