Lessons from Nainital

Sep 12, 2015

There are two lakes in the region you should visit—Phewa and Nainital. Phewa is large and is located under the shadow of a mountain. Nainital, which is located across Nepal’s western border in India, is comparatively small, it lies under small hills and has the shape of an eye.

However, Nainital is more popular than Phewa. And there must be lessons that can be learnt from Nainital.

The best thing about Nainital is its cleanliness. Nainital is a really clean lake, and you would think twice before throwing even your chocolate wrappers into it. There aren’t many things to do in Nainital, except boating, hill ride and zoo visit. But there are lots of things one can do in Pokhara.

Spending a week in Pokhara would not be a challenge, but it would be boring to stay in Nainital from the third day. Still, it can clearly be observed that Nainital is a very popular destination not just for Indians but also for Nepalis in the Far West. Apart from cleanliness, they have made great efforts to establish good infrastructure. The roads are clean and tidy. So, evening walks around the lake are fun. Phewa has this feature too, but not in such a proper manner. They have even built cable cars up to nearby hills, so if one does not want to drive up, taking the cable car can be an option.

One serious aspect that Nepal has to consider is the maintenance of its tourism areas. Phewa being cleaned by tourists who have come to visit Pokhara is something shameful for us. Nepal offers few water sports. Either you have to go boating or go on an adventurous rafting trip. The introduction of new water sports can be the next important issue to focus on.

Once, the Indian state of Kerala had banned liquor. As a result, tourist arrivals fell dramatically. Later, it was again legalised. Tourists in Nepal face restrictions in this regard when they are in popular places. A high amount of concern should be granted to find the optimum level where it does not affect social values and also satisfies tourists.

Maybe someone from Sydney wants to go for a boat ride with a beer in his hand? Paragliding is one of Pokhara’s charms, however, other sports can be added like parasailing, cave diving, deep diving, boat racing, body boarding and Waboba. Ultimately, what is required the most is promotion. Unless proper promotional campaigns are conducted, the expected level of tourist arrivals will not happen.

Malaysia has launched its Malaysia Truly Asia campaign and Nepal has its Naturally Nepal campaign. But this promotion has to be done aggressively on various international media and social media platforms. The earthquake has led to a decrease in tourist arrivals, and if we don’t focus on these aspects, we will be pushed far back. We have many places of natural beauty, but they will be under-utilised if not maintained properly.