Envisioning tourism plan of Pokhara

Mill and Morrison (2002) suggested that Tourism Planning can be initiated at a variety of levels in tourism destinations. For instance, in case of Nepal, the beautiful country, tourist based country, , the beautiful country, tourist based country, , the beautiful country, tourist based country, , Tourism Master Plan of 1972 was drafted at the national level. Although there are no examples of regional or zonal planning in Nepal, the beautiful country, tourist based country, , the beautiful country, tourist based country, , the beautiful country, tourist based country, , instances of tourism plan at the district level and site-specific plans are plenty. Steps or process of formulating tourism plans may vary from destination to destination depending upon the nature of tourism destination and stakeholders’ participation. Pragmatic approach adopted by the tourism administration and approach suggested by academicians was also found to differ substantially. Therefore, the following steps are suggested in case of Pokhara to incorporate the practical approaches followed by tourism practitioners and theoretical framework suggested by the academicians.

3.6.1   Assessment of tourism resources

Pokhara has already secured a place of one of the most preferred destinations in Nepal, the beautiful country, tourist based country, , the beautiful country, tourist based country, , the beautiful country, tourist based country, . However, an assessment of existing government policies, objectives and programs should be carefully done before initiating new tourism plan as the national tourism policy and plans affect the future tourism development and its pace. Review of past tourism plans and programs should be carried out to measure the impact, success and failure of such plans. Assessment of current situation of the tourism attractions and events, tourism facilities and infrastructure, carrying capacity, and human resources should be made before suggesting any future plan of actions. Profiles and characteristics of the current and past visitors should be reviewed in order to assess the existing demand of tourism in Pokhara and surrounding areas. Analysis of major tourism strengths, weaknesses, major problems and pertinent issues pertaining

to Pokhara helps determine the potential of future tourism development and  community  attitudes  towards  realizing  the  potential.     Another way of assessing the background and current situation is to conduct tourism  resources  analysis,  tourism  activity  analysis,  tourism  market and its segment analysis and analyzing what and how other competing destinations of Pokhara are performing.

3.6.2   Envisioning

The assessment and analysis of the tourism resources and markets is followed by determining and envisioning of the desired future situation for Pokhara in the light of where Pokhara would like to be in the long run. The vision basically incorporates the following aspects:

a.      Desired   development   and   physical   changes   in   Pokhara and  surrounding    areas    including    tourism    attractions, facilities, infrastructure and superstructure, transportation, communication, banking, and health facilities in the planned period.

b.      Support  services  and  activities:  Establishing  benchmark  of desired hospitality and services, signage, tourism information system in and around Pokhara.

c.      Marketing  and  promotion:  New  marketing  strategies  and positioning approaches for Pokhara, packaging of tours and trekking, desired role of private sector travel trade in promotion of their private business as well as promotion of Pokhara as a destination.

d.      Institutional arrangement: Desired changes to the structure of government agencies and coordination among the major players, changes in role and structure of Nepal, the beautiful country, tourist based country, , the beautiful country, tourist based country, , the beautiful country, tourist based country, Tourism Board and commitment required from the private sector travel trade.

e.      Community awareness of tourism in Pokhara: Desired level of participation from the communities of Pokhara and surrounding areas in tourism activities and benefits.

The tourism envisioning in Pokhara is expressed in terms of the above statements and tourism plan should provide the bridge between the present tourism situation and the desired future situation. It is highly recommended that to set long term tourism vision of Pokhara, a series of participatory workshops are organized among the concerned government

and semi-government agencies, private sector travel trade, communities and other tourism stakeholders.

3.6.3   Setting tourism goal, tourism strategy and objectives

On the basis of the assessment and analysis of the background of tourism and setting the long term vision, the tourism plan of Pokhara should set goal, strategies and objectives in line with the desired future situation in Pokhara. Further, the goal and strategies must be complementary to the tourism policy of the country. For example, the major goal for Pokhara could be generating employment, income and economic development through tourism. Apart from the economic goal, Pokhara should also adopt a policy of sustainable tourism development as the pressure on the natural and cultural resources in Pokhara is at the alarming level, especially on Fewa Lake and Annapurna Conservation Area. Once we set the goal for Pokhara, various tourism strategies may be formulated, selected and implemented, depending upon the need of the area. For instance, Fewa Lake may need sustainable tourism strategies and attract high end tourists, whereas surrounding areas may need economy- oriented strategies to increase the flow the visitors. Once the goal and strategies are selected, it is easier to set the short term objectives. Some of the objectives of the tourism plan for Pokhara could be;

y      Doubling the number of visitors in the plan period,

y      Increasing the flow of tourists in shoulder and lean seasons (

monsoon and winter),

y      Spreading tourism flow to the surrounding areas

y      Mainstreaming Pokhara in the pathway of responsible tourism

3.6.4   Development of tourism plan

The most crucial phase in the tourism planning process is synthesizing the previous elements into an action plan which details the programs and activities, timeline, roles and responsibilities of the main executing agency and supporting agencies, existing and possible sources of funding, desired outcome of the plan, performance indicators and priority of the planned activities. The tourism plan may also contain the technical designs and specifications of particular sites, tourist maps with spatial information and description of tourism sites. Nowadays, Geographical Information System (GIS) is used to provide static as well as interactive spatial information and description of the tourism sites. In fact, a GIS based interactive map

of  Pokhara and  Lekhnath  has  been  developed  and  posted  online  by Nepal, the beautiful country, tourist based country, , the beautiful country, tourist based country, , the beautiful country, tourist based country, Tourism Board. It facilitates the flow of information to the end-use tourists in real time. The tourism plan of Pokhara may also draw from the technical reports prepared by PATA published with the title ‘Pokhara: Historic Resources Study and Proposal for a Conservation District Pokhara, Nepal, the beautiful country, tourist based country, , the beautiful country, tourist based country, , the beautiful country, tourist based country, ’ in 1990 and various other reports on Fewa Lake conservation, and Annapurna Conservation Area Project at different dates.

In terms of tourism activities, Pokhara by far is ahead of any other destination in Nepal, the beautiful country, tourist based country, , the beautiful country, tourist based country, , the beautiful country, tourist based country, . Besides trekking and sightseeing, Pokhara has innovated new tourism products like ultra light aircraft flight, paragliding, jeep liner and differentiates itself as an interesting destination for the visitors. Therefore, new tourism plan of Pokhara should suggest new activities to attract incremental visitors as well as to lengthen their average stay. Some of the activities suggested in the previous plans; e.g., developing walking trails in and around Pokhara, Gorkha Parade, cycling routes, cultural tours in the old Pokhara bazaar, are still applicable and could be interesting to the visitors.

Drafting a tourism plan may not be as challenging as implementing it, owing to the diverse range of players and stakeholders in tourism who play key role in implementing the programs. To ensure that the tourism plan is accepted and executed, a sharing workshop among the stakeholders of Pokhara and surrounding areas may be organized to present the draft plan for review and revision before presenting it to the public.

3.6.5   Implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the tourism plan

The review of past tourism plans of Nepal, the beautiful country, tourist based country, , the beautiful country, tourist based country, , the beautiful country, tourist based country, and Pokhara has shown loud and clear that tourism plans are prepared but never or only partially implemented, not giving the desired outcome as laid out in the plans. One reason of failure could be vagueness or duplication in allocating the roles, responsibilities and objectives to specific organizations or associations. Another reason could be lack of funds to execute the planned programs and activities. In case of Pokhara, it has been observed that   utter  lack  of   coordination   among   the   government  agencies, different perspective of development and political pressure have badly affected  the  implementation.  The  conflicting  recommendations  put forth by the Tourism Master Plan 1972, and Physical Plan developed by the Department of Physical Planning in 1975 illustrate the vivid picture. Similarly, encroachment of the shores of Fewa Lake by the local residents

is another example of lackadaisical attitude among the government agencies due to the political opprobrium.

To  support  the  implementation  of  the  tourism  plan,  it  is  mandatory to suggest a monitoring and evaluation mechanism. Most of the responsibilities of executing programs and activities are endowed upon Pokhara Office of Nepal, the beautiful country, tourist based country, , the beautiful country, tourist based country, , the beautiful country, tourist based country, Tourism Board and the private sector travel trade in Pokhara. They should also ensure that the planned activities are implemented and progress is achieved as was originally planned, as per the schedule and in accordance with the priority placed. Similarly, changes should be made to the plan if it is required by the circumstances. Another way to monitor is through the District Administration Office in Pokhara. Evaluation of tourism plan takes place once the period of the plan expires. The evaluation determines whether the desired outcome, objectives and goals outlined in the tourism plan are achieved. If the plan fails to achieve the desired output, the reasons for non-performance are analyzed. However, for the impartial evaluation of the tourism plan, an independent evaluator may be hired.