Tribhuvan International Airport among the world's worst airports

Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu is one of the world's worst airports, according to an international survey.
Pakistan's Islamabad Benazir Bhutto International is the worst international airports, followed by Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International and Nepal's Tribhuvan International Airport, according to The Guide to Sleeping in Airports, a travel website that produces an annual survey to identify the world's worst and best aviation terminals.
No wonder the only international airport in Nepal is being listed as one of the worst international airports as the airport lacks basic facilities. The government's plan to upgrade the airport has also not taken momentum due to prolonged political transition and red tape in the bureaucracy.
After being crowned worst three years in a row, Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport has this year lost its place at the bottom of the heap to Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad. It's now climbed to the heady position of fourth worst.
Despite the website's name, airports weren't just rated according to how easy it is to catch some shuteye. Readers were also asked to judge facilities in four categories: comfort, conveniences, cleanliness and customer service.
Airport officials didn't reply to CNN's requests for a comment, but survey respondents were less than complimentary, the survey quoted respondents, adding that the Benazir Bhutto International Airport is [like] a central prison.
The survey ranked Saudi Arabia's busiest airport.
Manila's climb to fourth follows what many respondents said was a 'slight improvement' created by the recent opening of its Terminal 3.
Three European airports frequented by low-cost carriers were next in line.
Paris Beauvais-Tille International Airport and 'not-in-Frankfurt' Frankfurt Hahn International Airport tied for sixth. Bergamo Orio al Serio International Airport near Milan was listed as eighth worst.
Likewise, New York City's LaGuardia International Airport, ranked 10th, was the only US entry to make top 10 list.
Singapore's Changi International took the title for being the best airport as usual since the survey began 18 years ago. Its success is credited to the spa, pool, gym, four-story slide and movie theaters that make the airport a destination in itself, the survey added.
Offering almost as many cool perks as its Singapore counterpart, South Korean's Seoul Incheon International was named second best.
Amsterdam Schiphol and Hong Kong International Airport (last year's third and fourth best airports) dropped out from the top five to ninth and seventh spots, respectively.
Helsinki International Airport, Munich International Airport and Vancouver International Airport wrapped up the top five.


Worst Airports of 2014
1. Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad, Pakistan
2. King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
3. Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, Nepal
4. Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Philippines
5. Tashkent International Airport, Uzbekistan
6. Paris Beauvais-Tille Airport, France
6. Frankfurt Hahn Airport, Germany
8. Bergamo Orio al Serio Airport, Italy
9. Tegel Airport, Berlin, Germany
10. LaGuardia Airport, New York City


Best Airports of 2014
1. Changi Airport, Singapore
2. Incheon International Airport, South Korea
3. Helsinki Airport, Finland
4. Munich Airport, Germany
5. Vancouver International Airport, Canada
6. Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia
7. Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong
8. Tokyo Haneda International Airport, Japan
9. Schiphol Amsterdam Airport, Netherlands
10. Zurich Airport, Switzerland

Nepal, India to sign tourism deal

Nepal and India are going to sign a landmark tourism deal that is expected to boost tourism bilaterally.

The deal is also expected to create an environment for injecting more investment in a big way.

The draft for the proposed memorandum of understanding (MoU) on bilateral tourism investment and cooperation prepared by the two sides is in its final stages with a joint working group giving it a final shape. A technical team comprising experts in the travel and tourism sectors from both countries has prepared a draft MoU. It is a government-to-government pact which will explore and identify areas of cooperation on mutual basis.

The draft proposes that both sides should facilitate overland travel by tourists, create hassle-free transport movement at major crossing points, and ease border formalities at the customs points.

The joint panel also suggested that Nepal cash in on the travel benefits provided to Indian holiday-makers like leave travel concession with effective coordination and cooperation with and among the India Railways and airlines to boost the market on both sides and opening of the Banbasa bridge over Sarada-Mahakali river on the India-Nepal border in western Nepal.

The joint technical team has also suggested holding an annual India-Nepal forum meeting for joint tourism promotion.

Nepal has also proposed revision of the air service agreement (ASA) with India if the existing air seats facility proves inadequate in catering to increasing movement of travelers.

According to spokesperson at the Tourism Ministry Mohan Krishna Sapkota, the deal will help bring investment, boost tourism and provide better facilities to tourists traveling to both countries as both the countries offer huge opportunities in the sector.

Meanwhile, a recent Indian government move on visa liberalisation to extend the visa-on-arrival facility to travellers from nearly 180 countries from this year will also benefit Nepali tourism sector.

Local bodies to get their share of mountaineering royalty

The local bodies will get 30 per cent of the mountaineering royalty, according to the new guideline.

The government has endorsed Mountaineering Royalty Allocation and Distribution Guideline 2014 that will enable distribution of 30 per cent of the royalty raised from mountaineering activities to local bodies.

The guideline endorsed on February 9 with an immediate effect will help the government distribute the piling royalty amount in the government coffer due to lack of guideline.

Though, the funds were allocated partially in the past and it had to be approved by the Finance Ministry.

Earlier, in Local-Self Government Act enforced in 1999 had provision of allocating royalty for the development of mountain regions. But it could not come into effect. Locals of Upper Mustang and other mountainous regions have been staging protests and demanding their royalty share as provisioned by the Local-Self Government Act.

Currently, the government owes more than Rs 300 million in royalties to 11 mountain regions.

In September 2011, locals of Upper Mustang even warned of barring tourists from entering the district unless the government gives it its share. Locals have been blaming the government for allocating nominal funds in the districts that mobilise the highest mountaineering royalty.

According to the new guideline, Tourism Ministry will mobilise royalty through District Development Committees in the form of subsidy. The DDCs have to send their progress reports – on the mobilisation of the royalty – to the ministry annually. "The regions that get more than Rs 5 million annually have also to prepare a tourism master plan."

The guideline also directed the royalty to be used for development and upgradation of tourist road, trekking trail, base camp, porter’s shelters, rafting, home stay and preserving tangible and intangible cultural heritage. " The amount should be used for the development of adventure sports activities, airport infrastructure, promotion of tourism products and exploring new destinations," it has stated.

Annually, the government collects more than Rs 240 million in mountaineering royalty by issuing climbing permits for various peaks.

Simrik Air flies 63,000 passengers in a year

Simrik Air flew some 63,000 passengers in the first year of its operation.

The airlines that started with mountain flight a year ago, today, has been flying to Pokhara, Bhairahawa, Simara and Lukla with its two 19-seater Beech craft and two 19-seater Dornier aircraft, according to the airlines.

The airlines has around 85 to 90 per cent occupancy, it said, adding that it is planning to add flight frequency to Lukla from next month, and adding new route on Pokhara-Jomsom and Kathmandu-Tumlingtar soon.

Private sector, government must join hands to regain Nepal’s lost position in global tourism map

As soon as Shesh Ghale, the president of Non-Resident Nepalese Association and one of the richest non-resident Nepalis in Australia, announced his plan to construct a new five-star hotel in Kathmandu, the Pokhara-based Laxmi Group and the Hetauda-based Mukti Shree Pvt Ltd followed in his footsteps.

With billions of dollars investment pouring into the sector in the next couple of years, travel and tourism seems set to resurrect to its former position as the largest foreign currency earner in the country. However, travel and trade entrepreneurs have been waiting for the government to walk the talk and start implement recommendations of a high level committee led by chief secretary Lila Mani Poudyal.

After the committee’s recommendation a year ago, the cabinet decided to accord the tourism sector a priority industry status, but the decision has not yet been implemented ‘officially’. The high level committee gave recommendations on a plethora of issues from short-term – including tax break to incentives for vehicle imports, to long-term – including easier access to land leases hotel construction and plans for the overall development of the tourism industry.

Tourism provides around two percent of the country’s employment and is the only industry that can have a spiral impact in the economy from urban to rural levels, guaranteeing greater distribution of the wealth.

From home stays that involve the rural populace directly with tourists to trekking that has been providing direct and indirect employment in various remote mountainous districts for decades, it is an industry that helps create large-scale employment with very little investment.

Though the contribution of travel and tourism to the economy is expected to grow to 8.1 percent (Rs. 182.1 billion) in 2020 – according to the World Travel and Tourism Association – the exact contribution of the industry has not yet been calculated, due to a lack of tourism satellite accounting.

The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) has started to collect the primary information that could in future help prepare this accounting, which can reflect the real picture of the tourism sector’s contribution to GDP.

Currently, the contribution stands at 2.5 percent, whereas it was 2.0 per cent in 2011-12 and 1.8 per cent in 2010-11, according to the ministry. But in 2009-10, tourism contributed 2.4 per cent to the economy. The industry’s contribution to GDP decreased in the last two fiscal years due to political instability. Lack of stability, security and certainty had an adverse impact, putting tourists off Nepal and on to other destinations.

But with stability, the industry is witnessing increased earnings. Nepal received Rs. 30.7 billion from the tourism sector in the fiscal year 2011-12, against Rs. 24.61 billion in 2010-11. According to the ministry, Rs. 36.6 billion was generated by the travel and tourism sector in the fiscal year 2012-13.

However, the government’s delay in implementation of the priority industry status has clipped the wings of the industry. The government needs also to implement its policy of paid leave for government employees to promote internal tourism, which has yet not been implemented, apart from the appointment of a travel attaché and establish travel information centres in Nepali diplomatic missions abroad. The missions abroad have to be mobilised in an efficient manner to promote tourism, and the development of new destinations and packages.

In the budget for the current fiscal year, the government has promised to construct regional international airports in Pokhara and Bhairahawa. The government should join hands with the private sector in the public-private-partnership model for regional airport construction.” suggests Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Suraj Vaidya.

Likewise, with more international airlines flying to Nepal, the current infrastructure at Tribhuwan International Airport is not enough to accommodate the rising number of tourists in recent years.

Likewise, the government initiative of tourism promotion failed due to a lack of aircraft. The national flag carrier – Nepal Airlines – has not been able to expand its fleet and fly on international routes that would help promote Nepali tourism directly. The political bickering in the Nepal Airlines Corporation has crippled the national flag carrier and has resulted in its lack of flights to international routes.

The ailing airline has been forced to reduce its international routes, including the most profitable New Delhi route, but a recent agreement with a European aircraft manufacturer has ensured that Nepal will get two Airbus aircraft in the next three years.

Apart from the infrastructure, development of new packages and destinations is also key to attract tourists and lengthen their stay. The tourism industry has failed to develop new tourist destination packages as they have been selling only Pokhara, Lumbini and Chitwan for a long time. Travel and tourism entrepreneurs should also be more innovative and develop new tourist packages including the virgin West and Far West regions that have huge potential for the trekking and adventure tourism.

According to the ministry, some 48 percent of tourists visiting Nepal do so for travel and holidaymaking, around 14 percent for trekking and mountaineering, and over 13 percent of the tourists visited Nepal for pilgrimage last year.

But the failure of the government and tourism entrepreneurs in catering to the needs of visitors made Nepal see no improvement in its ranking in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index 2013, published by World Economic Forum in 2011. Nepal was ranked at 112^th, with a 3.42 score among 140 countries in 2013. The average length of stay for tourists has also slipped to 12.87 days in 2012, from 13.12 days in 2011, the MoCAT data revealed.

Despite prolonged political transition, tourists continue to flock to Nepal because of Mount Everest, Lumbini and its warm and welcoming populace. But with increased investments from the private sector and policy backed by the government, tourists will love Nepal all the more.

The year 2014 will see more tourists flocking to Nepal due to the successful second Constituent Assembly in November of last year, which has given a new ray of hope that the country will soon become more politically stable, which will help regain Nepal’s lost position in the global travel and tourism map.

(Published in Business 360 magazine January 2014 issue)

Samrat Group expands hotel chain in Chitwan, to formally open from February 27

The country is witnessing a huge investment in hotel industry lately.

No sooner president of Non-Resident Nepali Association and one of the riches Australian-Nepali Shesh Ghale announced his plan to open a five-start hotel, the business fraternity including Pokhara-Based Laxmi Group, Biratnagar-based MS Group, Hetauda-based MuktiShree Group and Kathmandu-based Vaidhya's Organisation all followed his suit. Around Rs 50 billion has been committed in the hospitality business in the recent months.

Likewise, some are in expansion drive. Pokhara-based Samrat Group that owns Hotel Landmark in Pokhara is opening Forest Park Resort in Bagamara of Chitwan formally from February 27.

The Rs 200-million resort with 46 rooms has a well-equipped conference hall with a capacity of 150 people at a time, well-maintained garden and swimming pool are the other facilities at the resort, according to chairman of Samrat Group Mukti Ram Pandey. The group is planning to expand its hotel chain to Kathmadu and Lumbini in next five years," he added.

The eco-friendly hotel will provide five-star service, said chief executive of the group CN Pandey, here today.

The resort will also offering three types of packages ranging from one to three nights stay. "It will also offer Tharu village tour, canoe ride, trip to elephant breeding centre, jungle walk, bird watching and Tharu cultural show and many more," marketing manager of the resort Sundan Pantha informed.