Contemporary Hotel and Tourism Issues in Lumbini, Nepal: A Report

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report analyzes contemporary issues in Nepal's hotel and tourism industry.

CONTEMPORARY HOTEL AND
TOURISM ISSUE
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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
References................................................................................................................................10
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Introduction
The hospitality industry is a part of the tourism industry thus the growth of the hospitality
industry relies upon tourism evolution. Globalization has brought unpredictable
transformational changes in the hotel and tourism industry over the world by creating several
opportunities but also include certain challenges. It is apparent that opportunities are not
impulsive because it requires sufficient time as well as; it also helps managers to realize that
challenges can occur immediately (Ye, et. al., 2014). Furthermore, the tourism industry leads
to swift and global interconnections so as to be aware of the rapid movement of people,
capital, goods, services and information over the world. Due to the rapid expansion of the
industry, it is facing several challenges, such as – financial turmoil, economic crisis, quality
services, market competition, accommodation issues, sustainable eco-initiative etc., issues are
highly facing by hotel and tourism industry. This assignment is an effort to identify the same
issues or problem. Then, certain recommendations will also give which helps managers to
overcome these issues.
For this entire discussion, Lumbini, Nepal is the chosen tourism destination; it happens to be
one of the popular destinations in Nepal. This place is located in Kapilvastu near Indian
Border, this place is blessed with numerous spots and monuments. Lumbini also offers a
variety of attractions which represents occurrences in Buddha’s life. In addition to this, this
tourism destination covers site covers length of almost 48 km as well as width of 1.3 km; it is
stated as a reclusive area where only hermitages can be assembled. Still, Nepal is not a well-
developed country thus hotel and tourism industry of the nation face different challenges, i.e.
lack of infrastructure and transportation development.
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Nepal's tourism and hotel business have completed a full cycle by undergoing upswing and
downswing, both time periods. The global tourism and hospitality industry has at the peak
point of international market expansion in order to reach at critical mass; for this it needed
great extent of marketing success with existing products and bring of upcoming services.
Before some time, these industries were robust however due to globalization, tourism and
hotel industry are suffering from different issues or challenges (Xiao, 2014). Due to its virtue
nature, these industries are affected by economic and social factors; it possesses challenge or
issues which are stated as under –
Due to global economic slowdown and fiscal disorders which is instigated from the US, the
whole world is facing economic recessions. This crisis hit very hard to tourism and hotel
industry in terms of affecting individuals, i.e. not to invest in entertainment activities. In other
words, at the time of the economic crisis, people save their money instead of spending it on
leisure and travelling activities. Due to the increasing population, it is very difficult for the
tourism and hotel industry to manage accommodation for people who come to visit Nepal. It
has been heard that the nation has no specific industry standards that affect customers' values
or beliefs. Apart from this, the growth and success of hotel and tourism business highly
depends on the quality of services which comes from human resources. It is quite difficult to
identify professionally trained and well-qualified personnel. Furthermore, Nepal is very poor
in information and communication technology infrastructure; it results in reducing the
demand for hotel and tourism over there (Taylan Dortyol, et. al., 2014). Although it is better
off in the adoption of natural resources, thus sustaining eco-initiatives n hotel and tourism
sector is also a major issue. Eco-designs of hotels, energy conservation, water resource
management, eco-green housekeeping and other environmental considerations are also
hindering the growth of these sectors. Apart from this low occupancy rates, excessive
unionism, quality services, market competition and other are the major issues which affect
the growth of Lumbini, Nepal; it leads reducing the number of visitors across the nation.
Therefore, in order to overcome these issues, it is essential for the government of Nepal and
associated authorities must focus on making necessary improvements, which is defined as
below -
Tourist market potential- Nowadays, marketers are tending to identify the potential tourism
market as it helps the tourism and hotel industry to gain competitive advantage. Identification
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for suitable markets assists the tourism and hotel industry of Nepal to grab better
opportunities but also carries out various issues, i.e. increasing market competitiveness across
the industry. In addition to this, the tourism market segmentation divides into four parts, such
as – geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural. In which geographic
segmentation classifies a market into geographical units, i.e. nations, regions, states etc.
Demographic segmentation includes the classify market on the basis of size, gender, family,
income, education etc. Psychographic segmentation divides the markets into consumer
values, interests, attitudes and interests (Schuckert, et. al., 2015). At lasts, behavioural
segmentation categorizes market on knowledge of customers, attitude towards specific
product or services. Among all those markets, a new market for Lumbini, Nepal would be a
psychographic market; under which tour operators can target a group of people who have a
strong interest in visiting attractive places and wants to gain knowledge about historical sites
and monuments. Beside this, hotel industry of Lumbini, Nepal has developed its market on
the ground of loyalty under which hoteliers can launch their hotel chain at a particular
destination. It results in a reduction in sales and profit margins of the hotels as due to high
market competition hotel managers cannot achieve huge market profitability in a certain time
period.
Transport development – The role of transportation in the enlargement of tourism has been
and continues to be a controversial issue. Impact of contemporary transportation on tourism is
both, positive and negative. In the positive case, developments in transportation act as a
stimulus to other evolutions while the neutral effect applies. Beside this, in the negative case,
it relates to bringing or enhancing migration and spread diseases as well as decline in the
level of per capita income (Mason, 2015). Introducing different channels of transportation,
i.e. air, water and road transports reduce the time consuming to visit one place to another, for
example – individuals who live in the US, UK can easily come to Lumbini Nepal by using air
transport. In order to facilitate tourism services, the government of the nation is focusing on
improving the infrastructure of transportation. Air travel has made momentous changes in
visitors’ mind concerning distance and time, but due to its higher costs, some people cannot
afford it. It results hospitality and tourism companies can reduce their market share.
Therefore, the establishment of apposite transport has been altered from dead centres as per
the interest of customers of tourist interest into vigorous and affluent places that enables to
appeal multitudes of folks over the world. In Nepal, government laws and regulations as well
as the tourism programs exerted vast impacts on tourism management and it is also in charge
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for providing transport facilities to the tourism market of country. However, higher
transportation costs and the level of security and safety in transportation systems could
threaten the growth of the tourism industry.
Accommodation development – Hospitality is a great economic activity which offers
accommodation, foods and beverages services to visitors. In the present scenario, the tourism and hotel
industry in Nepal is making necessary improvements in accommodation services with an aim to deliver
the luxurious experience of living (Nyaupane, et. al., 2014). For this, they are including well and spa
services with accommodation services at lower prices; it involves the face and body care, wellness diet,
health promotion activities etc. Nowadays, the demand for boutique hotels which is often in demands by
a tourist of high purchasing power. It involves originally decorated interiors, exclusive suits, specially
designed rooms in a well-furnished manner and others. In addition to this, accommodation
developments are also related to introducing lounge bars and wine bars. People who come to visit a
destination need a pleasant atmosphere and relaxing music; in Lumbini Nepal, there are several
lounge bars with comfortable and modern interiors. Beside this, wine bars which offer bottled
wine, or wine in the glass, and some cold dishes to customers on the basis of their needs and
wants. Now, people are becoming more health conscious in this sense they want organic and healthy
foods; in this sense, hotel and tourism industries are providing organically grown food. They make
innovation in organic food items thus to turned into delicacies and various dishes, offer
includes organic drinks that are very interesting to guests.
Crisis and risk management – The term crisis can be a situation which has the potential to hinder
long-term confidence within the business organisation. Hotel and tourism industry has become a leading
sector which is achieving enormous growth; although it also contains several risks, such as- data privacy,
staff, branding, guest behaviour, crimes, culture differences, misunderstanding, safety and security, poor
infrastructure, economic crises and other issues (Saarinen, et. al., 2014). All these risks or crisis hinder
consumer behaviour and their purchasing power in a direct and indirect manner. For example- risks of
terrorist attacks and robbing activities enable customers’ to change their mindset whether or not to visit
such a place. Beside this, safety standards in tourism and hotel industry encompass several
mechanisms of tourism experience, likewise – sanitation or hygiene of accommodation
facilities, health and consistent and accurate information. Furthermore, in Nepal literacy rate
is low due to which here people are unable to understand the language of foreigners;
Nepalese are resisted to adopt other culture and background; it develops misunderstandings.
It leads to reducing the brand image of tourism and hotel industry among other nations. It is
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essential to conduct a crisis and risk management which enables hotel and tourism industry to determine
potential risks and then quantifying them in such a manner to the likelihood of occurrence and the
influence on business.
Social media influence – In the present scenario, social media is using at a great extent by
individuals as the platform provides them with any type of knowledge and information. Social
networking channels, such as – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, LinkedIn etc. are used by
hotel and tourism businesses to promote their business over large client-base. Social media channels
are a great platform which enables individuals to aware of different tour packages and hotels
available at a specific tourism destination, i.e. Lumbini Nepal (Jovicic, 2016). In this context,
managers of the industry are also acquiring social networking sites and connect to target
audiences over there. Therefore, in the tourism and hotel industry of Nepal social media sites
altered the landscape of promotion and marketing; nowadays travellers and hoteliers
formulate their tourism plans on the basis of social media reviews and sharing. Hence, it
helps in assembling online consumer service because it is a crucial part of evolving a positive
brand reputation. In the context of developing Lumbini Nepal, reviews about the destination
will put a vast impact on consumer behaviour; for example – there are many people who
write bad comments for certain destinations if affects visitors interest and force them to
rethink on their decisions. The appearance of social media has interrupted the traditional
customer service models – for hotels and travel agencies alike. Moreover, by using social
media platforms, the hotel and tourism industries will promote their products and services
across the globe without bearing higher costs. It also allows tourism and accommodation
service providers to implement best practices by considering the feedbacks of tourists.
Visitor experience development – In the present scenario, visitors are moving to grab better
knowledge about every destination where they wish to visit. The term visitors’ experience development, is
associated with product development because this is what visitors are increasing seeking from travel,
likewise – unique, enhancing experience and memorable. The one challenge with destinations is not just to
develop products which are a demand by visitors but also ensure that visitors experience are formulated
and delivered in such a way which offers a competitive edge to the place across rivals. In the process of
developing visitors’ experience, there is a risk of obtaining appropriate market knowledge; as it requires
excellent expertise knowledge which matches up best with assets of a tourism destination. It also involves
understanding the needs and preferences of those markets, raises components of visitors experience which
can effectively respond to these needs (Easton and Wise, 2015). The two main sectors which help in
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visitor experience development, such as – improving the infrastructure of heritage and monuments and
improving technology over the nation. Lumbini Nepal is a Buddhist pilgrimage site including
various older and new temples; in this sense, tour operators needs to focus on developing
these monuments and heritage sites; it makes eye capturing and attractive among customers.
On the other hand, improvements in technical infrastructure are beneficial for hotel industries
in terms of recognising customers' taste and preferences thus to offering them products or
services as per their needs or wants. Therefore, with an aim to deliver effective customers’
satisfaction level it is essential for marketers to develop a plan which encompasses with –
assessment and strategic planning, investment promotion, enterprise development, thematic
route development and DMO development.
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Conclusion
From the above-mentioned report, it gets to comprehend that there are several contemporary
and accommodation issues which affect the hotel and tourism industry of Nepal. This paper
has identified the nature and effects of these issues as well as implications in order to
overcome with them. In this present scenario, there are several social and economic factors,
i.e. climatic changes, poor infrastructure, changing customers’ demands even globalization is
also hindering the nature of tourism and hospitality. Furthermore, the findings of this report
state that it is essential for hotels and tourism industries to always put their best efforts as
well as use innate so as to overcome from weaknesses and resolve all issues or challenges.
They should make human capital investments wisely as fully optimized for long and short
rewards.
The report has stated that Lumbini Nepal is an attractive tourism destination, every year
numerous people come to visit over there. Due to global market developments, the hotel and
tourism industry of the nation is facing several challenges or issues; it reduces sales and
profitability of the sector as well. This report is a critical evaluation of different aspects
involved in hospitality and tourism industry, such as – crisis and risk management which
enable hotel and tour operators to identify potential risks, likewise, Nepal is not a well-
developed nation, terrorism and robbery activities usually occur over there. Due to this risk,
visitors do not prefer to visit the place; it reduces the credibility of a tourism destination. This
report has also covered that nowadays the trend of accommodation development is beneficial
for the hotel and tourism industry as its emphasis on delivering maximum satisfaction to
customers by offering them all leisure facilities at one place.
In this modern era, a wide range of customers' use social media platforms so that tourism and
hospitality operators in Nepal can acquire social sites to promote their products or services; it
would also assist in management costs and time. In addition to this, to explore all
contemporary and accommodation issues, owners of the hotel and tourism industry can
acquire alternate policies of financing worldwide extension. There is required to endorse
campaigns or programmes based upon customers’ satisfaction and develop approaches; it
helps them to persist modest in the global market.
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References
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