Tripal kanda, Politicians of Nepal are beggars

It may seems sad but this is reality when the country is facing a situation of crisis the Constitution Assembly (CA) members were planning to save their ass.  To add fury yes its true amidst the second quake the CA members were planning to distribute the relief tarpaulins  among themselves that should have been given to the earthquake victim located at various parts of the country. With no moral grounds the CA members accepted the tents and tarpaulin despite knowing the fact that there was a scarcity of  tarpaulin for the earthquake victims. On what ground could they even accept the tarpaulins when people in areas like Sindhupalchok, Gorkha, Dolkha etc were sleeping in the open sky with no option to escape the treachery of nature.

Sad but this shows the level of thinking and what the political leaders of Nepal belief in. They are just selfish corrupt player who just believe  in power and corruption beyond that they have no interest.  

At this time of crisis when they should show their leadership in managing the crisis situation they are hiding behind their incompetence. Till now there is no political leader who has come upfront with the pride and passion to help the public. I think the passion to serve the nation has died.

The mis-management of relief materials at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) and the lack of vision in managing the resource to the earthquake hit areas has certainly made the donor agencies rethink about the relief fund.  

In view of the disaster management the Home Minister and transport minister making un profession comments of lack of resources and proper management of the situation shows their incompetency. No matter what this has clearly shown the level of thinking and leadership capabilities of the political leaders of Nepal.

Political culture of Nepal certainly highlight favoritism and Nepotism, but now after the earthquake has clearly proved that Nepali political leaders are not just corrupt and selfish but they have no moral values. 

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After 3/3 TIA still is mismanaged and chaotic

After the Turkish Airlines flight TK 726 crash-landed on Nepal's runway in dense fog on 3rd march 2015 things have not changed at Tribhuvan International Airport(TIA). There is what so ever nothing being done at the international terminal and its operation. In fact things have gone out of control resulting congestion  during its operation in the terminals.

There is no management and most of the times people seems to be lost with lack of announcements and coordination. People are seen running around like headless chickens. The announcement are very slow  and   due to lack of proper sitting arrangement people were seen sitting on the floor. There is no person responsible to handle the situation. Most of the times people are  shouted and shown a rude attitude.

The government of Nepal or Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) should seriously look into this as it certainly matter for the tourism industry. Nepal has been trying to establish itself as a tourism service and with such customer service at international terminal there are more chances of it doing bad publicity. 

  

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Money taken as Tourists fee should be used to increase benefits for tourist

The Nepal Government has doubled the tourism service fee for foreigners exiting Nepal via Tribhuvan International Airport enacting from March 1, 2014. The decision to revise the fee was taken by the executive committee of NTB. It was later approved by the Ministry of Finance.

The statement specifically highlights that the income generated from the fee will be used by #Nepal_Tourism_Board to promote Nepal in the international arena and for development of domestic tourism.

I think the money collected from the tourists should be invested in the airport and other facilities rather than the personal holiday trip of the NTB staff. When they go abroad we all know how the promotion takes place. One thing we all have to understand that Nepal lacks marketing tools for Nepal’s promotion. We have embassies in most parts of the world why aren’t we using that network. Working as a tourism journalist I have personally participated in many programs conducted by such embassies that save money and time and most importantly it helps the embassy to increase their credibility at a national level.

Apart from that we lack promotional quality materials like videos and photos which need to be worked on.

The NTB should hire few intellectual marketing consultants who can work on creating a buzz campaign rather than spending millions and billions of rupees in the so called foreign trip in the name of promotional expenses.
I am sorry to say this but taking Nrs 1000 from one tourist might not matter but when it comes to a year’s round figure that money amounts to 6 or 7 digit in a year and you are planning to use it for promotional activities what a joke....
The money taken from the tourists should be returned to them in the name of service, my question is why isn’t NTB ready to finance thamel as a Vehicle Regulated Zone or help Basantapur give better services. Why is it just ready to go for promotional activities aboard only?

Why is my question? Its high time when the leadership and the Nepal Government start thinking about the long terms solution for Nepal’s tourism and its pros and cons rather than wasting time and money in the name of promotional activities.  

Nepal is getting popular as tourism destination whereas talking about the cost its increasing and when we talk about services and quality then its decreasing. Then what are the tourists getting out of it #Baba_jee_ka_Thullu
Use that money to improve the #Tribhuvan_International_Airport at least the tourists would get some benefit out of it ...............    

last time I was there at the International Arrival section I was ashamed of the message displayed at the corridor and services available there. Leadership needs to check this

I know and understand the importance of foreign promotion but at this stage our tourism is just growing. It’s our choice to whether make the base strong or whether we want to make it more vulnerable and expensive.

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Tourists being charged up to USD 20 for trolleys at TIA

With the news of high fraud cases happening at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), a new issue has emerged enforcing a forceful payment of up to USD 20 by the porters for the use of trolleys for tourists at international section of TIA. Lighting the issue, people are bound to pay the money for the use of trolley where the so-called trolleys are made available by TIA management for free but the porters are misusing the trolleys forcing and illegally collecting money for the use of trolleys. The issue has popped in when many tourism associations such as NATTA, TAAN and HAN has been raising questions of the conditions of trolleys at TIA, saying that most of them are out or order and needed immediate replacements. These associations are also soon to donate some trolleys to TIA as a part of their social corporate responsibility. On contrary, Tek Chandra Pokheral, Chairman of Shangrila Tours and Travel said, “Recently, the Japanese ambassador was charged US $ 20 for using the trolley. The question here is not about paying the money; the question here is about legality and the carelessness of the management. It’s the worst case scenario as a lot of our customers have complained about the problem. It might seem as a small problem but in our scenario where individual marketing stands potent, it is going to impact our tourism very negatively. Moreover, looking at the present situation, it seems the security personnel and staff members are also involved with the group because this cannot happen unknowingly in a prioritized place of such importance. Though we have been raising our voice but till date it hasn’t been heard.” “To curb the problem, TIA management should restrict such people and monitor its area providing better service to the arrivals,” added he. Ram Kaji Koney, President of Nepal Association of Travel Agents Nepal Association of Tour and Travel (NATTA) said, “TIA is an essential part of our tourism as it the place where tourists get the first impression of our country. If people are illegally charging money for the use of free trolleys at TIA, it is very unfortunate for every one of us and a shameful act that one can ever imagine to happen at TIA. NATTA strongly condemns such act of indecency. It is totally wrong and the TIA authority should take strict action against such extorters.” He further added, “We have already allotted the budget for the 20 trolleys which in near future would be handed over to TIA but we expect them to be used properly.” Likewise, looking at the availability of police and management staff, the current happenings at the international section seems more complex and complicated issue where tourism experts and entrepreneurs are blaming the carelessness of the TIA Management. T. R. Manandhar, General Manager at TIA, Civil Aviation Office said, “We are the coordinating body where we have our priorities and we follow accordingly. We have always focused on rendering high services and facilities to the arrivals but at time the irregularities impedes us where we are doing necessary exercise to correct it.” “Looking at the shortage of trolley, we have already called for tenders in the Rising Nepal for additional 500 trolleys. Though the different associations have committed to donate trolleys, we have not received them yet. We need to improve the image of TIA where all the stakeholders should coordinate including security forces in order to overcome all our difficulties,” added he.

By Shreedeep Rayamajhi

Publication: Nepal Traveller Publication

Magzine: Nepal Travel Trade Reporter

Date of issue: November 15-30, 2008

Vol-XI

Issue no: 3

Page no: 1

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