Nepal - sweet, sour & spicy

Home to the tallest mountain on earth, Nepal needs no introduction as far as global tourism is concerned. That said - the country is bracing itself for a challenging year for its tourism industry otherwise Visit Nepal Year 2020. The ambitious year is targeting as many as two million tourists coming from far and wide. If the target is met at least a billion dollar will be pumped to its economy.
But can the Himalayan country meet its target?
There is almost every reason to believe Nepal can live up to the challenge - but it won't be easy. Referring to my recent visit as a member of a familiarisation trip from Bangladesh, at least one fact appeared realistic: Despite the massive earthquake in 2015, the dozen or so established tourist destinations of the country have not lost their appeal. Rather surprisingly, they have become increasingly touristy with added Chinese, Japanese and Korean holiday makers.
From Kathmandu to Chandragiri Hills, Pokhara to Chitwan's wilderness - tourists from all across the world have begun flocking like migratory winter birds. However, despite all its natural blessings for the majority of Bangladeshi tourists Nepal has turned out to be the ideal time-off destination for all the wrong reasons - discos, casinos and dance bars. Not that these are lesser appealing, but Nepal's authentic charm is noticeably spotted in its mesmeric landscapes, mountains, lakes & glaciers , food, culture and its people , and not to mention its shy, polite , friendly sweet women.
Our week long Nepal tour had ended just in the manner of the short Dhaka to Kathmandu flight - many places visited but yet so much to explore.  It's right on this point, where I feel like suggesting the Nepalese tourism authorities to invite foreign guests to the least visited and least explored destinations of the country. The 5 Offbeat places in Nepal you probably haven't heard about are: Tilicho Lake, Gokyo Valley, Jiri, Rara national Park and Panch Pokhari. Now that I have specified the names, it will be interesting to follow that how the tourism board attracts and diverts more foreign tourists to these least talked about destinations.
Commenting on the title name of my write up, Nepal has all three to offer - sweet, sour and spice. For landscape explorers it is always sweet, for the nightlife lovers and chronic gamblers it is too often sour and for the gourmet lovers the Nepalese dishes are moderately and sumptuously spicy. Over the past decade and based on my four visits to that country this is how I have learnt to define the country of Mount Everest. However, with the vision of Nepal Visit Year 2020, it will be quite a challenge for the Nepalese government to turn the tourism industry into a multi-seasonal business. 
In all its authenticity, it is not only the landscapes but the ordinary people of Nepal who define the country. Ranging from Dravidian to Mongoloid features, an ordinary Nepalese can be almost anyone between a Bengali, Chinese and Indian. He or she may not understand your language. But the typical Nepalese gesture, posture and respond will appear symbolic to - welcome to Nepal. And they will come with a warm heartfelt smile.
I happened to be one of the lucky ten foreign guests to come across an ordinary Nepalese to the tourism minister and they all appeared sweet, sour and spicy - and all within tolerant levels. No wonder why the old saying "Travel teach tolerance" stands so true.
My recent visit to Nepal has enriched me with a number of valuable lessons about exploring the tourism sector of any country. One of them is a country may possess a unique tourism potential but you have to know how to make the best use of it. Our Cox's Bazaar is reportedly the longest natural unbroken sea beach in the world, yet we draw lesser foreign tourists in Bangladesh than those who come to visit Nepal's Bhaktapur archaeological site alone.
Despite noteworthy economic and development gains, we draw a mere couple of hundred thousand foreigner tourists' maximum a year. Nepal officially recorded an arrival of 1.1 million foreign tourists in 2018 with India and China contributing the largest number of visitors. It was for the first time that the Himalayan country welcomed over a million tourists in a year. And the number keeps increasing despite fewer flights and planes owned by the public and private sectors.
Perhaps the fascinating lesson of the Nepal Tourism Industry is how it engages multiple stakeholders in revenue earning where hotels, restaurants, transports, shops to home stays all gets naturally integrated. More to it, there is active participation of the tourist friendly public and local communities in its tourism industry.
From a strategic point of view the country has successfully managed to give its tourism websites a global reach, monitor and respond to tourist needs while successfully introduce eco-tourism and adventure travels.
To finish with, it is time for us to draw lessons from how the Himalayan country has been going from strength to strength in the face of financial restraints coupled with the scourge of a natural calamity.
In the land of gods, angels and demons - all may appear myths but Nepal is a reality for a lifetime experience. It is all three at the same time - sweet, sour and spicy.
The writer is Assistant Editor,
The Daily Observer