The International Tourism System Of An International Destination Location

This case study focuses on the international tourism system of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, from the perspective of Australian students. It analyses tourist visitation, attraction, issues, and impacts on the host community. The positive and negative impacts of tourism on the environment, socio-cultural aspects, and economy are discussed. The study also identifies and analyses issues related to tourism and destination development at the location. Finally, the study concludes with policy implications to achieve sustainable tourism outcomes for the destination.

The International Tourism System Of An International
Destination Location
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Contents
Introduction- The location and outline of main themes to be discussed and analysed in the case study 3
Provide analysis of tourist visitation to your location. Use relevant statistics to support your answer...3
Explain what makes the destination attractive to tourists. Relate to the tourism system, motivation or
satisfaction theories in this unit.............................................................................................................4
Identify and analyse issues related to tourism and destination development at the location..................5
Identify and analyse negative and positive impacts of tourism activity on the host community at the
location..................................................................................................................................................7
Conclusion- Identify and discuss four policy implications to achieve sustainable tourism outcomes for
the destination.......................................................................................................................................8
References.............................................................................................................................................9
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Introduction- The location and outline of main themes to be discussed and analysed in
the case study
Kathmandu is the largest city in Nepal in the Asian continent, and is the country’s capital.
The place used to be inaccessible to outsiders, and is today a hotspot for tourists and
travellers. The city is also called the Kathmandu Valley region, and today the city is known
for its emerging urban lifestyle mixed with culture and values. It forms the gateway for
tourism to the rest of the country. It is as well the centre of the country’s economy. With
urban infrastructure and other developing structural elements. Choosing the Kathmandu
Valley as a case study, this assignment will be focusing on international tourism from the
perspective of students from Australia. (Ambrose, and Paine, 2018)
Provide analysis of tourist visitation to your location. Use relevant statistics to support
your answer
The Kathmandu Valley is a region of 600 km in central Nepal, and has the capital city as its
centre. Besides the capital city of Kathmandu, three other cities with their attractions
constitute the Valley- Boudhanath, Bhaktapur and Patan, which is a UNESCO-declared
world heritage site.
Nepal’s tourism sector is quite crucial for promoting the holistic development of the country,
including economically. The government and the related ministries have been concentrating
on, and promoting, tourism sector, industry, activities and other associated factors. A 2016
Nepal Tourism Statistics publication had been prepared with the objective of making all
information and details public so that awareness about the country and its tourism can spread
far and wide. The statistics report have detailed out specifications about the tourism sector.
According to the report, tourism is quite active and flourishing, especially international
tourism. The report has established several findings about how tourists like to come to Nepal,
what are the preferences of the tourists and so on and so forth. (Vanhove, 2017)
Tourist come to Nepal by air in large numbers. From 2015 to 2016, their number has
increased to more than 5 lakhs from 4 lakhs of tourist visits by air. The average length of stay
is for a little more than 13 days. The numbers of male and female tourists have risen 3 lakhs
in 2016 compared to 2015. Tourists come to Nepal for all purposes- holiday, pilgrimage,
trekking, and business. The annual revenues earned from the tourist visits have climbed to
more than 50 lakhs in terms of US dollars compared to 2015. There are several tourism
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related enterprises which capitalise on the tourism sector, such as trekking agencies and
hotels.
The Australian-Nepalese relationship has been basically built on the foundation of
development collaboration, assistance in tourism and education resources and services and
other related coordinated activities. The Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that
Nepal, especially Kathmandu Valley is one of the topmost preferred places to visit for the
Australian people. For the Australians, Nepal is considered to be a far-flung and unspoiled
location, and the people of Australia like places which are less travelled as well as relatively
safe. (Mason, 2015)
Explain what makes the destination attractive to tourists. Relate to the tourism system,
motivation or satisfaction theories in this unit
There are several factors why Kathmandu Valley is quite attractive to the Australian tourists.
For them the country is unique, cost effective, less chaotic and new. The tourists prefer all
sorts of attractions that Nepal offers, chiefly because of the chances to have adventures.
Nepal, especially Kathmandu Valley, has attractions ranging from mountain activities like
hiking and trekking, to sightseeing and experiencing new culture and elements of nature. The
country is also reasonably priced place to tour and enjoy. Safety is relative for tourists and
people all over the world take Nepal as one of the best tourism hotspots.
There are several factors which affect and influence tourism and tourists. These help in
decision making and planning and touring in foreign countries. An important multifaceted
theory of tourism is believed to be the best approach to understand why tourism works for
countries like Nepal. (Boniface, et al 2016.)
- Motivation- Motivation, from the perspective of tourism, is defined as the state of
mind that attuned to travelling and having adventures. The desire to experience new
and entertaining drives a person to become a tourist in a new country. Several
theorists have put forth ideas. For instance, Dann has stipulated that there are seven
approaches to the tourism motivation- First, desire to travel in response to filling the
gaps. Second is the pull of the destination. Third, motivational factor of experiencing
fantasy and magical stimulation. Fourthly, the purpose of travelling and rejuvenating
self. Fifth, motivational typologies being put into use. Sixthly, the desire to have more
and more experiences. Seventh, motivation to find spirituality and to discover self.
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- Expectation- Tourist expectations are crucial and vital to meet for tourism industries.
Low expectations of tourists can often be utilised to promote unique tourism packages
to increase expectations. Once the expectations increase, it is crucial to maintain the
level of tourism services and activities so that the expectations do not fall. Theorists
Akama and Kieti feel that expectations are formed mainly through information,
advertisements, promotions of places and their unique selling points and other
strategies.
- Satisfaction- Satisfaction is where the need and the performance meet. The need of
the tourist is met by the service of the tourism agency, industry and sector, and is
crucial for successful tourism venture. The Cognitive Affective model is one of the
theories related to tourism satisfaction, which examines customer or consumer
satisfaction. Satisfaction, according to this model is influenced by cognitive
evaluations and expectations. These are responsible for creating the mechanism of
satisfaction.
Identify and analyse issues related to tourism and destination development at the
location
The Nepalese government and tourism industries have realised the importance of the tourism
factors that contribute to the Nepalese economy. The benefits of tourism include economic
growth, generation of employment, alleviation of poverty, potential of owing international
tourist market shares and so on. The South Asian countries possess a mere percent of
international tourism market due to developing status of most Asian countries. Tourism
sector for Nepal has the potential to give the motivation to various sections of the Nepalese
society and culture. Tourism development today has become a contemporary and relevant
venture, with the authorities making efforts to socially and economically transform the
tourism and other sectors of the country. Recent developments have seen Nepal collaborate
with various countries like Australia in making the country progressively developed and well
equipped. By 2016, Nepal has created a record of increased growth in tourists visiting the
main Kathmandu Valley. (Page, and Hall, 2014)
Despite it being a major and indispensable part of economy, and despite tourism development
reaching great heights, the tourism faces lots of issues. These issues create huge challenges
for the authorities. (Peng et al 2015)
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- Developing tourism policies- the government is still in the process of creating,
amending and bringing into force the various tourism policies. The gradual stage of
policy making has somehow created hurdles for various tourism based businesses an
services. delays are caused in delivering the desired results. Often the incomplete
policies create chaos for tourists. The government needs to plan out strategically the
policies, develop them stage by stage and then enforce them, ensuring a smooth and
sustained application of these policies.
- Budget allocation- resource allotment and budget allocation are serious challenges
when it comes to tourism. The country is still developing and the country is often
short in resources and budgets for tourism. The country needs to prioritise plans and
mechanisms to increase resource and budget availability for tourism besides other
sectors. (Vargas-Sánchez, et al 2015)
- Climate change- tourism can get highly affected by climate changes. Nepal is a
hotbed of climatic shifts and the weather is often fickle minded. Often most tourism
activities are seasonal and bound by the weather conditions. Weather patterns are
constantly changing, shifting the focus from activities that are quite popular among
the tourists in Nepal. The infamous earthquake at Kathmandu is one example of how
strong climatic shifts can affect the tourism industry. The country was not equipped
for this natural disaster and thousands of tourists were stranded and affected.
- Economic crisis- the country has loads of political, economic, socio-cultural,
technical, environmental and legal factors which often affect the tourist activities and
services. Power crises often take place in the country. Political unrest often emerges.
Borders with other countries often pose issues as well.
- Tourism competitiveness- competition with other countries with similar geographical
and service attractions can severely affect the tourism sector of the developing nation
of Nepal. Nepal’s infrastructure, connectivity and other factors are still in the process
of being developed. The country is rich in natural resources but is still not very well
equipped with all facilities. The government is making efforts to improve the position
in the competitive tourism market.
- Lack of investment promotion- the investment process is weak considerably and the
promotion of the country’s infrastructure is yet to become effective. Public and
private investment campaigns and heavy promotion are strongly required to improvise
the tourism situation in the country. (Sharpley, 2018)
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- Lack of creativity and innovation- the highly active nature of demands and needs of
tourists change constantly and the tourism industry needs to continuously update its
services, packages and be creative and innovative in attracting an increasing number
of tourists.
- Human resource management- the management of human resources is quite crucial
for an effective tourism sector in the country. Tourism industry is closely related to
hospitality sector and therefore the human resource management is a common
requirement. As in hospitality sector, the professionals in the tourism industry need to
be trained in handling tourists, communicating at all levels to make tourists
comfortable and being able to deal with all situations.
There is a strong need for retention of the rate of tourism as well as generation rate of tourism
related income. The priority of the government is to utilise and maximise the benefits of
tourism, to maintain and update the existing system, to avoid or resolve the weaknesses, to
combat the challenges in a strategic manner and to realise various potentials and put into
actions the various plans related to tourism.
Identify and analyse negative and positive impacts of tourism activity on the host
community at the location
The study of the impact of tourism in any country brings out the negative and positive results.
The overall impact can be multifaceted. There are mainly three types of categories which
show how the impact is created. (Baggio, and Sainaghi, 2016)
- Environmental impact is the effect created on the natural surroundings such as the
quality and quantity of the flora, the fauna, the air, the vegetation, the water, the
natural processes, the wildlife and other natural aspects.
- Socio cultural impact is the effect created on the interactions with the people of the
society, the cultural factors, the attitudes, behaviours, values and other aspects. The
impact can be most felt in terms of sensitivity towards tourists, the acceptance of the
people to outsiders, the resentment at perceiving loss of cultural values and so on.
- Economic impact is the effect created in terms of employment, management of human
resources, revenue earning, activities and services being utilised, stability in social
conditions and so on. (Gretzel et al 2015)
From the perspective of the environmental impact, the tourist’s desire for nature and natural
activities can create both positive and negative impact. On one hand, the use of natural
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resources can encourage the tourists to enjoy while respecting the surroundings. For instance
trekking in the mountains does not create any negative impact provided the tourists respect
nature. The impact is negative if the natural resources become over used, neglected or
carelessly used. For instance tourists often smoke in the woods where the areas are sensitive
and are likely to catch fire.
From the perspective of the socio-cultural impact, the results can be mixed. On one hand the
tourists aim to see the authentic social and cultural set up. They like to experience the culture
first hand and try to absorb in the social norms and customs while being in the country. They
respect the society and follow the adage of ‘when in Rome do as Rome does’. This helps
them to witness the local culture and the national features of the country without disturbing
the elements. However, tourists can often end up creating negative effects. Cultural clash,
misunderstanding of the culture and miscommunication in form of language barriers can lead
to tourists making mistakes unwittingly. In highly sensitive areas, such mistakes can lead to
chaos and confusion and distress among the locals. (Edgell 2015)
From the perspective of economic impact, the effect is generally positive as more tourists
come to a country, more revenues and other benefits manage to influence the country. Global
and national tourism contribute to the world’s GDP and the country’s GDP respectively. The
positive impact is seen in terms of increase in jobs, business opportunities, better quality of
life for the locals, increase of wealth for the country, preservation of historical sites,
conservation of resources, increase in developmental activities, motivation to improve the
infrastructure and so on and so forth. The negative impact is basically seen in terms of the
socio-cultural and environmental effects as discussed above.
Conclusion- Identify and discuss four policy implications to achieve sustainable tourism
outcomes for the destination
Tourists visit the mountains for activities and Nepal focuses on these activities majorly. The
issue of sustainable development is basically focused on increasing tourism prospects,
managing development of maximisation of benefits of tourism while protecting the
environment, the society and the economy of the country. Countries like Nepal need to
strongly support the tourism sector for the sake of economic and non-economic effects.
(Honget al 2015)
The four folded approach to developing sustainable tourism sector consists of the step by step
process, which brings the implications of creating an effective policy or efficient sets of
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policies. Firstly Nepal should assess, evaluate and analyse the situation in the tourism sector.
The country can draw up a vision for sustainable tourism development. The vison can lay
down a cross sectoral examination of the tourism and other related industries so that the
country can understand the progress, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
The country should also consider the political, economic, socio-cultural, technical,
environmental and legal aspects before finalising a flexible and progressive, well planned
mission statement.
Nepal can move on to a series of next steps towards sustainable tourism development. First
the country can start planning the tourism. The country has to decide the policies related to
tourism and accordingly plan out what the tourism sector should entail. The tourism
operations, management, investment, promotion and marketing then will be decided
according to the planning and mission. Policies should ensure that all activities and
operations in this sector should create more positive impact. The next step in policy making
is on the capacity building. Nepal has to understand its own capacity of handling tourism
without too much of negative impact. Capacity in terms of financial and human resources
should be carefully planned. Policies should be laid down deciding on the extent to which the
environmental resources are to be used, the safe areas to have maximum tourism, deliverance
of effective tourism packages, services and facilities in strategic areas without affecting
anything. (Schroeder, and Pennington-Gray 2015)
The final step in the policy making is to monitor and regulate the situation. The policies of
Nepal should include the actions to be taken and the resources to be utilised to prevent,
protect, avoid and resolve. The tourism products and services should be closely watched and
supervised by selected agencies and professionals.
Tourism needs to be a sustainable venture in any country and should be encouraged as long
as it does not create any negative impact.
References
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dynamics of tourism systems. Tourism Management, 54, pp.23-33.
Boniface, B., Cooper, R. and Cooper, C., 2016. Worldwide destinations: The geography of travel and
tourism.
Edgell Sr, D.L., 2015. International sustainable tourism policy. Brown J. World Aff., 22, p.25.
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Gretzel, U., Sigala, M., Xiang, Z. and Koo, C., 2015. Smart tourism: foundations and
developments. Electronic Markets, 25(3), pp.179-188.
Hong, T., Ma, T. and Huan, T.C.T., 2015. Network behavior as driving forces for tourism
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Mason, P., 2015. Tourism impacts, planning and management. Routledge.
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space. Routledge.
Peng, B., Song, H., Crouch, G.I. and Witt, S.F., 2015. A meta-analysis of international tourism
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Sharpley, R., 2018. Tourism, tourists and society. Routledge.
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