a crisis. Ian Taylor reports from the first Asian Resilience Summit in Nepal
Experts warn low-end tourism can be damaging
Destinations outside the mass market pursue ‘low-price’ travellers at their peril, say tourism experts. However, high-end tourism can be “fool’s gold”, according to Etoa chief Tom Jenkins. Professor Wolfgang Arlt, director
of the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, told the Asian Resilience Summit in Kathmandu: “Nepal is atracting a lot of visitors but the wrong kind. Tis is a trap. “Nepal has a positive image in
China, even with the earthquake [in 2015]. Te problem is most Chinese travellers are low-end on price. If you offer Nepal as a cheap destination ultimately you will damage the brand.” He argued: “Sri Lanka used to
have 15,000 Chinese arrivals. Now it has 300,000, but everyone complains European and American visitors are not going to Sri Lanka. Tis is something you should avoid.” Arlt insisted: “Don’t believe
Chinese tour operators [on price]. Try to be expensive.” Ibrahim Osta, Middle East
and North Africa director for development company Chemonics International, which works with
‘Tourism crises can also present opportunities’
Crisis management is essential in destinations but crises can also be catalysts for change, said Xu Jing, UN World Tourism Organization director for the Asia-Pacific region. Xu Jing told the summit: “Te word crisis has two connotations
travelweekly.co.uk Nepal is marketed
as a budget destination, but adventure travellers can spend $300- $400 a day
US agency USAID and the UK Department for International Development, agreed. Osta told the summit: “Te mass market is not what you want to go into. Russians are sold Egypt [holidays] for $28 a night with three meals. You [Nepal] can’t afford that market. You have a gem. Position yourself as a niche destination. Migrate to a high-spending market.” Suzanne Al Houby, owner of
Dubai-based Rahhalah Explorers, also agreed. She said: “Nepal is marketed as a budget destination, but adventure travellers spend $300-$400 a day. You need to communicate that it’s not just a budget destination.” However, Etoa chief executive
Tom Jenkins argued: “Uniqueness sells. What is not unique is the desire for high-end tourists. Tour operators
Xu Jing Suzanne Al Houby
love higher-priced tourism, but tourism has a shelf life. You must fill rooms. When you set a price, the market comes back and bites you. In many ways, it is fool’s gold.” Jenkins pointed out Nepal
borders China and India and told the country’s tourism leaders: “You have the world’s two fastest-growing markets on your doorstep. You want to define your destination as high-end, but be realistic about where your demand is coming from.”
knew how important tourism was at the time. All international visitors disappeared. Only then did the government think ‘Let’s have a budget to promote tourism’.” “In Japan, aſter the earthquake
in my language, ‘disaster’ and ‘opportunity’. We need to turn crises into opportunities.” He said: “My home country China had Sars in 2003. No one
[of 2011] they used tourism in the north of the country to stimulate the regional economy. Sri Lanka used tourism as a tool for peace aſter the end of the country’s civil war. In Cambodia, they used tourism as step one of their economic development.” Professor Sudarshan Raj Tiwari,
a conservation architect, told the summit: “Half the 700 monuments in the Kathmandu valley were damaged [by the Nepal earthquake of 2015].” A monument dated 12th century
in Kathmandu Durbar Square was discovered to be 7th century during a survey of the damage. Professor Tiwari said: “We had a monument with more stories to tell. Te earthquake increased the value of our heritage.” Te earthquake also triggered the
development of a skilled workforce of master craſtsmen, he added.
20 JUNE 2019 79
BUSINESS NEWS
Resilience means more than a quick recovery – Rifai
Resilience means more than a speedy recovery from a crisis, former UN World Tourism Organization secretary general Taleb Rifai told the summit. “Tourism is not about people
lying on beaches or taking photographs,” he said. “It is not just an economic sector, powerful as it is. It’s about bringing people together. Tere is nothing more powerful than people rubbing shoulders with other people. “What is resilience? A speedy
recovery to what you were before? Strength before a crisis is just as important. To come back to where you were is not good enough.” Rifai, who chairs the Global
Travel & Tourism Resilience Council, said: “Many governments do not look at tourism seriously at all. Te important thing is to say ‘Welcome’ and really mean it.”
Taleb Rifai
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