Mahat

Political turmoil devastates Nepal tourist industry

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• published: 21 Jul 2015
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SHOTLIST 1. Wide shot of street in Thamel 2. Rickshaw driver looking for customer 3. Tourist eating in restaurant, pull focus onto food in foreground 4. SOUNDBITE (English): Georgina Ward, English tourist: "Postponed my trekking trip because of the Maoist problem, because there was a strike on, but I am still going to go, perhaps in March." 5. Tourists Georgina Ward and Marloes Twilt sitting at table in restaurant 6. SOUNDBITE (English): Marloes Twilt, Dutch tourist: "Yeah I think a lot of tourists are scared, because we also see compared to last year that there are less tourists than there were before." 7. Tourist couple at restaurant table 8. SOUNDBITE ( English): Binod Shakya, Restaurant manager: "Even off-season this restaurant is very busy but now there is a, compared with before it's going down, more than 70 percent it is going down." 9. Shopkeeper standing outside shop 10. Trekking shoes at discounted price 11. Shop exterior 12. SOUNDBITE (Nepali): Lapka Roy, shopkeeper: "Tourists are not coming as much as last year. We are facing a big problem in our business." 13. Exterior of tour operator shop 14. Tour operators at desk 15. SOUNDBITE (English): Ripu Mardan Adhikari, Tour operator: "There must be peace in our country so that again. Once the peace comes then fortunately the tourists will all flow and we hope that peace will come soon and run our business smoothly." 16. Woman looking at handicrafts 17. Women walks along street 18. Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat sitting with colleague 19. SOUNDBITE ( English): Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat, senior leader Nepal Congress Party and former Finance minister "It is almost 50 percent of the 1999 level of tourism, you can imagine the serious trouble this industry is facing." 20. Street scene 21. Various of Nepalese artefacts 22. Tourist viewed through rickshaw window 23. Musician performing for tourists STORYLINE Political turmoil and a festering insurgency have devastated the tourism industry in the beautiful Himalayan kingdom of Nepal, which until just a few years ago was filled with trekkers heading into its spectacular mountains. Visitors to Nepal have fallen by around 40 per cent over the past five years, a devastating blow to the country's fragile economy. Earlier this month, as riots again shook the country in the weeks preceding February 8 municipal elections, the United States, Britain and New Zealand all issued travel advisories cautioning their citizens to avoid travelling to Nepal. The Katmandu tourist neighbourhood of Thamel, a warren of shops, restaurants and cheap hotels was once famed as a hippie hangout, now it is relatively quiet, and many of its restaurants remain closed. The decline of Nepal's tourist trade can be traced to five years of political turmoil and Maoist violence. In 2001, Nepal's royal family was gunned down in a palace massacre, apparently committed by the crown prince. Not long afterward, the Maoists launched renewed attacks that have left them in control of wide swaths of the countryside. Last year, King Gyanendra seized absolute power, claiming bickering politicians had been unable to stabilise the country. As the February 1 anniversary of the king's power grab looms, demonstrations have flared on the streets of Katmandu and other cities. Bookings are few at the trekking companies that abound in Katmandu, with operators hoping for a return of peace. Nearly 100,000 people in Nepal depend on the tourist and trekking trade, often working as guides, interpreters or porters. Tourism, Nepal's second largest foreign exchange earner, has dropped from 500,000 visitors in 1999 to 275,000 in 2005. Maoist fighters levy a "tax" on tourists who pass through areas under their control. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/8cdc4a22a27ca51e38020a95a0a8d9c0 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork