Initiative to help Nepal solve tourism workers losing their jobs because of Covid-19

Initiative to help Nepal solve tourism workers losing their jobs because of Covid-19

Cleaning and maintaining tourist attractions during the absence of tourists because of the pandemic are jobs that the Nepalese authorities are creating for workers in the tourism industry who have lost their jobs because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sagarmatha National Park is located in the Himalayas region, east of Nepal. (Photo: Nepal Tourism Board)

Originally known as a hiker's paradise, blessed with diverse landscapes, majestic snow-capped mountains, verdant natural forests, unique indigenous culture, Nepal has always been one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the world.

Before the outbreak of the pandemic, tourism was one of the largest industries in the "Roof of the World" nation with about 8% of GDP and the fourth largest job generator for the economy. Statistics in 2018 show that the tourism industry contributes 371,140 jobs in Nepal.

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic caused a sharp decrease in the number of international visitors, causing tourism revenue to "evaporate" and push thousands of tourism workers into unemployment. According to the Nepal Immigration Department, in 2019, this South Asian country welcomed 1.17 million foreign tourists. This number has decreased to 230,085 in 2020 and further decreased to 58,040 international arrivals by mid-June this year.

The country's statistics agency estimates that about 15,000 people working as mountain guides and tour guides have lost their jobs. Nepal's Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation in early July 2021 estimated that the country's smokeless industry will lose more than 330 million USD due to blockade measures to prevent the spread of the pandemic. Translate.

Pashupatinath Temple, a sacred and famous Hindu temple complex located on the banks of the Bagmati River 5 km northeast of Kathmandu, the eastern part of the Kathmandu valley, Nepal (Photo: Nepal Tourism Board)

Recognizing that job loss poses many negative risks to society, the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) is implementing a temporary employment program for unemployed workers in the tourism industry.

Under the partnership mechanism with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the target of the NTB's temporary employment program is low-skilled workers in the tourism sector.

Specifically, these workers are mobilized to clean and maintain tourist facilities, including walking routes through forests and bridges along trails.

According to Mr. Dhananjay Regmi, Executive Director of Nepal Tourism Board, initially, this year this program will be implemented at 5 locations. Then, in the new fiscal year 2021-2022, the program will be scaled up nationwide. The new fiscal year in Nepal has started on July 16.

Mr. Regmi said that the goal of this program is to provide short-term jobs for about 1,600 tourism employees within the framework of a project to restore livelihoods for sustainable tourism. Along with that, a separate program related to tourism infrastructure development to create more jobs for tourism workers will also be implemented.

Although the job program that NTB is implementing is only a temporary response, this is clearly a creative solution for many places to learn, especially in the context of the complicated situation of the Covid-19 epidemic. , the international tourism industry will take a long time to recover.