Nepalese tourism: crisis and beyond Nepal's endeavor for tourism recovery

Tourism in Nepal is a recent phenomenon. Within a short history of fifty years of modern tourism, Nepal's tourism has seen the topsy-turvy of its development. In the recent years, Nepal struggled to foster tourism development against the ever-deepening political uncertainty. But, as the case of Nepal shows, it appears that, if properly managed and promoted, tourism can be less responsive to the conflict For, Nepal's experience shows a decline in number of tourist arrivals following a string of crisis events and negative media coverage. However, the government response via promotion of tourism and public relation activities, although it seems to have little immediate effect, appears as producing desired results over the longer time periods. The impact of const1ant and continuous, negative media publicity over the years has also helped in delimiting the conflict to a rather particular safety and security concerns. Thus, the case study of Nepal's struggle to develop tourism against continuous political uncertainty in the country itself as well as in the entire region, illustrates how certain level of tourism growth can, nevertheless, be achieved and maintained in such circumstances.