journal of tourism and hospitality...

Journal of Tourism andHospitality Education

Vol. 5 Year 2015

Chief EditorProf. Dr. Ramesh Raj Kunwar

Associate EditorBasant P. Joshi

AITM School of Hotel Management(Affiliated to IMI University Centre, Switzerland)

Editorial Policy

We are very happy to offer Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Education, Vol. 4, 2014, to our readers. This journal is published annually in English by AITM School of Hotel Management which is affiliated with IMI Universitycernre Switzerland. The journal publishes on tourism related ecology (e.g. ecotourism), economy, environment, marketing, management, sociology, anthropology, religion, hospitality, development, law, agriculture, food, education, policies, employment, planning, geography, psychology, culture, heritage, sports, shopping, disaster management, crisis, safety, research methodology, drugs, crime, conflict and peace. This is an interdisciplinary journal which welcomes research papers and book reviews from different scholars of different disciplines but those should be related with tourism studies. Articles and reviews in the journal represent neither the views of the concerned publishers nor those of editorial board. Responsibility for opinions expressed and for the accuracy of the facts published in the articles or reviews are solely with the individual authors. Authors will receive four copies of journal with remuneration. All Academic correspondence should be addressed to the publisher or AITM School of Hotel Management, Knowledge Village, Khumaltar. The editorial board reserves the right to edit, moderate or reject the articles submitted. The text should be 10,000 to 18,000 words. Articles should be original and written in English. The research work should be based on both primary and secondary sources. As far as research methodology is concerned, foot notes, citations and references should be based on APA method. If not there has to be uniformity of citation and references. The editors welcome enquiries from readers willing to write research articles and book review. We believe that the contributions contributed by national and international scholars will disseminate the knowledge and ideas of tourism to the students, researchers, policy makers, entrepreneurs, journalists and other general readers. The Editorial BoardJournal of Tourism and Hospitality EducationAITM School of Hotel ManagementKonwledge Village, KhumaltarLalitpur, NepalTel: 5541179/55487729Email: [email protected]: www.aitm.edu.np


Vol. 5 Year 2015

AITM School of Hotel ManagementTel: 5541179/55487729

Email: [email protected]: www.aitm.edu.np

Chief EditorProf. Dr. Ramesh Raj Kunwar

Associate EditorBasant P. Joshi

Advisory BoardProf. Dr. Sriram Bhagut MatheProf. Dr. Ram Manohar ShresthaProf. Dr. Sudarshan Raj TiwariProf. Dr. Pramod Bahadur ShresthaProf. Dr. Prem Nath Maskey Umesh ShresthaPramod PradhanBhupa Das Rajbhandari


Vol. 5 Year 2015

CONTENTSRamesh Raj Kunwar 1 Cultural Tourism Pranil Upadhayaya 58 Implication of Travel Advisory on Peaceful Tourism Image: A Case study of Nepal

Sandeep Basnyat 68 Why is Nepal Lagging Behind in Tourism Development?

Him Lal Grimier 90 Buddhist Circuits in Asia: Lumbini as a Nerve Center

Basant P. Joshi 115 Prospects of Tourism in Far Western Nepal with Special Reference to Khaptad National Park

Chanakya P. Rijal 133 Corporate Social Responsibility Susmita Karanjit (CSR) Practices in Five-star Hotels in Kathmandu

Cultural Tourism

Ramesh Raj Kunwar *

AbstractCulture is a multivariate concept and tourism is a composite discipline. Culture can be described as software of society, a ‘designed’ of living, and as a code of conduct. It is also identity marker of the community, country and region. In other words, it is model of behavior, which is a constant process of transformation, finds its expression in symbols, conviction, values, judgment of test, norms etc., which help to conserve and perpetuate society and at the same time, acts agency of change. Culture is not a fixed, but is static element of a society. Cultural manifestations such as customs, creeds, pattern of consumption, life style-‘maps of meaning’ that make things comprehensible for the members of culture-change under the influence of exogenous forces such as the media and tourism. Cultural tourism is a combination of tradition and modernity which is considered as one of the major branches of tourism. In this kind of tourism, both tangible and intangible cultures attract the tourists. The isolated and alienated people of this modern world are seeking for authenticity. The search for cultural experience has been described as the search for the unspoiled, pristine, genuine, untouched and traditional for something, exceptional in its actuality and valuable. Cultural tourism has become an important economic source for the people, at the same, cultural conservation, preservation, restoration and revitalization. No doubt, tourism turns culture into a commodity. But, commoditization does not necessarily destroy the meaning of cultural productsand also the tourists do not destroy tourism. Hence, the intention of this paper is not to focus on the conventional business industry aspect of tourism, but rather to consider its humanities dimension, one which is emerging globally as a highly potential interdisciplinary sector.Keywords: Culture, Tourism, Authenticity, Hospitality, Experience Economy, Destination and Management.

* Prof. Dr. Ramesh Raj Kunwar is the author of seven books on tourism and anthropology. He is tourism educationist and anthropologist by profession. He is the former Dean of Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal. He is also the former Dean of (then) Royal Nepalese Military Academy. Currently, he is teaching at the Central Department of Culture, Kirtipur Campus, T.U. Email: [email protected]

Journal of Tourism and Hospitality (Vol. 6)2

The Concept of CultureOriginally, the term culture is believed to be derived from the Latin term cultura,

which means to cultivate. The term refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance. Anthropologists, in particular, point to the human origin of culture. For the first time in the history of anthropology, Sir Edward Burnett Tylor defines culture as ‘that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society (1871, p. 1). Since then, several scholars of different disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, psychology, archaeology, intercultural communication, philosophy, aesthetic, literary criticism define culture on their own way which ultimately created confusion for understanding culture in better way. Realizing this, Reisinger and Turner also focus on its complexity (Reisinger and Turner, 2003, p. 4). Indeed, Raymond Williams considers it to be one of the most complicated words in the English language because of its diverse usages in distinct system of thought (1983, p. 87; in Hollinshead, 2000, p. 123). In 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Klockhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of culture. In the conclusion of their extensive analysis, they suggested a comprehensive and all-inclusive definition of culture: “Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i.e., historically derived and selected) ideas and specially their attached values; culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered as products of action, on the other as conditioning elements of further action” (Kroeber and Klockhohn, 1952, p. 181; in Reisinger, 2009, p. 90).

Thus, in the different periods of time, culture is defined in varying terms by different theories. A popular definition is the one provided by Schein (1985: 9; in Murthy, 2000, p. 129): A pattern of basic assumptions-invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with the problems of external adaption and integral integration-that has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. Hofstede (1980),from the cross-cultural management point of view, defines culture as a social mechanism that shapes and guides human thoughts, values and beliefs and ultimately controls their behavior. It is ‘the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another, the interactive aggregate of common characteristics that influence a human group’s response to the environment’ (Hofstede, 1980; in Pizam, 2000, p.119).

However, despite the cosmic range of definitions of culture, it is a ‘theory’, (Kluckhohn, 1944) an ‘abstraction’ or a ‘name’ for a very large category of phenomena (Moore and Lewis, 1952; in Reisinger and Turner, 2003, p. 4). ‘Culture is like a black

3Kunwar: Cultural Tourism

box which we know is there but not what it contains’ (Hofstede, 1980, p. 13; in Reisinger and Turner, 2003, p. 4). Culture is like an ice-berg. The tip of the cultural ice-berg is easy to see. This includes the visible aspects and do’s and taboos of working in other cultures. The remaining the huge chuck of ice-berg hidden below the surface includes invisible aspects of a culture such as the values, traditions, experiences and behaviors that define each culture (Clarke and Chen, 2007, p. 30). Hence, culture is a multivariate concept (Reisinger and Turner, 2003, p. 32).

Essentially, culture has been viewed from two perspectives. First one views it as an ideological entity encompassing values, norms, customs and traditions (Rokeach, 1973; in Reisinger and Turner, 2003, p. 10). The other perspective views culture as a combination of ideological and material elements such as what and how people eat, what they wear and what they use (Assael, 1992; Mowen, 1993; in Reisinger and Turner, 2003, p. 10).Culture represents a system of tangible and intangible components. Tangible components of culture represent material culture and comprise productive forces and physical elements necessary to support human life, such as clothing, tools, food, buildings, paintings, and many other culture objects and artifacts. Intangible elements represent non-material culture and refer to values, beliefs, attitudes, morality, ethics, spirituality, traditions, and customs (Reisinger, 2009, p. 90).

Apparently, culture exists everywhere, at various levels of society, and everyone belongs to at least one, at the supranational level (Western and Eastern civilizations), at the national level (American, French, Japanese), at the ethnic level (Chinese and Malay in Malaysia, WASPS, Blacks and Hispanics in the USA), and so on. Culture can also be applied to other social units such as occupational group (lawyers, accountants, physicians etc.), corporations (IBM, Shell, Disney) and even tourism sectors (restaurants, hotels, airlines).

Culture defines social structures, decision-making practices, and communication styles. Culture dictates behavior, etiquette, and protocol. Culture is something learnt. It impacts everyone, and influences how people act and respond. Culture is communication. It is a way people create, send, process and interpret information. There are, according to Clarke and Chen (2007, p. 32), six fundamental patterns of cultural differences: different communication styles; different attitudes toward conflict; different approaches to completing tasks; different decision-making styles; different attitudes towards disclosure; and different approaches to knowing.

Basically, culture influences human behavior and determines which behavior is appropriate and socially accepted; which is helpful and should be rewarded; and which is unacceptable and harmful, and should therefore be discouraged (Herbig, 1998; in Reisinger, 2009, p. 105). Culture tells what is correct, good, true, honest, valuable, and important (Kraft, 1978; in Reisinger, 2009, p. 105). Culture dictates


ideas and sets the rules that the majority of society obeys. It regulates human behavior by offering order, direction, and guidance (Herbig and Dunphy, 1998; in Reisinger, 2009, p. 105). Culture teaches relationships with others, and how to form and maintain relationships (Dodd, 1998). It determines relationship patterns and encourages a specific interaction style. Cultural rules and norms help to achieve and maintain harmony in society. Without these rules and regulations, society would be in chaos (Jandt, 1998; in Reisinger, 2009, p. 105). Culture simplifies everyday life decisions. Culture provides the means for satisfying physiological, psychological, and social needs (Herbig and Dunphy, 1998; in Reisinger, 2009, p. 105).

In the broad anthropological sense, culture may be defined as everything people learn about taking our place in human society and underpins the framing of world views, and conditions humans’ negotiated path through everyday social reality. Hence “culture can be described as a software of society, a ‘design of living’, and as a code of conduct. Culture is model of behaviour, which is a constant process of transformation” (Luger, 2003, p. 213).Largely, culture is said to encapsulate a community’s or identifiable society’s customs and beliefs, as well as aspects of their social organization, and is thus the complex reflection of a particular lifestyle (Richards, 1996, p.21). It can amongst others be expressed by means of arts and craft, music, film and dance, literature and language, history and architecture, religion, cuisine and festivals (Ivanovic, 2008, p.10). Culture is steered by communication, finds its expression in symbols, convictions, values, judgments of taste, norms etc., which help to conserve and perpetuate the society and at the same time acts an agency of change. Culture is not a fixed, static element of a society. It rather implants new ideas and fields of interests into a society; it communicates outside perspective and thereby initiates the processes of permanent cultural change (Schmidt, 1992; in Luger, 2003, p. 214). Individual aspects of a culture are used, modified and cast aside, depending how they contribute to the successful organization of reality. Cultural manifestations such as customs, creeds, pattern of consumption, lifestyles – ‘maps of meaning’ (Clarke et al., 1979; in Luger, 2003, p. 214) that make things comprehensible for the members of culture-change under the influence of another set of manifestations such as the media and tourism (Luger, 2003, pp. 213–215) which is also called as an exogenous force. Smith accepts a broad defination of culture that embraces “almost any activity that relates to the lives and lifestyles of human beings” (2009, p.2).


Figure-1: Components of Culture

Source: Shaw and Williams (2004, P.170; modified from Burns 1999)It is almost a truism to note that cultures vary considerably across ethnic and

national boundaries and affect the performance of organizations (Hosfstede, Hofstede and Minkov, 2010; in Harrison and Lugosi, 2013, p.2) and prioritizing culture as an important factor in tourism is hardly new. It runs like a thread through the entire fabric of travel and tourism and the movement of tourists (and other migrants), and the movement of cultures and intimately related. It is indeed the case that ‘culture travel, too’ (Rojek and Urry, 1997, p.10; in Harrison and Lugosi, 2013, p.2). Culture is a vital conditioning factor in the relationships of tourists and residents of destination areas (Hottola, 2004, pp.113-134; in Reisinger, 2009), in the formation and reformation of patterns of everyday life in tourists destinations (Fisher, 2004; in Harrison and Lugosi, 2013, p.2), or in the way policies are determined for tourism development (Schroeder and Sproule Jones, 2012; in Harrison and Lugosi, 2013, p.2). Culture is also at the heart of the tourism product,’ whether formally sold as ‘heritage’ or ‘cultural tourism’ (Harrison and Hitchcock,2005) or presented as an element in the attraction of ‘difference’ and ‘the other’ (Harrison and Lugosi, 2013, p.2). The above mentioned facts presented by various scholars reveal that culture is an integral part in the arena of tourism market in this (post) modern world.

religion, myths, heroes, values,

attitudes, norms,

ideologies and moral

systems

Formal and informal,

legal and political, frameworks for

social control and

conflict resolution

Social organization including gender/age relations and working

patterns, kinship

Education and other structures for

passing on knowledge and

generating new knowledge

Economics, technology, and

material culture

Language, categorization,

perception of the world around, and

communication

Culture


Different geographical regions are characterized by different cultures through the influence of social contacts, colonization, trade, travel, migration, religion and mass media. For example, African culture, especially sub-Saharan African culture, has been influenced by European colonialism and Arab and Islamic culture, especially in North Africa. The American culture has been shaped by the cultures of the people of Africa, Europe, and Asia, who arrived either through the slave trade or the waves of immigration from Europe, (e.g., Dutch, English, French, German, Irish, Italian, Portuguese, Scandinavian, or Spanish), Latin America (e.g., Cuba, Mexico, and Nicaragua), and more recently Asia (e.g., China, Korea, and Vietnam). The North American culture is known as a “mixed culture” because it has adapted different cultural elements from different cultures and races. Asian cultural traditions were influenced by Buddhism and Taoism, especially in East Asia, and the social and moral philosophy of Confucianism. Hinduism and Islam influenced the culture of various parts of South Asia. The influence of Chinese and Chinese writing on Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese languages is well known. The countries of Pacific Ocean have been influenced by their indigenous cultures as well as European Culture. For example, Australian and New Zealand cultures have been shaped by European settlers and indigenous Australian and Maori (New Zealand) cultures. The Polynesian culture was strongly influenced by Christianity. The European culture has been mostly influenced by ancient Greek, ancient Rome, Christian cultures. The Middle East has been influenced by Arabic, Persian, and Turkish cultures. This region is predominantly Muslim, although a large number of minorities (Christians and others) live there. Arabic culture has influenced the Persian and Turkish cultures through Islam, affecting their languages, writing systems, art, architecture and literature. The Iranian culture influenced Iraq and Turkey (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture#Cultures_by_region; in Reisinger, 2009, pp. 91-92). The maximum cultural differences found between Asian and Western societies (Reisinger and Turner, 2003, p. 32).

TourismThe tourism industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and

is now well established as an object of social scientific study (Urry, 1990; Graburn, 1995; MacCannell, 1999; Chambers, 2000; in Wallace and Russell, 2004, p. 236).

‘Tourism,’ it is suggested, results from a basic binary division between the ordinary- every day and the extraordinary’ (Urry,2002,p.12), and deals with hierarchical oppositions, such as self/other, tourist/host, same/different, work/play (Worthington, 2005, p.227).The paradigm tourism theory, particularly of modern tourism is largely based on two types of hypothesis, namely: a) that routine everyday life in modernity is such that people want or need to get away from it; and b) the social space of tourism opposes the routine and offers extraordinary experiences that are missing and missed in everyday life(Franklin,2004,p.277). Cultural tourism specialist M.K Smith (2003,


p.1; in Hoffmann, 2013, p. 341) describes tourism is a composite discipline.Observably, it is highly structured and organized form of human activity. It is referred to, and refers to itself, as an industry. In reality, it is a collection of a number of different industries which both formally are brought together to service needs of society to travel (Xie, 2001, p.102).So, tourism is an industry of industries (Kunwar, 2012).

Virtually, the various definitions of tourism can be grouped into three categories: demand–based, supply-based, and integrated (Smith, 1990; inXie, 2001, p. 5). Demand-based definitions emphasize tourism as a human activity while ignoring industry-related aspects of tourism. Supply-based definitions focus on the provision of services to tourists. From this perspective, tourism is defined as “the aggregate of all businesses that directly provide goods and services to facilitate business, pleasure, and leisure activities away from the home environment” (Smith, 1988, p. 183; in Xie, 2001, p. 5). The third category, and integrated definition, combines both supply and demand sides of tourism and therefore exhibits greater variations in its content (Leiper, 1979; in Xie, 2001, p.5). Gunn, in his well-known book Tourism Planning (2002, p.9), recommends a simple definition that dramatizes the complexity of the task of defining tourism. The definition from Mathieson and Wall (1982, p. 1) is chosen by Gunn as the best working definition of tourism: Tourism is the temporary movement of people to destinations outside their normal places of work and residence, the activities undertaken during their stay in those destinations, and the facilities created to cater to their needs. Mathieson and Wall (1982, p. 1) also assert that the study of tourism is the study of people away from their usual habitat, of the establishments which respond to the requirements of travelers and of the impacts that they have on the economic, physical and social well-being of their hosts. Therefore, tourism can be viewed as a space-time convergence between host and guest.The tourism industry is a melting pot of guests and employees from diverse ethnic, cultural and social backgrounds (Baum, 2000, p. 119).

Cultural Tourism While writing about brief introduction to the concept of cultural tourism, Gali-

Espelt (2012, p. 46) writes, both culture and tourism are difficult concepts to define which makes it even more difficult to determine what constitutes cultural tourism and a cultural tourist. To add still further complications, “cultural tourism” is also a concept formed by two terms with many different meanings which can at times even appear contrary to one another. Some scholars think that cultural tourism is mild oxymoran (Xie, 2001). In their book, Cultural Tourism. The Relationship Between Tourism and Cultural Heritage Management, Bob McKercher and Hillary du Cros describe the current situation between these two fields as being an uneasy partnership: “Each sector has a different disciplinary focus and mandate, serves a different role in society, has diffrent political overloads, and is accountable to different stakeholders


groups”(2002, p.3). Likewise, Stebbins (1996, p.948) also describes cultural tourism “as a field without a theoretical home”. The question is, what is cultural tourism? As McKercher and du Cros (2002; in Richards, 2003; Smith et al., 2010, p. 30) observe: ‘this seemingly simple question is actually very difficult to answer because there are almost as many definitions.... of cultural tourism as there are cultural tourists’. The reason for this complex situation is relatively simple, however - the definition of culture itself is so difficult. (Raymond Williams 1976, 1983; in Richards, 2003; Smith et al., 2010, p. 30).However, despite the difficulties in systematizing these polysemous concepts, the contributions by many different authors and institutions that have looked into the matter mean that today these terms have a multitude of accepted views, interpretations and meanings (Gali-Espelt 2012, p. 46).

Tourism is undoubtedly a powerful agent of economic development driven in part by the search for cultural diversity and the ethnic identity of the ‘other’ (Van der Berge, 1994; Lanfant, Allcock and Bruner 1995).Culture entails an inner journey while tourism may entail also an outer journey, at in both there may be an experience of being somewhere else, and tourism can be a journey of otherness inside ourselves (Crouch and Ravenscroft, 2001; in Crouch, Aronsson and Wahlstron, 2001, p.264).The most frequently mentioned arguments supporting the view of a symbiotic relationship are based on mutual benefits. Since high costs are involved in the conservation of cultural heritage and the management of cultural facilities, tourism revenues are badly needed.

In fact, there has been a dramatic growth in cultural tourism research in recent decades as the search for cultural experiences has become one of the leading motivations for people to travel. The rapid expansion of cultural tourism has attracted the attention of a growing number of researchers and policy makers, vastly increasing the scope of cultural tourism research. Tourism research in general began to expand rapidly during the 1980s (Richards and Munsters, 2010, p. 2).

Richards and Munsters (2010, p.17) raise the question what is cultural tourism? In posing this basic question, a range of others began to emerge, including: What kinds of people engage in cultural tourism? Are these people different from other tourists? What kind of culture do they consume? What role does culture play in their decision to visit a particular place?

Wang and Wall (n.d.) cite the studies conducted by Prosser (2001) and Simpson (1993) who have shed light on the importance of culture in tourism. Likewise, Ashworth (1994) and Cheung (1991) have revealed cultural representation in tourism. Patterson (1976) and Ritchie and Zins (1978) propose that culture and tourism are combined in tourism development. Besides, Morgan and Pritchard (1998) call for further examination of the significance of culture in tourism, as cultural tourism, in reality, has often been simply commercialized.


It is generally agreed that the field of tourism is very diverse. In more recent times it has been subdivided into various special- interest subsections or niches due to the increased demand for individuality. Contrary to mass tourism which occurs in a world of “increasing sameness”, niche tourism implies that travel activities are more sophisticated (Novelli, 2005; in Hoffmann, 2013, p. 343). Therefore, special- interest tourism presents an opportunity to diversify and differentiate target markets and tourism offerings. In fact, this increasing demand for individuality gave rise to tourism typologies, as became evident in “tourism consumption patterns”. This clearly reflects “the continuously increasing diversity of leisure interests of the late- modern leisure society” (Trauer, 2006, p. 183; in Hoffmann, 2013, p. 343). As a result, new forms of tourism began emerging, which were able to meet the changing specialized needs of travelers (Trauer, 2006, p. 186).

Figure-2: The cultural tourism system

Source: Swarbrooke (1999)The concept of a “niche” is, however, in itself contested since it is a borrowed term.

In ecology, it refers to an optional location which provides the necessary resources to support an organism despite its competitors. In marketing the notion of niche is an interrelated concept of the “place in the market for a product” and “an audience for this product” (Novelli, 2005, p. 4). Thus produce can be tailor- made to meet the

Support Services

Shops

Restaurants and bars

Transport services

Accommodation

Cultural resources

Intermediaries: • D estination

marketing agencies• T our operators • R etail travel outlets• M edia

T ourists:• I ndividual • G roups


needs of a specific target market. Although the concept “niche” as applied to tourism is directly borrowed from the business terminology of a marketing niche, “niche tourism” as such refers to a specific theme or particular sector that encompasses the range of tourist related elements. In general, tourism can thus be subdivided to generate special interest travel options (Novelli, 2005, p. 6). Hereby, the tourism activities are planned around a hub or key element which is of interest in a particular region, destination or cultural sector. Special- interest or niche tourism is thus the “active involvement of travelers in the cultural and/or physical environment they are visiting” (Weiler and Hall, 1992, p. 5; in Hoffmann, 2013, p. 344). Hereby, one needs to distinguish between macro- and micro- niches in tourism. The former denotes the broader categories while the later focuses on more specific sub- categories specifically developed for the specialist which has been critically analyzed in the study of typology of cultural tourist. The size of niche travel (be it macro or micro) is indeterminable, but it is evident that it is increasingly popular in both international and particularly Western domestic travel. Thus niche tourism, as opposed to mass tourism, can be regarded as a growing segment, which means that more attention needs to be paid to the study of individual travel niches, especially within the context of humanities (Weiler and Hall, 1992, p. 6; in Hoffmann, 2013, p. 344).

Figure-3: Cultural Tourism Supply

Sources: Munters (2010, p.53 modified from Munters and de Klumbis, 2005, pp. 26-39)

Transportation Infrastructure

Accessibilit

y

Signpostin

g

Parking Facilities

Car

Coach

Train

Plane

Boat/Ship

Taxi

City Bus

Undergroun

d

Facilities and Service

s

NationalTourist Organizations

TouristAssociations

TravelAgencies

Tour Operators

Hotels

Holiday Parks

Camping Sites

Restaurants

Shops

Banks

Cafés &PubsInformation & Education

CulturalTourism

Supply


In predominantly ‘Western’ cultures leisure and tourism consumption serves as an arena for social differentiation and the expression of identity (Featherstone, 1990) in live of Bordieu’s (1984) notion of cultural capital (Ateljevic and Doome, 2003, p.141). In the field of tourism studies, branches such as cultural tourism and eco tourism (Cater and Lowman, 1994; Stronza, 2001) are recognized and contested domains (Wallace and Russell, 2004, p.236). Valene L. Smith (1989, pp.31-32) has classified tourism into two major types: first culture (cultural) tourism and second nature tourism. This paper concentrates only on cultural tourism.

Cultural tourism has experienced a very dynamic development in the past few years, including steady increases in journeys to exhibitions, performances, festivals and other cultural attractions, and culture becoming an ever more important travel motive. The tourism industry is one of the fastest-growing industry in the world is now well established as an object of social scientific study in the field of cultural tourism. “Depending on the sources and the destination, between 35 and 70 percent of international travellers are now considered cultural tourists [...] Based on these figures, as many of 240 million international journeys annually involve some elements of cultural tourism” (McKercher, and du Cros, 2002, p.1). According to OECD (2009), cultural tourism accounted for around 40% of all international tourism, or 360 million arrivals in 2007. Although it is often difficult to distinguish these ‘culturally motivated tourists’ from other travellers because of the growing tendency towards mixed holiday motives they are particularly desirable for destination seeking to attract ‘high quality’ tourism and high value tourists (Richards and Munsters, 2010, p.1).

Figure-4: Aspects of the dialectic of culture and tourism

Source: Prentice (2006, p.165)

Cultural effects on the management of tourism

Cultural impacts of tourism on tourists

Images held of destinations

Inter-relations of tourism

and culture

Management of culture for tourism

Impacts of tourism on thecultures of destinations

Cultural tourism

consumption


The concept of cultural tourism was first recognized by UNESCO in 1976. A joint World Bank and UNESCO focused on social and cultural impacts of tourism which was endorsed a gradualist approach to tourism development. The study emphasized that this would be even more important in small countries. A related implication, stated by de Kadt, is that the social interests of host communities are probably better served by facilities that are smaller in scale and widely dispersed, than by developments at a large scale. Cultural tourism is an alternative to mass tourism, and as a vehicle for urban and regional revitalization (Jansen-Verbeke, 1997, p. 237). Cultural tourism: Has the image of adding value to the tourist experience and hence is easily associated with ‘quality tourism’; Fits into the contemporary pattern of consumption tourism, ever in search of new products and experiences which yield a high satisfaction; Allows for wide product differentiation which is needed to meet the demands of a growing and segmented tourism market; Opens perspectives for new destinations which cannot benefit as ‘sun, sand and sea’ resources; Offers a solution for the problem of seasonality, fits in with the trend towards more active holidays, more environmentally sensitive activities, more short breaks, and added value for the business traveler (Jansen-Verbeke, 1997, p. 238).The fact that cultural tourism is gradually becoming an important market segment can easily be concluded from the shift in the motivation pattern of travelers (see in detail Robinson and Boniface, 1999:1-32; 287-305). Understanding other cultures, gaining new perspectives on life and visiting cultural historical and archaeological treasures are now becoming key motive.

Further, heritage and cultural tourism is one such macro- niche and as a broad umbrella term it is currently still one of the fastest growing and most popular tourism macro- niches (Timothy, 2011, p. 3; in Hoffmann, 2013, p. 344).When people engage in travel for purposes of exploring a specific aspect of heritage and cultural tourism in more detail, this macro- niche can be further segmented into specific niches such as literary tourism, film- induced tourism, ethnic tourism, historical tourism, museum tourism and arts tourism. Accordingly, it is clear that the category of a macro- niche can generally be subdivided into various special- interest fields or micro- niches which are “very precise small markets [ or fields] that would be difficult to split further” (Novelli, 2005, p. 6; McKercher and du Cros, 2002,p.6).

Richards(2003), Sigala and Leslie(2005), Smith, Macleod and Hart Robertson (2010, p. 30), Timothy and Nyaupane (2009) and Gali-Espelt (2011) all agree that cultural tourism is interchangeably used with heritage tourism, arts tourism and ethnic tourism.Although the micro- niches are closely related to each other these segments have got own recognition in the field of tourism as noted earlier. Heritage tourism focuses on historic attractions, buildings and objects, as well as intangible forms of culture such as the traditions and lifestyles of communities (Smith et al.,


2010, p. 93). Arts tourism refers to travel which is motivated by an interest in the performing and visual arts including opera, ballet, music and arts festivals (Smith et al., 2010, p.9). Ethnic tourism is defined as the component of cultural tourism which is “a form of recreation combining cultural and natural resources that is marketed to the public in terms of “quaint’ customs of indigenous and often exotic people”, and, on the other hand, the attractions of cultural tourism are “picturesque’ or ‘local color’, a vestige of a vanishing life style that lies within human memory” (Smith, 1989, p. 4).As heritage tourism and cultural tourism are interrelated and have many similarities as mentioned above, cultural tourist classifications would be worth considering (Nguyen and Cheung, 2014, p.38).

The prominent writer Wood (1984) suggested that the distinction between cultural and ethnic tourism can be seen from tourist behaviors: cultural tourism usually involves exposure to a culture in an indirect way, while ethnic tourism involves first-hand experience with the practice of another culture. The prime attraction for ethnic tourism is the cultural exoticism of the local population and their artifacts, and it constitutes an interesting special case of ethnic relations (Van den Berge and Keyes, 1994). Harron and Weiler (1991) emphasized that ethnic tourism constitutes a direct way for tourists to interact with people from indigenous cultures. According to Xie (2001, p. 10), ethnic tourism can be viewed as a specific form of cultural tourism. But an attempt in this paper has been made to focus mainly on cultural tourism considering as a major branch of tourism, although it does not ignore the significance of above mentioned sub-sets of cultural tourism.

One of the cornerstones of cultural tourism discourse derives from Hobsbawn and Ranger’s (1983) work on the ever -increasing nostalgia for the past. This nostalgia, they argue, begins with the desire, felt primarily by citizens of development countries, to run to the countryside, flee modernity and get back to a simpler way of life (Mac Cannell, 1992). It is manifested in tourist enterprise through two primary means: education and entertainment (Wallace and Russell,2004,p.236).The emergence of cultural and ethnic tourism amplifies the interaction between hosts and guests and therefore, provides both opportunities and challenges for indigenous people as tourism impinges upon their communities.

A number of researchers have tried to define cultural tourism by approaching it through a number of alternative ways. Cultural tourism specialist M. K. Smith describes it as “a composite discipline, hence one that necessitates an in-depth analysis of many relevant and contemporary social, political and ethical issues (2003, p.1; in Hoffmann, p.341).Existing tourism literature provides a wide range of definitions in the field of cultural tourism, but there is no consensus (Weiermair and Pechlaner, 2001, p.93).


It is Smith (1977/1989:2-3) who defined cultural tourism as ‘the absorption by tourists of features resembling the vanishing lifestyles of past societies observed through such phenomena as house styles, crafts, farming equipment and dress’. This study encouraged many scholars to conduct research on cultural tourism and provided many different definitions.

After the detailed study, Ritchie and Zins (1978, p. 257) have isolated twelve elements of culture which attract tourists to the particular destinations: (i) handicrafts (ii) language (iii) traditions (iv) gastronomy (v) art and music, concerts, paintings and sculpture (vi) history (vii) work and technology (viii) architecture (ix) religion (x) educational system (xi) dress (xii) leisure activities.

In 1985, the World Tourism Organization (WTO) defined cultural tourism as follows (Prohaska, 1995, p. 35; in Xie, 2001, p. 7): Cultural tourism may be defined in broad and narrow terms. In a narrow sense it includes movements of persons for essentially cultural motivation such as study tours, performing arts, travel to festivals, visits to sites and monuments, folklore, pilgrimages – in the broader sense, all movements of persons might be included in the definition because they satisfy the human needs for diversity, tending to raise the cultural level of the individual and giving rise to new knowledge, experience and encounters.

Stebbins while quoting Reisinger (1994, p.24) from an ethnographic perspective, definescultural tourism is “a genre of special interest tourism based on the search for and participation in new and deep cultural experiences, whether aesthetic, intellectual, emotional, psychological” (1996, p.948). Several cultural forms such as museums, galleries, festivals, architecture, historic ruins, artistic performances, and heritage sites routinely draw tourists. The forms are expressions or contain expressions of one or more fine, popular or folk arts, or one and more local lifestyles-folk, historical, or modern.

Silberberg (1995, p.361; in Sigala and Leslie, 2005), has defined cultural tourism as ‘visits by persons outside the host community motivated wholly or in part by interest in the historical, artistic, scientific or life style/ heritage offerings of a community, region, group or institution’. Fridgen (1991, p.221) also described cultural tourism from the visitors’ perspective, stating that ‘... for out sides, the culture of an area can represent an attraction in and of itself. This is sometimes called cultural tourism.’ Therefore, tourists interested in culture may seek exposure to local behavior and tradition, to different ways of life or to vestiges of a vanishing lifestyle. Yet tourism permits only selective exposure to other cultures.

Tighe (1991, p.387; in Sigala and Leslie, 2005) examined three components of cultural tourism: travel, the tourist and the sites. In particular, in terms of travel he stated that ‘cultural tourism is travel undertaken with historic sites, museums, the visual arts, and / or the performing arts as significant elements. In relation to the


cultural tourist, Tighe (1990, p.11; in Sigala and Leslie, 2005) argued that he is ‘…one who experiences historic sites, monuments, and buildings; visits museums and galleries; attends concerts and the performing arts; and is interested in experiencing the culture of the destination’. Hall and Zeppel (1990, p. 54; in Sigala and Leslie, 2005) defined cultural tourism from an experiential approach, stating that cultural tourism is an experience ‘... based on being involved in and stimulated by the performing arts, visual arts, and festivals’.

In addition, Hall and Zeppel (1990, p.54) observe a significant common element, between cultural tourism and heritage tourism, namely the experiential element, and went on to note that heritage tourism, whether in the form of visiting preferred landscapes, historic sites, buildings or monuments, is also experiential tourism ‘...in the sense of seeking an encounter with nature or feeling part of the history of the place’.

In their review of definitions, McKercher and du Cros (2002; in Richards, 2003) identified four different types of cultural tourism definitions: tourism derived definitions, motivational definitions, experiential or aspirational definitions and operational definitions. The experiential definitions say something about the nature of the cultural tourism experience, and essentially they are trying to understand the nature of cultural tourism in conceptual terms - what does it actually mean? The operational definitions concentrate on identifying cultural tourists, usually in order to measure the scale or scope of cultural tourism activity. The first definitional axis could therefore be termed the measurement-meaning axis. The tourism derived definitions essentially look at cultural tourism from the perspective of the tourism industry or the tourism system . Cultural tourism is simply one more market segment that utilizes the infrastructure of the tourist industry. In contrast, motivational definitions usually begin with the tourists themselves and their reasons for travel. These definitions therefore deal with the second ‘tourism-tourist’, or supply-demand axis. It seems almost impossible to ascribe absolute parameters either to the resources used or to the tourist using them. In fact cultural tourism has become an umbrell term for a wide range of related activities, including historical tourism, arts tourism, and others.

Cultural aspects of tourism are considered to cover all those aspects of travel whereby people learn each other’s way of life and thought. Personal International contacts have always been an important way of spreading ideas about other cultures. There is a wide consensus about art, music and history as media of cultural tourism; but in other areas such as religion, industrial heritage, gastronomy, events and festivals, architecture, and so on the definition of cultural tourism moves into a grey zoon (Prentice, 1993; in Jansen-Verbeke, 1997:240).


One of the most complete definitions is that provided by Donaire (2008; in Gali-Espelt, 2012, p. 47), who identifies six different meanings of the term cultural tourism: (a) Cultured tourism. The condition of cultural is given by the attitude. According to the author, a cultural attitude is not achieved by looking at a cultural object, but rather by looking at an object ‘in a cultured way’. Therefore, the object of the tourist gaze is not as important as the attitude of the tourist. The differentiating element is the capacity to read and interpret the cultural code of the place visited. (b) Monumental tourism (or culture tourism). In this case, the condition of cultural is awarded by the element and not the attitude. (c) Heritage tourism. This is tourism that evokes the past. In the words of the author ‘any act of heritage tourism is actually a way of projecting the legends of the past onto its objects’ (Donaire, 2008, p. 31; in Gali-Espelt, 2012, p. 47). (d) Ethnological tourism (or the tourism of cultures). In this case, the visitor’s interest lies in becoming more familiar with the diverse manifestations of the local culture, whether tangible or intangible: rituals, festivals, handicrafts, cuisine, for example. (e) ‘Touristified’ culture. The merchandising of culture. That is, cultural tourism that converts culture into merchandise. With regard to this, the author explains the two great criticisms of cultural tourism: (1) the banality of mass cultural tourism or, in other words, the selling of culture as a good for mass consumption; and (2) the creation of artificial cultural sites for consumption by the visitors. Richards and Wilson (2006; in Gali-Espelt, 2012, p. 48) also comment that globalization processes are leading to the increased mass reproduction of cultural attractions and the merchandising of the cultural tourism product. (f) The extraordinary trip. This final meaning is the antithesis of the previous one. Here, tourism and culture share a common element: an experience that cannot be had every day. Two paths for arriving at the same point: veneration of the sacred object, transcending daily life, symbolic connotation or the aesthetic experience.

Richards (1996, 2010, p. 15) proposes two definitions of cultural tourism for his research for ATLAS (the Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research). These are: Technical definition: ‘all movements of persons to specific cultural attractions, such as museums, heritage sites, artistic performances and festivals outside their normal place of residence’. Conceptual definition: ‘the movement of persons to cultural manifestations away from their normal place of residence, with the intention to gather new information and experiences to satisfy their cultural needs’. However, these definitions do not take into consideration culture as a way of life of people, but Richards later definition (2001a, p. 7; in Smith et al., 2010, p. 30) is more comprehensive, suggesting that cultural tourism covers not just the consumption of the cultural products of the past, but also of contemporary culture or ‘the way of life’ of a people or region. Cultural tourism can therefore be seen as covering both ‘heritage tourism’ (related to artefacts of the past) and ‘arts


tourism’ (related to contemporary cultural production). Richards also argues that cultural tourism does not only represent passive consumption, that is, only looking at historic sites, museum collections, paintings or theatre performances. Many tourists are increasingly becoming interested in ‘creative tourism’, which involves participation in cultural activities (e.g. painting, photography, crafts, dancing, cookery).

Supporting Richard’s view, Littrell (1997; in Richards, 2003) defines, ‘culture can be viewed as comprising what people think (attitudes, beliefs, ideas and values), what people do (normative behavior patterns, or way of life) and what people make (artworks, artefacts, cultural products)’. Culture is therefore composed of processes (the ideas and way of life of people) and the products of those processes (buildings, artefacts, art, customs, and ‘atmosphere’).Looking at culture in this way, cultural tourism is not just about visiting sites and monuments, which has tended to be the ‘traditional’ view of cultural tourism, but it also involves consuming the way of life of the areas visited. Both of these activities involve the collection of new knowledge and experiences. Cultural tourism can therefore be defined as: ‘The movement of persons to cultural attractions away from their normal place of residence, with the intention to gather new information and experiences to satisfy their cultural needs’ (Richards, 1996).

Again, Cultural tourists do not necessarily consider themselves more interested in culture, but they are consuming more high culture as their capacity to interpret it grows. Cultural objects are important to the study of human history because they provide a concrete basis for ideas, and can validate them. Their preservation demonstrates recognition of the necessity of the past and of the things that tell its story. Another major cultural trend that has been important in the growth of the heritage industry has been the growth of nostalgia. Nostalgia is a universal catchword for looking back. David Lowenthal says, “If the past is a foreign country nostalgia had made it a foreign country with the healthiest visitor trade of all” (1985, p.4; in Chhabra et al. 2003, p. 705).The increasing pace of life and the feeling of disorientation and loss associated with modernity have ensured that the preservation of the past has become big business (Richards, 2003). This is proven by the concept of Katriel (1993), “Our Future Is Where Our Past Is”. Many commentators have argued that as people get older, their feelings of nostalgia increase, and they are more likely to visit heritage attractions related to their own past. It seems that the combination of nostalgia for the past, the need to reassert national and local identities and the perceived economic benefits of cultural development have had a dramatic effect on the supply of cultural attractions. In addition to the demand factors driving cultural tourism growth, there have been a number of important drivers that related to the supply of cultural attractions (Richards, 2003).

Smith (2009: 23; in Smith et al., 2010, p. 31) therefore suggests the following definition of cultural tourism: Passive, active and interactive engagement with


culture(s) and communities, whereby the visitor gains new experiences of an educational, creative, and/ or entertaining nature. This definition reflects the shift towards more active and interactive forms of cultural tourism....

Though all above mentioned definitions are equally important in the field of cultural tourism, up till now almost the leading scholars of cultural tourism have followed the definitions of cultural tourism defined by Richards (1996, 2001a, 2010) because he emphasizes both on nostalgia and the contemporary culture or ‘the way of life’ of the people or region.

Consequently, discussions about the growth of cultural tourism have ranged from the highly theoretical to extremely practical approaches. Richards (2003) outlines one of the most important theoretical issues, namely the development of culture and tourism in (post) modern societies. In theoretical terms, the relationship between tourism and culture illustrates that the current cultural tourism market represents the latest phase in a long standing process of convergence between culture and tourism. In the past, culture and tourism were seen as being separate spheres of social practice, undertaken by distinct social groups at specific times. As Urry (1995; in Richards, 2003) has noted, however, the barriers between culture and tourism are disappearing as a result of two parallel processes:

1) The culturalisation of society and 2) The culturalisation of tourist practices. The first point explains about everyday life which is increasingly characterized by a de-differentiation of previously distinct social and cultural spheres, with the emergence of an economy of signs, the convergence of ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture, ‘art’ and ‘life’. Objects and people have become increasingly mobile, and boundaries between previously distinct cultures are increasingly being eliminated. The second point talks about tourism which has attained a greater cultural content, most obviously through the growth of cultural tourism, but also through the increasing significance of signs in the production of tourist sites. Not only do tourists consume a wide range of signs during their holidays, but the signs attached to travel are increasingly produced and circulated by the cultural industries. The production and consumption of signs and symbols obviously forms an important part of both of these processes of the culturalisation of tourism. Richards (2003) argues that tourism itself has become a culture, or a ‘way of life’ to quote the most frequent usage of the term. If tourism, like other sectors of social life, is becoming more cultural and is itself becoming a form of culture, is it still possible to talk about a distinct form of ‘cultural tourism’?

In terms of demand, one of the most important arguments advanced is that there is an increased interest in culture in society as a whole. This obviously links to the idea of the culturalisation of society. However, recent research on cultural tourism in the Netherlands has tended to suggest that tourists are not particularly


any more interested in culture than they were in the past. De Haan (1997) argues that more tourists are visiting cultural attractions today simply because there are more tourists, not because tourists in general are any more ’culturally interested’. Perhaps a more convincing argument is that levels of ’cultural capital’ or cultural competence have increased in society as education levels have risen (in Richards, 2003). Conclusively, it could be said that cultural tourism by definition is a force for cultural preservation.

Conceptual definitions are concerned with the nature of the cultural tourism phenomenon, and in particular tend to concentrate on what motivates the tourist to visit cultural attractions. For example, McIntosh and Goeldner (1986) consider cultural tourism as comprising “all aspects of travel, whereby travelers learn about the history and heritage of others or about their contemporary ways of life or thought”. In other words, cultural tourists are motivated to learn about the products and processes of other cultures.

In short, resource based definitions tend to start from the premise that all people visiting cultural attractions are cultural tourists, so cultural tourism can be understood through a consideration of the resources involved. In particular these definitions tend to emphasize the range of different types of cultural attractions. This has the advantage of illustrating the scope and diversity of the cultural tourism product, but often so many different types of attractions are lumped together that it is still difficult to say what cultural tourism is.

A typical example comes from ECTARC (1989), which enlists and defines the resources involved in cultural tourism as:

a. Archaeological sites and museums b. Architecture (ruins, famous buildings, whole towns) c. Art, sculpture, crafts, galleries, festivals, eventsd. Music and dance (classical, folk, contemporary) e. Drama (theatre, films, dramatists) f. Language and literature study, tours, events g. Religious festivals, pilgrimages h. Complete (folk or primitive) cultures and sub-cultures. A similar approach is adopted by Munsters (1996; in Richards, 2003) who classifies

a wide range of cultural tourism attractions in the Netherlands and Belgium in the following way: Attraction (Monuments, Museums, Routes, Theme parks) and Events (Cultural-historic events, Art events, Events and Attractions).


According to Smith et al. (2010, p. 30), cultural tourism could be defined as tourism that focuses on cultural attractions, activities and practices as major motivating factors for travel. It can include a number of sub-sectors such as Heritage Tourism, Art Tourism and Indigenous Tourism. In cultural tourism, the tourists are not considered as change agents. Rather this form of tourism plays an important role for cultural preservation and cultural revitalization. In this kind of tourism both the material and non-material culture attracts the tourists and the tourists do not destroy the tourism.

Similarly, Lea (1988) presents three major forms of culture which attract visitors: 1. Forms of culture which are inanimate or which do not directly involve human

activity. Tourists visiting places of unique architecture and art, historical buildings and monuments, and purchasing traditional arts and crafts are notable examples;

2. Forms of culture reflecting the normal daily life of a destination. Visiting ‘foreign’ peoples to observe their normal social, economic and leisure activities in an attempt to understand their lifestyle, ideologies and customs is a common tourist motivation;

3. Forms of culture which are especially animated and may involve special events or depict historic or famous occurrences. Examples include musical, festivals, carnivals, festivals reflecting old traditions and behavior, reenactments of battles and displays of old machinery.

Cultural tourism is often cited as a growth industry and a sector of tourism which is becoming more diverse. It is therefore necessary to consider some sub-sectors or sub-segments of the product and the market. Hughes (1996) differentiates between ‘universal’, ‘wide’, ‘narrow’ and ‘sectorised’ cultural tourism, these definitions correspond broadly to perceiving culture as a whole way of life; to engaging with specific ethnic or indigenous groups; to experiencing the ‘artistic and intellectual’ activities of a society; and to visiting specific heritage attractions or arts venues.

The tourists come to see the glories of the past and to enjoy the beauties of the present. The more perfectly preserved the monuments, the more vital the living traditions, and the more pristine the natural environment attracts the more tourists: means the more profit. The more profit brings the more local motivation to preserve the monuments to keep the traditions alive and to keep the environment pure. It is a benevolent circle, a process in which both visitors and residents ultimately win. Therefore, a cultural tourist is a person who undertakes journey especially with a view to having a look on and study of cultural resources of the region. Thus the resources which mainly comprise cultural tourism may be categorized under:


Cultural landscape and distinctive cultural aspects

Settlement pattern, life style, dresses and jewelry, folk traditions, folk songs etc. legends, and local cuisines.

Local Art/ Craft Art and architecture, sculptures and paintings, folk dance/music and musical instruments, and local craftsmanship.

Fairs/Festivals Fairs-religious, religious-cum-cultural, specific local fairs, commercial/trade/craft various popular festivals and mode of their celebration.

Historical/Archaeological heritage

Monumental heritage-forts, palaces, temples and mosques of historical and artistic value, ancient ruins, museums, excavation sites and other places of archaeological importance and sites of important historical events.

Typology of Cultural TouristsAs cultural tourism has been studied and defined by several scholars, they have

also classified cultural tourists into several types which are based on the research carried out in different parts of the world. The way they have developed typology has become impetus to understand cultural tourist and cultural tourism in better way.

The cultural tourist is often presented in the scientific literature as the type of tourist motivated by tourism consumption (Richards, 1996). However, not all cultural tourists ‘consume’ culture in the same way. Some tourists have a more superficial and even accidental contact, others more profound one (Silberberg, 1995). Furthermore, many authors coincide in presenting the cultural tourist as the tourist who comes into contact with culture, whether more by accident, more as an adjacent activity of more specifically desired (McKercher du Cros, 2002; Silberberg, 1995). In this respect, what distinguishes and establishes categories of cultural tourists in their degree of cultural interest.

According to Cohen (1979) and Smith, (1989), typology can be identified regularities, but should be conceived as describing different tourist practice rather than types of people ,as roles adopted rather than social categories made manifest (Edensor, 2001,pp.59-60).Both practitioners and academics consider tourist classification as an effectiveway to bring about deeper understanding of tourists and to explain, or even predict, their behavior (Isaac, 2008; in Nguyen and Cheung, 2014, p.37).

Various scholars have shown that different groups of cultural/heritage tourists have indeed diverse motivations, behaviors and seek dissimilar experiences (McKercher, 2002; Prentice, 1993). Therefore, it is deemed as vital to identify and understand


heritage tourists’ typologies, their motives, behaviors, perceptions and experiences in order to deal efficiently with visitor management plans and marketing strategies (Nguyen and Cheung, 2014, p.37). In short, it can be said that culture is a dynamic concept that varies in time and space, and therefore may admit a multitude of diverse parameters. Although there is a certain general consensus in defining cultural tourism as tourism motivated by the consumption of culture, some question marks and differences in criteria appear when it comes to identifying practices characteristic of cultural tourism, that is, when it is necessary to identify cultural consumption (consumption of heritage, doing cultural activities, having cultural experiences) (in Gali-Espelt, 2012, p. 47).

Shaffer (2004; in Burns and O’Regan, 2008, p. 153) proposes a distinction between ‘culture back packers’ and ‘leisure backpackers’ while Urry (2002) distinguishes between two types of gaze: the solitary ‘romantic’ gaze and the collective gaze. Jansson’s (2006), using Ateljevic’s (2000; in Burns and O’Regan, 2008, p. 153) ‘circuits of tourism’ framework of social structuration, identifies certain lifestyle patterns among travelers and their use of technology, namely: the adventure; the immersive; and the performative or traditional traveler; each relating to technologies in different way. The immersive traveler share many features with those drifters or psychocentric travelers described by Plog and the cosmopolitan mobility portrayed by Lash and Urry (1994, p. 309; in Burns and O’Regan, 2008, p. 153). The identified features including ‘extensive patterns of real and simulated mobility’ and a: Curiosity about all places, peoples and cultures and at least a rudimentary ability to match such places and cultures historically, geographically and anthropologically; an openness to other people and culture and a willingness/ability to appreciate some elements of the language/culture of the place that is being visited; a willingness to take risk by virtue of moving outside the tourist environmental bubble…(Lash and Urry 1994, p.309).Finally, Jansson describes the performative (traditional) traveler who travels in a contextual mode emphasizing leisure activities and social events over cultural authenticity.

In some cases a distinction is made between two broad types of cultural tourist according to whether their cultural motivation is primary or secondary. In this respect, Asworth and Turnbridge (1990; in Gali-Espelt, 2012, p.48) refer to the intentional cultural tourist, that is, the visitor drawn to the different cultural attractions at a destination: and the incidental cultural tourists, whose main motivation for travelling is not the cultural attractions themselves, their serving merely as a complimentary attraction. Hughes (2000, p.5; in Pechlaner and Abfalter, 2005, p.40) differentiates between culture-core tourists and culture-peripheral tourists, the first being a more exclusive audience being primarily motivated by culture, the latter being tourists who visit some aspect of culture during a visit to a destination but do not regard culture as an attraction in its own right. This distinction, also made between generalist and


specialist cultural tourists (Richards, 1996,p. 270), is crucial as the market segments may vary significantly. Only a minority of cultural tourists would consider themselves as specialists or culture core.

The segment of the culture-core tourist or specialist or cultural tourist, in particular, is very attractive to tourism markets, being associated with people higher levels if income and education, who are middle aged and rarely travel with children. They also seem to be less dependent on tourism seasons and show more respect and sensitivity towards the customs and environments of a destination (Pechlaner and Abfalter, 2005, p.40).

Along the same lines, the anthropologist Santana (2003; in Gali-Espelt, 2012, p. 49) makes the following dual distinction: that of ‘real cultural tourist’, that is, one who has a primary interest in culture (to discover, be amazed by the whole and surprised by the details); and that of ‘free time consumers of cultural heritage’, that is, those for whom culture is not the principal motivation of the trip, but for whom it becomes an additional element. Santana (2003) also considers ‘real’ cultural tourists, in the way they travel, to share the characteristic and differential traits of the nineteenth-century romantic traveler: individualism; a taste for ruralism; an interest in ancient history and culture and ways of life; the desire to form part, temporarily, of the local community; a fervent desire to learn more about the past and present of a place, for example. As can be deduced from the above, the notion of cultural tourist according to Santana (2003) comes close to the romantic concept of the traveler (who has a clearly cultural attitude) and is clearly distinguished from the ‘accidental’ cultural tourist, who displays an attitude which is not very cultural in nature.

Anton (1996; in Gali-Espelt, 2012, p. 49) incorporates a new type: tourists who visit cultural sites for the social prestige of having visited them. He therefore refers to three broad groups: that of motivated tourists (who choose the destination according to cultural opportunities); the group of inspired tourists (who choose the destination based on its international recognition) and the group of attracted tourists (those who may at a given time feel attracted by culture, even though it is not their primary motivation).

Hughes (2002; in Gali-Espelt, 2012, p. 49) also categorizes cultural tourists into four groups: the primary cultural tourists, the multi-primary cultural tourists (corresponding to the partially motivated in Silberberg’s proposal), the incidental cultural tourists (corresponding to Silberberg’s adjacent tourists) and the accidental. This time the classification is according to interest.

Silberberg (1995, in Nguyen and Cheung, 2014, p.17) presents four groups according to their degree of cultural motivation: the highly motivated group, the partially motivated group, adjacent cultural tourists (who consider culture to be an


adjacent element) and accidental cultural tourists (although they have no interest in culture they end up doing some cultural activity).Typologically they are labeled as greatly cultural tourists, in part cultural tourists, adjunct cultural tourists, and accidental cultural tourists. Accidental cultural tourists include people traveling without planning or intention to go to a cultural attraction, ending up taking the cultural opportunities accidentally. Adjunct cultural tourists are people for whom culture is an ‘adjunct’ motivation. People who travel for both cultural opportunities and additional reasons are considered as in part cultural tourists. Ultimately, people who travel specifically because of opportunities to enjoy theater, museums and cultural festivals and are greatly motivated by culture are called greatly cultural tourists.

In an analysis based on direct observation of visitors to the Old Town of the monumental city of Girona (Spain), Galı´ and Donaire (2006; in Gali-Espelt, 2012, p. 49) identify four models of cultural tourist according to their behavior: (1) those who are not cultural in any way, as they show no interest in culture. Their contact with culture is completely accidental; (2) ritualists, so named because they follow the rules of a standard cultural visit. The ritual is the unwritten code that guides visitors and corresponds to a series of universal elements; it is essentially a socializing act, an individual reproduction of socially acceptable behavior; (3) those interested in culture. Displaying a greater predisposition towards culture than the aforementioned, their experience is more intense. Experience is the individual capacity to connect with the essence of heritage above and beyond universal parameters; and (4) the erudite, who are those who show a great interest in culture and distance themselves significantly from the rules of the standard visit; their cultural experience is even more intense (longer visiting time, more nodes visited, more time spent at each node, a more contemplative and analytical attitude). It can be said that the four proposed categories also distinguish between two broad groups: those who have incidental contact and those who have desired contact. The motivation may be more primary or more secondary, more superficial or more profound.

McKercher and du Cros (2002; in Smith et al., 2010, p. 32) suggest five types of cultural tourist: (1)the purposeful cultural tourist, for whom culture is a primary motivator and who seeks a deep cultural experience; (2) the sightseeing cultural tourist, who travels for cultural regions but seeks a shallower experience; (3) the serendipitous cultural tourist, who is not primarily motivated by culture, but who gets into a deep cultural experience by chance; (4) the casual cultural tourist, for whom cultural is a week motivating factor and who seeks a shallow experience; (5) the incidental cultural tourist, for whom cultural is not a stated motive, but who does visit cultural attractions. However, because of its diversity and complexity, cultural tourism perhaps best be divided into a number of sub-sectors or typologies. These might include heritage tourism, arts tourism, creative tourism and indigenous tourism.


As far as cultural interests and the activities of tourists are concerned, a simple threefold typology can be applied (Bywater, 1993; Jansen-Verbeke, 1997, p. 239).

1. The culturally motivated tourist: This person selects a holiday destination reflecting the interest in the cultural facilities offered in the destination area. Such tourists are highly motivated to learn and to benefit from each opportunity, and they will spend several days in a particular destination (city or region) and circulate, well prepared and with a professional tour guide. This ideal cultural tourist only represents a small minority. According to a European survey in 1993 the market share would account for about 5 per cent of the so-called market of cultural tourists.

2. The culturally inspired tourist: Special cultural themes will attract this group; they will visit well known sites of culture, major exhibitions and festivals. They travel around and pick up experiences in many places, and never stay long in one place. With this type an element of mass tourism is evident when visiting places such as Venice, Athens, Canterbury Cathedral, etc. All want to see the same places, and mainly because of this kind of cultural tourist, visitor management policies become an important issue. According to many forecasts, a growing number of travelers will belong to this type of ‘culture consumer’.

3. The culturally attracted tourist: The tourist, while holidaying at a coastal or mountain resort, sees an occasional visit to a city or historical site in the hinterland - a visit to a museum, church or monument - as a welcome diversion in the holiday program. The destination is not chosen because of these facilities, but once there these opportunities may be enjoyed very much. Because more active holidays are currently getting fashionable, it is very likely that this pattern of cultural pastime will spread. Particularly for this group of tourists, cultural attractions need to be packaged, marketed as part of an arrangement and embedded in a lively urban environment. It is clear that this too is a growing market segment (Jansen-Verbeke, 1997, p. 239).

Stebbins claims, without any supporting data, that there is a general dabbler and a specialized cultural tourist. The former, it is argued, makes a hobby of visiting a range of cultural (including ethnic) tourism products such as art performances, festivals, and attractions across different geographical settings. By way of contrast, the suggested specialist cultural tourist focuses on a small number of attractions or ethnic products and visits them repeatedly. Stebbins further suggests that both types are inclined to “eschew the commercial husk surrounding their subject of study” (1996, p. 950).


Tourism Culture In tourism, one can distinguish among different types of culture: tourist culture,

host culture, and tourism culture. The tourist culture refers to the country culture that tourist bring with them when visiting other countries, whether for business or for vacations. The tourist culture influences and contributes to explaining tourist behavior (see in detail Clarke and Chen, 2007, p. 49). However, since tourists behave different when they are away from home, the tourist culture depends on the “residual culture”, which explains how tourists from different cultures behave (Jafari, 1987; in Reisinger, 2009, p. 104). Also, since both “touristic cultures” (the culture of groups of tourists, back packers, etc.) and national cultures influence tourists of different national cultures, it is important to understand the extent to which “touristic cultural” are free of national cultures and are reflected in the behavior of all tourists regardless of nationality (Pizam, 1999; cited in Pizam and Mansfield, 1999; in Reisinger, 2009, p. 104). Host culture is the culture of the host country with which tourists are in contact (Jafari, 1987). It is the national culture of those who provide local offerings and services to tourists. Tourism culture refers to the outcome of the behavior of all participants involved in the tourism process, that is, the behavior of tourists and those who offer tourism and hospitality products and services. Tourism cultural is a result of mixing together tourist, host, and residual cultures. It is a special type of culture created at each destination. Tourism culture is distinct from everyday culture of tourists and hosts because tourists and host behave differently from the way in which they behave at home, without the presence of the other group (Jafari, 1987; in Reisinger, 2009, p. 104).

To facilitate the knowledge about the aspect of tourism culture, first and foremost, one should go through to facilitate the three distinct perspectives which emerges where worker and tourist roles inevitably converge and interact. Though the perspectives are not new, they rarely seem to have been applied in the context of hotels and resorts. The first perspective, derived from the work of Homi Bhabha (1994) and Hollinshead (1998), conceives of tourism culture as hybrid in nature, operating in a ‘third space’ between tourist and ‘host,’ and directs attention to the uncertain and negotiated aspects of tourism culture. In the second, that of the socio-technical system(Pasmore, Francis, Haldeman, and Shani,1982;Trist,1981; Ball,Jones, Kirkand Lockwood, 2003; in Harrison and Lugosi, 2013, p.10), tourism culture is seen as an interface between, on the one hand, the formal operational rules and procedures designed to deliver an organization’s mission and, on the other hand, the on-going and lived-in cultures brought into the ‘system’ by tourists and the hospitality providers. The third perspective, that of the total institution derived from Goffman (1968), or ideal type of total institution (Weber, 1949, pp.90-102; in Harrison and Lugosi, 2013, p.10), focuses to the social and physical boundaries that separate the


hotel or resort from the outside world and on the cultural practices that serve to further differentiate it and its population from the outside (Harrison & Lugosi, 2013, p.1). Goffman did not focus on institutions specializing in providing hospitality but others have recognized the prevalence of social control in many aspects of hospitality and tourism (Cheong and Miller, 2000; Lynch, Germann Molz, McIntosh, Lugosi and Lashley (2011) but Ritzer and Riska note a ‘softer’ form of control in cruise ships and hotels (1997,p.106;in Harrison and Lugosi,2013,p.10).

However, more specifically, ‘tourism culture’ used here to denote a way of life that characteristics the physical and social interface at which tourists and residents meet one another in settings where commercial hospitality is provided. Following Ryan (1991), tourism cultures have a number of, involving a temporary spatial-temporal distinction from everyday norms and cultural practices, where leisured, hedonistic consumption is central to the consumer experience. Within service encounters, cultural symbols draw on various stereotypes and caricatures; interactions in between tourists and frontline staff involve shifting superior/inferior relationships; frontline staff and tourists do not fully conform to the habits or norms of their usual peer groups, and communication between tourists and staff may be through intermediaries and partly-spoken languages (Harrison & Lugosi, 2013, p.2-3).

Cultural Tourism Experiences A central assumption of the experience economy is that the consumers need and

demand new aspects of product and services. They want “to experience something”, which challenges the producers to offer experiences – such as added value through additional services or core products or services (Pine and Gilmore, 1999). Tourism literature shows that people visit away from their home is for new experience and change (Smith, 1989, p.1). Tourism is an industry where experience has long been vital for its consumers. Experience has also been linked with satisfaction with the product and willingness to pay. Pine and Gilmore’s (1999) work, which explicitly operationalises the concept of the experience economy in terms of four main dimensions: education, escapism, esthetics and entertainment.

Pine and Gilmore (1999) opine that, experiences are “events that engage the individual in a personal way.” In a Danish report (ODA, 2006, p.30; in Mehmetoglu and Engen, 2011, p.241) find the following definition: “An experience arises in a relation or in a dialectical relation between subject and object, both of which will have an impact on what is experienced. An experience is something extraordinary and stands out from [merely] experiencing.”This definition implies that a person experiencing something does not necessarily mean an experience has taken place. Boswijk et al. (2007; in Mehmetoglu and Engen, 2011, p.241) also follow the same path by offering a similar distinction between “experiencing,” and “meaningful


experiences.” Meaningful experiences go beyond those that are merely memorable, and are related to the sum of our interactions with our environment and the lessons we learn from these during the process of experiencing (Boswijk et al., 2007, p. 20). The term “memorable” is incidentally, a key factor in Pine and Gilmore’s (1999) scheme of the staging and creation of experiences as well.

Mossberg (2003; in Mehmetoglu and Engen, 2011, p.241), for instance, has proposed a model built upon the assumptions that an experience is a process for a customer, that the staff and fellow customers (social dimension) are part of the context (experiencescape), and that interactions taking place between these elements all affect the customer’s emotions, absorption, and control.

As Lofgren (1999, pp.6-7; in Franklin, 2003, p.114.) puts it we might […] view vacationing as a cultural laboratory where people have been able to experiment with new aspects of identities, their social relations or their interactions with nature and also to use the important culture’s skills of daydreaming and mind travelling. Here is an area in which factory has become an important social practice.

Erik Cohen suggested that there are five different modes of touristic experience, ranging from superficial journeys in search of mere pleasure to profound journeys in search of meaning. These he calls the ‘Recreational Mode’, the ‘Diversionary Mode’, the ‘Experiential Mode’, the ‘Experimental Mode’ and the ‘Existential Mode’ (1979b, pp. 182-193). The destination in order to maintain its attraction for visitors needs to maintain its appeal through offering icons of what visitors want to experience (Xie, 2006, p.126).

Accordingly, for measuring the extent to which cultural visits incorporate these different experience realms, questions were devised to operationalize them. The questions were developed by studying the concept as described by Pine and Gilmore (1999) and also through discussion within the ATLAS Cultural Tourism Research Group (Richards and Munsters, 2010, p. 24). The final statements, as mentioned by Richards and Munsters, devised for the ‘experience scale’ were: This experience has increased my knowledge (education); This experience has stimulated my curiosity (education); It was very pleasant being here (aesthetic); This is an attractive place (aesthetic); There are lots of interesting things to see (entertainment); The people here are fun to be with (entertainment); This place feels very different (escapist); I completely escaped from reality here (escapist).

Cultural Tourism and Hospitality Hospitality has moved from being a topic simply for thematic investigation

directly or indirectly for the study of management to one that also locates the study of hospitality as a significant means of exploring and understanding society. Hospitality, in the narrow sense, can be thought of as gestures of welcoming that are


manifested in offers of shelter, food, and drink, combined with various levels of social interaction, which emerge in private, social or commercial settings (Brotherton, 1999; in Lashley and Morrison, 2000). Such transactions involve performances of self and the reproduction of established social and cultural norms, but hospitality may enable the construction of new alternative forms of sociality (Bell, 2007; Germann Molz, 2007, Lugosi, 2009). Hospitality has a physical dimension: the body is central to its production, for example, in the preparation of food or drink or in the gestures that come to embody hospitableness, and the multi-sensuality of food and drink places the body centrally within its consumption. There is also a broader materiality to hospitality: alongside food and drinks, paraphernalia such as crockery, cutlery, drinking vessels, furnishings, macrowaves, kettles or cold-water dispensers shape social practice (Lugosi, 2014).

A central theme shared between tourism studies explores encounters between people who are “strangers” to each other. This encounter involves the movements of a mobile actor (the guest) into the home territory of a static host (Bell, 2009, p.20). From a hospitality subject perspective, the seeds were first sown in discussions that informed In Search of Hospitality edited by Conrad Lashley and Alison Morrison in 2000. This gave birth of several other hospitality literatures such as: Hospitality A Social Lens edited by Conrad Lashley, Paul Lynch and Alison Morrison(2007); Mobilizing Hospitality edited by Jennie Germann Molz and Sarah Gibson (2007); The Sage Handbook of Hospitality Management edited by B. Brotherton and R.C. Wood (2008); The Origins of Hospitality and Tourism written by Kevin D O’ Gorman published (2010);Extending Hospitality: Giving Space, Taking Time edited by Mustafa Dikec, Nigel Clark and Clive Barnett published in (2009); and R.C. Wood (2014). Key Concepts in Hospitality Management. All those literatures have shown that hospitality itself is the object of the study. Up till now, the contributors are from different disciplines such as cultural theory, geography, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, theology, linguistics, applied business and management who have made significant contributions to advancing the understanding hospitality in commercial and non- commercial sector. Lugosi (2014), in this regard, distinguishes the overall studies into three disciplinarian domains: applied business and management; the social sciences; and philosophy.

A central theme shared between tourism studies explores encounters between people who are strangers to each other. This encounter involves the movement of a mobile actor (the guest) into the home territory of a static host (Bell, 2009, p.20).The publication in the 1977 of Valene L. Smith’s influential collection Hosts and Guests: The Anthropology of Tourism established hospitality and the related concepts of hosts and guests as a foundational structure through which to understand the social interactions between tourists and local residents in both commercial and non-


commercial settings. The contributions to the collection, drawn primarily from the field of anthropology, shifted the focus of tourism studies away from the tourist and towards the broader relational aspects of tourism. From this perspective, the impacts of tourism on local people, places and cultures and the often unequal relationships between hosts and guests were made visible (Lynch et al., 2011, p. 6).

Aramberri (2001, pp.746-747) subsequently suggested that the host should ‘get lost’, arguing that the commercial interactions now common in tourism contravene ‘the world covenant’ of hospitality. On the contrary, he proposes, local people and tourists are more accurately described as ‘service providers’ and ‘customers’ than as host and guest. He argues that the modern experience no longer content these elements of exchange and obligation. This approach reframes the nature of the relationship between the host and guest and has given a greater emphasis to the economic rather than social side of the exchange. In this regard, Paul Slattery (2002) believes that hotels, restaurants, bars and the other hospitality venues are businesses where the critical relationship is sellers and buyers. The buyers are not guest they are customers. The relationship is not philanthropic, it is economic.

According to Nettekoven (1979; in Reisinger, 2009, p. 205) the host can be local residents, indigenous residents, investors, developers and those who provide a service to tourists (e.g. hoteliers, front office employees, waiters, shop assistants, custom officials, tour guides, tour managers, and taxi and bus drivers). The service providers are often called “professional hosts”. In the context of writing tourism and hospitality, David Bell (2009, p. 29) has also mentioned about the status of the host and guest. As he writes, the host is static, fixed, rooted, while the guest is footloose, on the moves, rootless. This asymmetry defines the very ‘host-ness’ of the host and the ‘guest-ness’ of the guest. The host is at home, either literally in his house or more broadly in his homeland; the guest is an incomer, a visitor, a stranger (Bell, 2007, p.29). The binary “host-guest,” the cornerstone social relationship of any tourist system, has also been contested (Sherlock, 2001). “Hosts” are frequently themselves “guests” in little developed destinations, wherein outsiders often engage in tourist business (e.g. country, often also assume the role of host through casual employment in tourist enterprises (Janta et al., 2011; in Cohen and Cohen, 2012, p.2182).

Sheller and Urry (2004: 8; in Bell, 2007, p 29) write, in the context of tourism: ‘many “hosts” are increasingly also from elsewhere’, are also on the move, passing through, guests enacting host-ness. Hospitality – as a relationship marked by poles of host-ness and guest-ness, and by the obligations and rewards that this bipolarity brings – is thus itself destabilized as we enter an increasingly mobile age, a society of mobilities.

Almost always, hospitality implied a reciprocal relationship which imposed certain obligations on the guest. Browner, as cited by Barbara Santich (2007, p.51),


suggests that the Anglo – European world has adopted not only the Latin word, but also the Latin concept of hospitality rather than the ancient Greek concept (Browner, 2003). ‘Hospitalitas’ in Latin means the entertainment of guests, or hospitableness (Glare, 1973); it is derived from the word ‘hospes’ meaning either host or guest – guest in the sense of visitor of friend, someone with whom the host has some ties and not necessarily a complete stranger. In ancient Greek, hospitality is translated as ‘xenia’, derived from ‘xenos’, meaning host or guest but more particularly a stranger, wanderer, refuge, foreigner (Liddell & Scott, 1983). On the basis of this, Browner hypothesises that the Greek concept of hospitality was based on the primacy of the guest (the obligation towards strangers), whereas the Latin concept which we have inherited is based on the primacy of the host. ‘In the West, it is the role of the host the matters, for he is the lord of strangers’ (Browner, 2003; in Santich, p.51).

Semantic definitions include those in dictionaries, thus hospitality is the ‘friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guest and strangers’ (Oxford Quick Reference Dictionary, 1996: 424) or ‘kindness in welcoming strangers or guests’ (Collins Concise English Dictionary Plus, 1989: 604). Variant terms, such as the word ‘hospitable’ is defined by The Oxford English Dictionary (1970: 405) in very similar terms to ‘hospitality’ as ‘offering or affording welcome and entertainment to strangers … of persons … of things, feelings, qualities etc … Disposed to receive or welcome kindly; open and generous in mind or disposition’. Hospitality operates on knife edge, embodying its etymological origins, viz. Latin hospes, meaning friend as well as enemy (Visser, 1991).

So far as evidential definitions of hospitality are concerned, those will precisely arise from efforts to understand, interpret and utilize existing diverse documentary source on hospitality to inform definitional processes in terms of theory building, or more precisely in term of providing theoretical context. The evidential approach is thus rooted in academic literature and seeks to locate and define hospitality within the ‘real world’ of evidence. Nevertheless, attempts at the evidential definition of hospitality provide a bridgehead into consideration of the theoretical sources that have thus far come to inform research in the field (Brotherton and Wood, 2008, P.38).

Most ‘broader’ discussion of hospitality are to be found in social scientific literature, generated n particular from what within the disciplines of philosophy, history and range from the highly theoretical and analytic (Brotherton and Wood, 2008, p. 40).

From the earliest days of academic consideration of the nature of hospitality, two themes are followed: hospitality as a mean of social control, especially the control of ‘strangers’, people who are essentially are alien to a particular physical, economic


and social environment, and hospitality as a form of social and economic exchange (including hospitality as a ‘gift’) (Brother ton ad Wood, 2008, p.40)

BenJelloun (1999, pp.1-2; in Lynch et al., 2011) suggests that the act of hospitality involves ‘an action (a welcome), an attitude (the opening of oneself to the face of another [….] and the opening one’s door and the offering of the space of one’s house to a stranger, and a principle (disinterestedness)’. Likewise, Ben Jelloun (1999, p.2) argues that Jaques Derrida identifies hospitality is greeting ‘… another as a face. A welcome is offered simply to a face. This ‘face’ makes the conception of the other into a living presence […] an expression […] a discourse.

Hospitality acts as a powerful mediating social mechanism. Historical analysis of hospitality have depicted it as concerned with managing the stranger who represents a potential for danger (Visser, 1991) and is civilized through the process of providing hospitality, which facilitates the development of relationships (Selwyn, 2000). As such, Selwyn (2000, p.34) depicts hospitality as a means ‘by which societies change grow, renew and reproduce themselves’. Selwyn indirectly categorizes types of strangers: Hospitality converts strangers into better friends, outsiders into insiders, non kin into kin (2000, p.19). Anthropologist Tom Selwyn defines, hospitality is an exchange of honor between host and guest (2000, p.34). Hospitality proceeds by giving and receiving. Historians have also traced the shifting boundaries of hospitality, highlighting its specificity within particular religion and cultural contexts and historical periods. Like many historians, anthropologists have approached hospitality as a cultural form, paying particular attention to the way kinship and friendship are negotiated through dialectics hospitality and hostility (Selwyn, 2000; in Lynch et al., 2011).

According to Muhlmann (1932), hospitality represents a kind of guarantee of reciprocity one protects the stranger in order to be protected from him. This approach is closer to the ancient Greek concept of philoxenos (“love of strangers”) and its antithesis of which is still in common English usage today: xenophobia (“a fear of foreigner or strangers”). For O’ Gorman (2010), hospitality, boardly defined, is more than an aspect of society. For him, it is the defining mechanism, which, in his words, ‘has been central to the development of society’, the catalyst to facilitate human activities and the central feature of human endeavor (Durie, 2011, p.91).

Brotherton and Wood conclude that there is semantic circularity at work: hospitality is what the hospitality industry offers and hospitality management is the management of what is offered, which is hospitality (2008, p. 39). In summary as in implied by King’s earlier quoted remark, an approach to the study of hospitality management based solely on industry provision and employing the language and concepts of management provides with an approach that is in essence atheoretical,


having no theory of hospitality and more, importantly, offering little prospect of ever developing one ( Brotherton and Wood, 2008, p.40).

Brotherton and Wood (2008, p.42) have presented a two dimensional model of hospitality which proposes a distinction between ‘historical’ hospitality, rooted in domesticity and premised on duty and virtue and highly personal in conception and delivery, and ‘modern’ hospitality which is publicly organized and premised on forms of ‘rational’ - usually monetary – exchange (i.e. is predominantly commercial) and is highly impersonal in conception and delivery.

Tideman’s (1983: 1;in Brotherton and Wood, 2008, p.38), observation that hospitality is ‘the method of production by which the needs of the proposed guest are satisfied to the utmost and that means a supply of goods and services in a quantity and quality desired by the guest and at a price that is acceptable to him so that he feels the product is worth price’ – a definition that could be a description of almost any economic activity.Jones (1996: 1; in Brotherton and Wood, 2008, p.38)argues that ‘hospitality is made up of two distinct services – the provision of overnight accommodation for people staying away from home, and the provision of sustenance for people eating away from home.’

Cassee (1983; in Brotherton and Wood, 2000, p.137) defines hospitality as: ‘a harmonious mixture of tangible and intangible components – food beverages, beds, ambience and environment, and behavior of staff ’. Later on, this definition has been slightly modified by Cassee and Reuland (1983: 144) to ‘a harmonious mixture of food, beverage and/or shelter, a physical environment, and the behavior and attitude of people’. These definitions speak about the creation of hospitality industry and its consumption (Brotherton and Wood, 2008, p. 39). The hospitality industry is comprised of commercial organizations that specialize in providing accommodation and/or, food, and/or drink, through a voluntary human exchange, which is contemporaneous in nature, and undertaken to enhance the mutual well being of the parties concerned (Brotherton and Wood, 2000, p.143).

Brotherton’s definition of hospitality reflects a different perspective. But this has been developed from evidence perspective. In his view, hospitality is ‘ A contemporaneous human exchange, which is voluntarily entered into , and designed to enhance the mutual well-being of the parties concerned through the provision of accommodation, and / or food, and /or drink’ (Brotherton, 1999;in Santich, 2007, p.52). This interpretation emphasizes the exchange relationship, the process- giving and receiving, with the attendant benefits and obligations. The phrase ‘to enhance mutual well- being of the parties concerned’ refers both to the happiness of the guest and the inherent reciprocity in the exchange (Santich, 2007, p.52). However, this relatively narrow definition has now been challenged on a number of grounds (Lynch


et al., 2011). Lugosi (2014) comments that “Firstly, it stresses mutual well being which ignores asymmetries of power and the potentially oppressive nature of hospitality transactions, secondly, because of it managerial underpinnings, it focuses narrowly on provision which does not address the importance of transactions, particularly issues surrounding reward, compensation of social interaction in hospitality and finally, its places excessive emphasis on food and drink”.

Hepple et al. (1990) see hospitality as comprising four key characteristics:1. It is conferred by a host on a guest who is away from home.2. It is interactive, involving the coming together of provider and receiver.3. It is comprised of a blend of tangible and intangible factors.4. The host provides for the guest’s security, psychological and physiological

comfort (cited in Brotherton, 1999, pp.166-167; in Bell, 2009, p.20).Since hospitality is a multi-interpretable concept …. The guest (cultural tourist)

experiences hospitability at each interaction they go through with one of the hosts (the urban service providers or the local residents). In simple terms, hospitality canbe defined as the experience of being received as a guest (Munsters, 2010, p.55). Comparative analysis of different definitions of hospitality shows that five features return in most of them: Satisfaction of needs of the guest; Unselfishness towards the guest; Sincerely, friendly approach towards the guest; Gaining trust of the guest; and Giving a feeling of safety to the guest (Vijver, 1996; Casier et al., 2002)

As hospitality is also an intangible concept, it has to be operationalized in terms of measurable behavior if one wants to develop instruments that are suited to evaluating objectively the hospitality experience. (inMunsters, 2010, p.55).So for Lashley (2000, pp. 5-10; Bell, 2009, p.21 ), an historical view sheds light on the social domain of hospitality, on the development of shared social codes of giving and receiving, welcoming and graciously accepting-codes of civility and trust that sit outside of the commercial context. He is attuned to the ways in which hosting and guesting are embedded in the social order, and carry with them questions of status, obligations, reciprocity, and generosity.

Smith (2001; in Clarke and Chen, 2007, p. 7)) advocates the use of the four H’s – habitat, history, heritage and handicrafts – as key elements in an ethnographic assessment of hospitality and tourism. Clarke and Chen (2007, p. 7) have added few more components to make hospitality culture more authentic as presented below:

HospitalityHospitality service

Host-Guest Contract


Habitat History Heritage HandicraftsEnvironment Traditions Culture Souvenirs

Service Offer

These elements help to translate the anthropological approaches into the domain of the manager and the service provider.

The aspirations of administrators and politicians in strengthening a city’s cultural characteristics and enhancing its image through such status could be termed the ‘cultural hospitality’ of the city. The attitudes and political will, for one reason or another, with regard to making citizens’ own cultural services available to visitors can be termed ‘hospitality culture’ or the hospitality instinct of the cultural capital (Peltonen, 2005, p. 80).

Current explorations of hospitality range from deepening understanding of its construction and production, to exploring hospitality as a metaphor for social behaviors, to understanding hospitality as a business and cultural phenomenon.

Hospitality is, as Lashley, Lynch and Morrison (2007) suggest, a social lens. As social lens hospitality reveals both the large-scale organization of welcoming (and excluding) others at the institutional or state level and the everyday experiences of living with differences. While writing on theorizing hospitality, Lynch, Germann Molz, McIntosh, Lugosi and Lashley (2011) write, “rather than assuming that hospitality entails a particular context (such as the home or hotel) or particular objects (such as food or beds) or particular actors (such as hosts and guests), we see hospitality as a both a condition and an effect of social relations, spatial configurations and power structures”. To justify it they further write, “hospitality is constructed by, but also productive of certain contexts, spaces, politics, objects, social roles and relations”.

Cultural CapitalCultural capital as a concept developed by theFrench sociologist P. Bourdieu in

1984 is closely related with the study of cultural tourism. Although Bourdieu’s original work was based on large - scale surveys of museum visitors the later applications of his ideas in cultural tourism were more after related qualitative studies, with in depth interviews as a main research instrument (Richards and Munsters, 2010, p. 4).

Since the 1960s, however, not only have other types of capital, such as human capital or intellectual capital, been considered by economists as important factors of production, but also the concept of capitals has been embraced by other social sciences and applied to other, non-economic contexts. As Bourdieu (1986; in Sharpley, 2009, p. 158) argues that individuals possess three forms of capital, namely, financial capital


(possession of economic resources), social capital (resources based upon social relationships and networks) and cultural capital (the skills, knowledge and education possessed by an individual that, collectively, may reflect family background, social class and so on. Moreover, according to Bourdieu, cultural capital may take three forms: embodied (that is, inherited by socialization from the family or acquired through education); objectified in material objects and hence, appropriated through financial capital or symbolically through embodied capital; or institutionalized through academic qualifications or credentials. For Bourdieu, these capitals do not possess value in the economic sense; rather they empower the individual with the knowledge to achieve a particular status, identity or position in society.

However, Throsby (1999, pp. 6-7; in Sharpley, 2009, p. 161) adopts an alternative conceptualization, suggesting that, in an economic as opposed to sociological framework, cultural capital can be thought of as the ‘stock of cultural value embodied in an asset. This stock may in turn give rise to a flow of goods and services over time, i.e., to commodities that themselves have both cultural and economic value’. He goes on to distinguish between tangible cultural capitals, such as buildings, monuments or works of art (that is, cultural heritage), which may generate income flows, and intangible cultural capital, or ‘the set of ideas, practices, beliefs, traditions and values which serve to indentify and bind together a given group of people’ (Sharpley, 2009, p. 161; in Prentice, 2006, pp. 169-170).

This particular perspective on cultural capital is of evident relevance to tourism destinations. That is, a destination’s stock of cultural capital, including both that which is physical or tangible, such as historical buildings or art collections, and intangible, such as festivals, ceremonies or perhaps, a traditional life style’, are assets or attractions that may directly or indirectly generate income. Moreover, intangible cultural capital may be enhanced or accumulated through its supply to tourists, cultural practices being strengthened or revitalized through their (re)presentation as a tourist attraction although, as widely discussed in the literature, the process of commoditization may reduce the cultural significance or meaning to the local community. Social capital, conversely, can be thought of as the cohesion, cooperation and collective willingness to support and adapt to tourism, to welcome tourists and, as a community, to embrace tourism for the flows of benefits that it generates (Sharpley, 2009, p. 161).

Authenticity and Commodification The issue of authenticity has become a central point of discussion within the

anthropological and sociological ideas about tourism. The global scale of commodities, finance, media and population has transformed the discourse and raised questions about the continuing relevance of the traditional concepts of authenticity (Hughes, 1995; in Zhu, 2012, p.1496).


According to Trilling (1972, p. 93; in Cohen, 1988, p. 374), the provenance of the word “authenticity” “... is in the museum, where persons expert is such matters test whether objects of art [and by extension, ethnographic objects] are what they appear to be or are claimed to be, and therefore.. Worth the admiration they are being given”.

Authenticity has been defined from a recreation and leisure studies perspective as a desired experience or benefit associated with visits to certain types of tourism destinations. This is the reason why Appadurai (1986, p. 45), Berger (1973), Trilling (1972) and Cohen (1988, p.373) have written that ‘Authenticity’ is an eminently modern value whose emergence is closely related to the impact of modernity upon the unity of social existence.

Towards the end of the last century, the centrality of the topic decline under the impact of two historical developments: the postmodern turn in western tourism and the rise of non-western tourism. Radical postmodern thinkers like Baudrilland (1994) denied the existence of “originals” in the contemporary world, which allegedly thrives on simulacra, while authors like Ritzer and Liska (1997; in Cohen and Cohen, 2012, p.2179) argue that a craving for fun and enjoyment replaced the quest for authenticity as the dominant post modern tourist motivation.

Sociological theorizing about tourism during the last quarters of the 20th century was dominated by the question of the relationship between tourism and (Western) modernity (MacCannell, 1973, 1976; in Wang, 2000), and particularly by the issue of authenticity as a cultural motive, albeit motivating individuals to varying degrees of intensity (Cohen, 1979), in tourist experience.

MacCannell (1976) has conceptualized the tourists as being driven by modernity from their everyday world into tourism as an attempt to find the profound in the lives of others, usually primitive others. In such a view what is real is looked for outside the person’s immediate environment. Modernity, for MacCannell, is characterized by feelings of alienation, fragmentation, and superficiality (Stronza, 2001, p. 265). The search for authentic experiences is a reflection of modern tourists desire to reconnect with “the pristine, the primitive, the natural, that which is as yet untouched by modernity (Cohen, 1988, p. 374).

D. J. Boorstin (1964) and Dean MacCannell (1973, 1976) are the earliest one to show the value of authenticity in the study of tourist experiences. Boorstin saw the tourists’ experiences as ‘pseudo-events’ and for MacCannell ‘staged authenticity’. “Staged authenticity” is said to thwart the tourist’s genuine desire of authentic experiences. Stated originally in MacCannell’s article in terms of “staged authenticity”, the twin arguments that moderns seek authenticity outside modernity, and that local stage it for them, appeared to have the potential to become the basis of a paradigm for the study of anthropology and sociology of tourism.MacCannell (1973, p. 597; 1976),


while justifying his theory, “staged authenticity” argued that “touristic consciousness is motivated by the desire for authentic experiences, and the tourist may believe that he is moving in that direction…” However, it is often the case that “…what is taken to be entry into a back region is really entry into a front region that has been totally set up in advance [i.e.. has been staged] for touristic visitation”.

Later on, this discourse turned to the elucidation of the multiple meanings of “authenticity” (Bruner, 2005; in Cohen, 2007), and split up into sub- discourses around the three types of authenticity discerned by Wang (1999, 2000): “objective (object)” authenticity (Cohen, 1988), ‘constructivism’ and “subjective (existential)” authenticity (Steiner and Reisinger, 2006). The discourse of authenticity eventually fractured into a plethora of further sub – types. Objectivism approach of authenticity is mainly based on the museum orientation of objects examined by an expert to determine their true nature (Leite and Graburn, 2009; in Zhu, 2012, p.1496). It implies all that is genuine, unadulterated without hypocrisy, honest and real (Relph, 1976; Theobald, 1994). Both objective and constructive authenticity are understood as being object-related, whereas existential authenticity is differentiated from objective authenticity in that the role of tourists or tourism producers in terms of their believes or expectations is recognized as a key variable with less focus on the authenticity of originals. Wang (1999, p. 352) conceptualized existential authenticity as: a potential existential state of being is to be activated by tourist activities. Correspondingly, authentic experiences are to achieve this activated existential state of Being within the liminal process of tourism. Existential authenticity can have nothing to do with the authenticity of toured objects.

By adopting these philosophical concepts, Wang (1999) breaks the conventional thought of toured objects oriented authenticity and develops “existential authenticity” to suggest a strong sense of authentic self as a real feeling embedded in two categories. The first category of “intrapersonal authenticity” relates to the bodily feelings of pleasure, relaxation, spontaneity and self-making, not because the tourist find the toured objects are authentic but simply because they are engaging in non-ordinary activities, free from the constraints of the daily life (Wang, 1999). The second category lies in the interpersonal orientation of authenticity, in which tourists are driven by a desire for cultural exchange with the “other” and intensely authentic, natural and emotional interaction between friends and family members or touristic communities (Turner, 1967). Likewise this approach relates to Trillings (1972; in Zhu, 2012, p.1498) notion of “sincerity” that occurs in the contact zone among participating groups of individuals, rather than appearing as an internal quality of a thing, self or other.

For the existentialism approach, to be oneself existentially means to exist according to one’s nature or essence, which transcends day – to – day behavior or activities or thinking about the self (Steiner and Reisinger, 2006). Everyday can momentarily


be authentic or inauthentic in different situations depending on how they project themselves in the world of their heritage and destiny. According to Heidegger (1962; in Zhu, 2012, p.1498), people are existentially dynamic, historical, potential and momentary, all reaching into their pasts before them to understand how things stand for them now and what possibilities they have. Recently, Cohen and Cohen (2012) suggested shifting from a focus on the discourse of authenticity to processes of authentication instead.

Sapir (1924, p. 108) took an ethnographic perspective and defined authenticity as “persons, intimate clusters of persons, communities, or societies, whose lived experience is harmonious with, or true to, their inherent or intrinsic cultural structure or historically emergent form”. Authenticity can be achieved by (1) willing and doing the genuine good (Kierkegaard, 1938, p. 202); (2) creating or choosing value (Sartre, 1956, p. 615); and (3) cultivating the connection between fidelity to the past, forthright recognition of the tangible world of the present, and a commitment to enhancing the coherence between the two (Simmel, 1968; in Xie, 2001, p. 17). In tourism, authenticity poses as objectivism which holds the special powers both of distance and of “truth” (Taylor, 2001).Authentic things, then, are bound up with seemingly authentic places: Chinese food served by Chinese people in a Chinese restaurant decorated to look ‘Chinese’ is seemingly naturally more authentic than Chinese food cooked by a Salvadoran immigrant at a fast food restaurant in an American suburban shopping mall (Shepherd, 2002).Fundamental to the authenticity concept is dialectic between object and subject, there and here, then and now.

The rise of postmodernism is convinced that is no actual, true, genuine, objective reality, and this notion links to the perspectives of constructive and existential authenticity in tourism research for the constructivists, things appear authentic not because they are inherently authentic, but because they are an “invention of tradition” (Hobsban and Ranger, 1983) or constructed through negotiated meaning making, interpretation and agreement (Bruner, 1994; Hughes, 1995; in Zhu, 2012, p.1497). They emphasize pluralistic nature of the meaning making process through which authenticity defined as “verisimilitude, genuineness, originality and authority (Bruner, 1994, p.401), is established, recognized and projected onto an object by the influence of social discourse (Belhassen et al., 2008; in Zhu, 2012). In this sense, authenticity is a projection of tourists’ beliefs, expectation, preferences and stereotyped images onto toured objects (Wang, 1999). These objects which can initially be “inauthentic” or “artificial” as judged by experts may subsequently became “emergent authenticity” (Cohen, 1988) with the passage of time. Thus, this becomesmatters of “power” of who has the right authenticate (Appadurai, 1986; in Zhu, 2012, p.1497). The search for authenticity in tourism is constructed by different stakeholders such as the state, the visitors, tourism business and host communities.


Both Boorstin and MacCannell insist on the objectivist conception of authenticity (Wang, 1999) as a real property of toured objects that can be measured against absolute and objective criteria (Zhu, 2012, p.1496).

Another important theoretical opening was made by John Urry (2002), who introduced into tourism discourse Foucault’s concept of the “gaze”. Urry distinguished two principal varieties of tourists gaze, the “romantic” and the “collective”, to which he and others like Maoz(2006) on the “mutual gaze” and Halloway, Green and Halloway (2011) on the “intratourist gaze” later added several more ( in Cohen and Cohen, 2012, pp.2179-2180).

One of the first comprehensive studies was Picard’s (1996) work on Bali. Similar analysis of the authenticity of culture have been conducted in Scotland (MacDonald, 1997), New Zealand (McIntosh and Prentice, 1999), North America (Chhabra et al., 2003) and Hong Kong and Macau (McCartney and Osti, 2007; in Richards and Munsters, 2010, p. 4).According to Donaldson, “when you are witnessing these events you are witnessing a representation of a way of life” (1986b; p. 41; in Chhabra, 2003, p.707). But it is reproduction that contains some cultural traditions that have changed little and other that are much changed or even newly invented (Chhabra et al., 2003, p. 707).

While writing about tourism commodification, Robert Shepherd (2002) has outlined, ‘the story is familiar to us all: once there was a pristine and natural place outside the West; then tourism arrived; now what was once pure and authentic has become spoiled and commodified. In short, tourism has been simultaneously internationalized, homogenized and demonized’ (2001, p.183). As an object of anthropological inquiry, it has been defined and shaped by a serious of questions that tend to revolve around three issues: individual motivation (why do people travel?), economic gain and losses (who benefit from this travel?) and tourism’s cultural impact (what cultural changes does tourism bring?) (Graburn, 1983; Nash and Smith, 1991; in Shepherd, 2002, p.184; see in detail Kunwar, 2012; 2002).

Proponents of cultural involution have argued that cultural tourism can stimulate a revival of local interest in traditional cultural forms, thus both strengthening cultural bonds and providing local actor access to material benefits (McKean, 1989). Crucially, however, this position assumes that local actors can easily distinguish between what is ‘sacred’ (and not open to tourism) from what is ‘profane’ (and hence open to commodification) (Picard, 1997).

Some anthropologists, however, defended tourism, pointing to its positive contribution, in at least some instances, to preservation of cultural traditions and practices that may no longer have a pace in everyday life (Lacy, 2002, p.6)

One of the most-cited examples of Marx’s commodity analysis in regard to tourism has been Davydd Greenwoods’s (1977/1989) essay on the commodification


of the local festival in the Basque region of Spain. Echoing Marx, Greenwood argued that anything sold assumes a commodity form, including culture (Shepherd, 2002, p.187). In Greenwood’s words, the ritual has become the performance for money. The meaning is gone (1989,p. 178). This has become the landmark of the studying impact of tourism predominated by the concept that is tourism as an agent of change. According to this theory, after the introduction of tourism in the traditional society, their culture will be capital as it is commoditized.

Commodification is a process by which ‘things (and activities) come to be evaluated primarily in terms of their exchange value, in a context of trade, hereby becoming goods and services’ (Cohen, 1988, p. 380). Tourism activities and experiences generally encompass the consumption of commodities, either objects or practices.

Furthermore, commoditization is said to destroy the authenticity of cultural products and human relations; instead a surrogate, covert staged authenticity” (MacCannell, 1975) emerges. Tourism is said to lead to “commoditization” (Greenwood, 1977) of areas in the life of a community which prior to its penetration by tourism have been within the domain of economic relations regulated by criteria of market exchange (Appadurai, 1986). ‘…tourism relies on culture, but tourism is a threat to culture’ (Picard, 1995, p. 52).

More recently, Marie – Francoise Lanfant has argued that once heritage is transformed into tourist product, its cultural value is also a transformed into ‘commercial value’, a process which stimulates the reinvention of the past (1995, p.37). This is to say, rather than being a reclaimation of the past, heritage and tourism function as a new form of cultural production (a value added industry) that takes the past as its theme (Kirshenblatt – Gimblett, 1998, p.149; in Shepherd, 2002, p.188).

Before the advent of tourism, the traditional community would preserve their own culture as their heritage after the introduction of tourism same culture will be the product that transforms into the capital which could exploit for profit and the stakeholders start motivating the local people for cultural preservation.

On the other hand, in line with Levi-Strauss’s plot line, proponents of cultural erosion model of tourism have warned against reductions in the aesthetic quality of cultural products and traditions due to tourist demands, arguing that the rise of tourism inevitably leads to a process of cultural commodification (in Shepherd, 2002, p.185). The argument is that, while tourism may promote a renewed interest in traditional arts and social practices among local craftsmen and others, tourist purchases are fueled by a desire to posses a mark, rather than any genuine interest in local cultural traditions or beliefs (Mathieson and Wall, 1982: 165-9). This results in what Shelly Errington has dubbed ‘New Age Primitivism’ – a situation in which objects come to signify a purely imaginary Other, one no tied to any specific context,


geographical, historical, or otherwise (1998: 147-9; in shepherd, 2002, p. 185). This lack of genuine interest carries over into the Other him/herself, so that Third World tourees, pressured to assume the idealized identities tourists come to aspect, become other, resulting in an encounter defined by ‘reciprocal misconstructions’ (Lanfant, 1995:35-6) – what MacCannell (1994) has referred to as the ‘postmodern emptiness’ of idealized primitives performing for a culturally consuming audience (see also Bruner, 1995; in Linnekin, 1997: 216; in Shepherd, 2002, p.185). This ‘becoming other’, a direct outcome of the objectification and commodification of both culture and ethnicity, is said to explain the contemporary mass consumption of identity merchandise by both touristic outsiders and local insiders, whose view of themselves is thereby distorted by the tourist gaze (Linnekin, 1997: 216-17; in Shepherd, 2002, p.185). In other words, given a monetary value, ritual and tradition become valueless for local inhabitants (Harrison, 1994: 243-4). The ‘death’ of ‘authentic’ primitive art thus appears to be unproblematically tied to the pace of the incorporation of ‘the primitive’ into the global economy (Errington, 1998, p.268; in Shepherd, 2002, p.185). ‘Death’, then, is linked in this sense with a perceived decline of ‘real’ (that is, circulating outside of market exchange) social and cultural production (pp.118-19). In its extreme form, this argument describes a world in which cultures have been replaced by a single monoculture, driven by a process of ‘McDonaldization’ and ‘Disneyfication’, one that transforms everything into a theme park and makes authentic travel experiences impossible (cf. Ritzer and Liska, 1997, p. 97-101; in Shepherd, 2002, p.185).

A resulting degradation of local cultural practices and relationships has led, in this view, to a host of social ills. In other words, the Development cure (increased tourism as a means of spurring economic change while strengthening local culture) is claimed to inevitably lead to new diseases, such as drug addiction, crime, pollution, prostitution, and a decline in social stability, as well as to growth of ‘capitalist values’ and a ‘consumer culture’ (McLaren, 1998, p.28). Indeed, researchers talk about measuring the touristic ‘impact’ on a local culture, language that brings to mind not just destruction (a bomb impacts on a target) but also passivity (the other is always impacted upon). In short, local cultures are presumed to be transformed (for the worse) by contact with a secular West, a presumption which implies the existence of pristine pre-tourist cultures which can serve as baseline tools for measuring the impact of this touristic degradation (Hitchcock et.al., 1993:8 Wood, 1993:63; in Shepherd, 2002, p.185).

Commodification does not necessarily destroy the meaning of cultural products, either for the locals or for the tourists (Cohen, 1988, p.383). McIntosh and Prentice (1999) claimed that commodification should be judged at two different levels. At a superficial level, commodification of “pastness” has been described as “retrochic”


(Samuel, 1994): an emphasis on style, rather than substance, and playing with the idea of period, mixing pastness and presentness. At a deeper level, commodification of pastness can be interpreted as marking needs for identity, and the finding of the true self through the appropriation of pastness. Cultural authenticity can be affirmed by individual visitors through the encoding of an experience with their own personal meanings. For example, staged Maori ritual and traditions for tourists reflect characteristics of New Zealand’s early anthropology such that “if [ritual and traditions] weren’t for tourism, half of Maori culture would be gone” (Shannon, 1995, p. 25; in Xie, 2001, pp. 23-24). In fact, the commodification of touristic productions appears as a kind of “salvage” ethnography (Taylor, 2001; in Xie, 2001, p. 24).

In other cases, a copy may have assumed an importance that negates any privileging of an authentic original. For example, Ken Teague has argued that tourist-directed art in Nepal plays both an aesthetic and economic role in the production of ‘real’ art, particularly in the Kathmandu valley, where Newari artisians have produced artistic copies for centuries, both for home and abroad, particularly China and Tibet. The production of copies in this case is so bound up with the production of what we might label ‘Newari art’ that any attempt to distinguish original from copy deconstructs itself (Teague, 1997: 182-6; in Shepherd, 2002, p.195).Commodification within the sphere of culture is a social fact. The above mentioned facts reveal that cultural commoditization will play both negative and positive role according to the nature of cultural destination and cultural tourists.

Cultural Identity and Destination ImageCultural identity is the (feeling of) identity of a group or individual influenced

by his or her belonging to the culture. People define their identity in terms of their occupation, education, material possessions, wealth, social classes, kinship, place of residence, ideology, ancestry, language, history, values, customs, institutions they work for, and even politics. However, the most important distinction among people is not political, economic, social, or ideological, but cultural. They like to use symbols of their cultural identities, including traditional clothing, music, food, flax, crosses, head coverings, and colors.

Cultural identity is what is most meaningful to most people (Reisinger, 2009, p.110). The cultural identity is also called ‘cultural marker’ (Xie, 2006, p. 126). Cultural markers are a primary medium through which people relate to visual images and evoke desire for tourist participation and involvement (Markwell, 1997; in Xie, 2006, p.126). The identification and description of these markers became known as iconography (Harbour, 2000; in Xie, 2006, p. 126). The term iconography is defined as “the descriptive and classificatory study of images with the aim of understanding the direct or in direct meaning of the subject matter represented” (Bialostocki, 1963, p.770; in Xie,


2006, p.125). Iconography can be viewed as the activity of making products saleable by imbuing them with desirable images (Sternberg, 1997; in Xie, 2006, p.125).

Tourism scholars have recognized that tourists visit a place because of the image they hold and, moreover, that the touristic destinations themselves are designed to project an appealing image. The images include series of markers that have been identified, promoted and marketed to the public (Xie, 2006, p.125). Tourism promotion uses ideas of cultural identity with which visitors can identify by association. Identity is, however, complex and changing. For example, there are locals whose culture is often abstracted in promotion. But there are also new people moving into areas; there are some other purchasing second homes, and yet others who return to an area after a period spent living and working elsewhere. All these produce a complex and dynamic cultural picture.

So far as the destination image is concerned, according to Crompton (1979, p.418; inMeroira and Iao, 2014, p.95) destination image is ‘the sum of beliefs, ideas and impressions that a person has a destination’. Destination image is a complex and holographic set of perceptions of an individual towards a destination. According Etchner and Ritchie (1993) destination image includes both functional (e.g. climate) and psychological (e.g. friendliness of staff) components. Similarly, a holistic image encompasses both cognitive beliefs (knowledge factor of the destination attributes) and affective feelings (emotion and attachment to a destination) (Beerli and Martin, 2004; in Meroira and Iao, 2014, p.95).

Gartner (1993), however, argued that the overall image of a destination is formed by three components: cognitive, affective and conative which is the action component of image (see in detail Reisinger, 2009, pp.266-268). Milman and Pizam (1995) stated that destination image consist of three components: (1) the product (e.g. variety and quality of attractions), (2) the attitude and behavior of employees who have direct encounter with tourists, (3) the environment (e.g. weather). Wang and Hsu (2010) classified destination image into five dimensions: (1) tourism resources (e.g. heritage), (2) amenities (e.g. shopping facilities), (3) supporting factors (e.g. transportation and communication system), (4) travel environment (e.g. cleanliness), (5) service quality (e.g. staff skills and knowledge).

Destination image is also claimed to influence and have a positive association to traveler satisfaction. The more positive image is, the higher the tourist the tourist satisfaction (Cohn, 1991, Wang and Hsu, 2010; in Meroira and Iao, 2014, p.96). A traveler’s behavioral intention is measured in terms of revisit intention and word - of - mouth recommendation in the literature on tourism (Baker and Crompton, 2000). Satisfaction literature has well established the relationship between satisfaction and future intension behavior.Hui et al. (2007) in their study showed that satisfied travelers


are willing to choose the same destination again in the future and are also willing to refer to the destination to their friends and relatives (Meroira and Iao, 2014, p.96).

Destination Management and MarketingDestinations are the real competitive factors within the tourism industry

(PechlanerandWeiermair, 1999; Bieger, 2002). The tourism destination comprises a number of elements that combine to attract visitors to stay for a holiday or day visit. According to Laws (1995), there are four core elements that attract guests to spend their holidays in a specific destination: (1) prime attractors, i.e. then main attractors appealing to the visitor and differentiating one destination from another; (2) built environment, i.e. the physical layout of a destination including waterfronts, promenades, historic quarters and commercial zones; major elements of infrastructure such as road and rail networks, plus open spaces and communal facilities ; (3) supporting supply services, i.e. essential facilitating services such as accommodation, communications, transport, refreshment and catering, entertainment and amenities; and (4) the social cultural dimension, i.e. cultural attributes, bridge between past and present, and the mood or atmosphere, ranging from sleepy to vibrant. Destinations are areas where customers benefit from all the services they deem necessary for a stay according to their needs. The size of the guest segment determines the size of the destination areas. The greater the distance from the resident country of the guest, the bigger the destination areas has to be defined, and the more specific the interests of the guest, the smaller the destination must be defined.

Cultural tourism draws on specific aspects of destination area, and concern has grown over the impacts of tourism on local cultural environment. In this respect, the discussion of cultural tourism has largely focused on specific areas, including remote regions of Developed Countries such as Lapland, upland Wales and Switzerland (Grahn, 1991), and Developing Countries like Nepal, Thailand and Bali (Kaur and Singh, 1990; McKean, 1976). Research emphasis on such areas may reflect a narrow view of the nature of indigenous culture and the stereotyping of the ‘native’ (Cohen, 1982). It is only recently that the literature has begun to widen the discussion to include aspects of culture and heritage in urban areas. For example, the ‘high culture’ of major urban centers is a key attraction in city tourism. At the same time a significant tool of cultural tourism is a growing phenomenon of cultural, or heritage interpretation.

Destination management and marketing is the consistent orientation of tourist service and service providers towards the needs of potential guests. The concept of destination management has been developed on the basis of recognized industrial economics and management theories (Keller and Koch, 1997; Bieger, 2002) and is generally accepted by the majority of tourism scientists.


Clearly, tourism marketers and managers must be aware of the cultural differences between international tourists and local hosts to be able to provide adequate and satisfying products to tourists. In order to succeed in the future, destination managers need to interpret ‘the new game rules’ and re-define ‘efficiency’ (doing things right’) ‘equity’ (‘doing the right things’) and ‘effectiveness’ (‘doing the right things right’) (Go and van’tKlooster, 2006, p. 144).

According to Wang and Wall (n.d.), the practical implications of cultural tourism are: 1) traditional marketing tools still dominate; however, there is great potential demand for the application of new technologies. With new information and communication technologies, the world is shrinking as information is transferred with the click of a mouse. 2) Travel brochures are a marketing tool and an information distribution channel. In addition to their promotional functions, and analysis of the contents can help in the understanding of tourism itself. 3) Tour guides are an important means of conveying information to tourists and their greater use will be emerging strategy in cultural tourism marketing. Not only do they supply and interpret information concerning the destinations, they also encourage the visitors to experience the cultural activities due to the economic benefits that accrue. 4) The image of a place is highly relevant to cultural tourism. It is important to know how to project a tourism destination’s identity, image and branding in order to sell an image which visitors able to experience. The tourism image should incorporate the cultural components in tourism, while cultural tourism helps to build the tourism image of the place. Local culture can be regarded as one of the characteristics of image. The strengthen of both the traditional and contemporary culture should be enhanced and the places’ distinctiveness should be emphasized in tourism marketing.

The early era of industrial revolution between mid-eighteenth century to its end witnessed the overall focus of the industry on ‘production philosophy’ of business as there were only a few enterprises producing commodities and goods to meet the demand of the world population, and thus, mass production was considered as the most feasible concept in those days (Rijal, 2014; Keelson, 2012; Kotler& Armstrong, 2009). As the time passed, such a situation influenced more people, governments and other institutions to come into the world of business in early 1900s to till 1950s and the competition emerged among the firms and gradually resulted in evolution of competition imperfection. It forced industry’s ‘production orientation’ to be added with ‘product orientation’ as the public and private enterprises perceived that mass production alone was not enough to address the growing competition. By then, the customers and consumers had become choosy and product quality was already considered as a means of cross-product comparison. Thus, the focus on product concept emphasized quality orientation of the firms and the product quality became


the means of fighting in competition, which ultimately added onto the increasing level of quality consciousness among the firms and consumers.

Then after, gradually, emerged a series of philosophies including selling concept, marketing and communications concept, customer orientation, societal marketing concept and finally, the holistic marketing concept till reaching to the early twenty first century. Such a development over time pushed up the transformation of traditional four Ps (product, place, price and promotion) of the marketing mix elements into seven Ps (product, place, price, promotion, people, processes, physical evidence of operations) in a more service dominated economy (Rijal, 2014; Loveluck, Wirtz, &Chatterjee, 2011) and service became an integral component of each type of business. More importantly, these concepts do not work as stand-alone philosophies. Rather, they serve in integration with each other to mark success in marketing business of an institution.

In this discourse, the business world today has benefitted significantly as a result of emergence of a highly noble concept of transforming the diversity of services within tangible classifications and tourism has emerged as one of the globally recognized sources of business priorities. Tourism has been considered as one of the purest forms of experiential economy worldwide. For example, Pine and Gilmore (1998) have defined the experience economy as the final phase of an economic progression that has evolved through the phases of commodities, goods, services economies, and finally stage of memorable experience of the services received.

As Peter Drucker (1964; as cited in Gilmore, & Pine, 2002, p. 3) rightly articulated in The Practice of Management, “The aim of marketing is to make selling ‘superfluous’. To that, Gilmore and Pine add, “The aim of experiences is to make marketing superfluous.” The truth here is that the world of business today cannot move ahead in the absence or isolation or experience of these two concepts; they just serve like amalgamation of one another.

In fact, experience economy applies equally to all sectors of business. Say, for example, an automobile retailer would like to serve with an impression to create a realization of being at the helping hands. Similarly, the customers of a retail stores should feel being cared of their product needs. An airline’s passengers should get to be exposed with a safe, comfortable and welcoming journey, and similar should be the memories of travelers to a destination after their journey is over. These are the examples of experiences – the memories of wellbeing.

Further, pioneering in their work, ‘experience economy’ Pine and Gilmore (1998) have presented this concept as the ‘stage’ function of economy. In their proposition, the scholars have presented experience as an economics’ role and they have claimed that the nature of offering is memorable. Such a memory is attached with the ‘personal’


attributes of the beholder of memory of the services received. The method of supply of service is revealed over a period of time on full realization of experience. The seller plays a role of stager. The buyer acts as a guest whereby the perceived sensation serves as the factors generating demand.

In tourism business and its marketing and promotions, a firm intends to promote the memorable experience to the customers with an aim to retain the customers and their positive referrals to other prospects as they perceive the services to be the best compared to rest of other providers. Thus, the experience economy may be referred to as an integral component of tourism business as the sole business focuses on imparting in customers with lasting and memorable experiences.

ConclusionCulture is complex multidimensional phenomenon that is difficult to define.

Culture was first defined by E.B. Tylor in 1871. Since then culture has been continuously studied by the several scholars of different disciplines such as anthropology, archaeology, sociology, literature and tourism. In course of defining and describing culture, a cultural theorist Raymond Williams writes, it is one of the most complicated words in the English language because of its diverse usages in distinct system of thought. Therefore, Gert Hofstede writes, culture is like a black box which we know is there but not what it contains. This statement reveals that culture is like an ice-berg. However, the scholars have come to the point that culture is a multivariate concept. Culture has been recognized as a theory, an abstraction or a name. Culture can be described as a software of society design of living and as a code of conduct guided by mental map. Culture exists everywhere, at various level and everyone and everybody (man as an individual and groups) belongs to at least one at the ethnic level, national level, regional level and supranational level. There are two types of culture: tangible (visible) and intangible (invisible). Culture attracts another culture. Therefore, it is borrowed and it is diffused. It is dynamic so that culture changes according to time and situation. Culture is both adaptive and maladaptive. Culture remains unstatic.

Now the question is what is Cultural tourism? As McKercher and do Cros (2002, p.3) observe: ‘this seemingly simple question is actually very difficult to answer because there are almost as many definitions… of cultural tourism as there are cultural tourists.’

In the change context, modernization, industrialization, urbanization and westernization divided the whole world into two camps: the West (Western European countries and North America) and Rest. The West lost their age old human’s traditions and institutions and Rest continued their traditions. Consequently some people in the Western world became alienated and were seeking for authenticity and people of


other region (Latin America, Africa and Asia) became the centre of attractions. As a result of this modern people started visiting exotic destinations for the purpose of experiencing with others’ culture. This mode of travelling gave birth of the concept of hosts and guests. The hosts produced the culture where as the guests consumed it. Thus culture became force for establishing munificent relationship between the hosts and guests. Academically the concept of hosts and guests was invented by Valene L. Smith in 1977. As tourism was expanded, culture was recognized as an authenticity. For the first time it is D.J. Boorstin (1964) and Dean MacCannell (1973) highlighted on the importance of authenticity which was linked with tourism. Since then authenticity became one of the leading academic subject in the field of tourism. Likewise, UNESCO recognized the value of culture in the field of tourism. This became the landmark of recognizing cultural tourism as an independent form of tourism. The international statistics of tourism shows that more than 40 per cent of international visitors (e.g. 900 million tourist), visit every year to see the exotic cultures of different communities of this world. This reveals that cultural tourism has already got recognition not only in the tourism industry but also in academia.

In cultural tourism the role of tourist guides seems quite important because she/he not only plays the role of intermediary in between host and guest but also she/he will interpret the culture of the host population. Interpretation in this aspect is very important. Interpretation of culture reducescultural confusion to the cultural tourists. In the absence of interpretation, the general dabbler might have culture shock. Culture shock badly affects on the image of destination culture. Cultural tourism makes culture as an important source of income. Though there has been long debate on cultural commoditization in the field of tourism, authenticity has also been attested by the eminent scholars of tourism. The discussion centers around culture and its linkages with tourism focusing on trivialization, revitalization and cultural drift. There is a general perception that cultural tourism is ’good’ tourism that attracts high spending visitors and does little damage to the environment or local culture while contributing a great deal to the economy and support of culture. Other commentators, however, have suggested that cultural tourism may do more harm than good, allowing the cultural tourist to penetrate sensitive cultural environments as the advance guard of the mass tourist. It is difficult to assess whether an optimistic or a pessimistic view of cultural tourism is correct, simply because we know remarkably little about it. Who are the cultural tourists? What are their motivations? Where do they go? These essential questions are still very difficult to answer, which indicates that the market is still not very well understood.

Cultural tourism not only satisfies the cultural tourists but also it establishes fraternity, mutual understanding, harmony and peace in between unfamiliar people and places. It will also throw light on humans’ historical past (i.e. cultural heritage)


and existing cultural conditions of people. This kind of tourism will be a source of knowledge for visitors on one side and the natives will see the other people coming from abroad who will be also the source of knowledge to the host on the other. Hence, cultural tourism stands as beneficiary agents for both hosts and guests.

AcknowledgementsI would like to express my sincere thanks to Shubham Poudel, the instructor of

NATHM; Udaya Raj Paudel, Director-Quest Int’l College, Gwarko, Lalitpur; Bibek Raj Kunwar, the pass out student of BTTM, NATHM, Kathmandu; Bhupesna Adhikari, a BHM student of GATE College, Mandikhatar, Kathmandu; and Asmita Sharma who provided me their valuable time for editing, typing and making figures and some of them provided few materials for this article.

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Implication of Travel Advisory on Peaceful Tourism Image: A Case study of Nepal

Pranil Kumar Upadhayaya*

AbstractThe job of travel advisory is to assess the risk involved in traveling to security affected destinations and provide a safety briefing containing the security and risk information to potential travelers. Government travel advisories, while not legally binding on travelers, are regarded as an authoritative source of information on the status of tourism safety for the citizens of that country when planning travel to the destinations to which the advisories refer.These advisories, called also as travel warnings, are based on a basket of up-to-date political, health, economic, social and other factors. Such statement is positioned on the highest order of sensitiveness in terms of safety and security. In the official task of travel advisories, there are strong suggestions to tourists not to go to security affected destinations. It is dynamically updated by governments in tourist generating markets following frequent security assessments and as security events crop up in tourist destinations and on transit place to such destinations. Relating to such a practice travel warnings, this article covers a case study of Nepal in the period of Maoist armed conflict (1996-2006) era and thereafter in the post conflict period. It is prepared on the eclectic approach of study which reveals that advisories to Nepal during a decade long armed conflict were mostly based on media news in general which was not wholly realistic. Most of media news itself was based on the overall general situation of Nepal. The article reveals that travel advisories to Nepal were based on both with and without the ground reality of the safety and security related condition. It concludes that a tourist receiving destination authority has little direct influence over tourist generating country’s travel advisories. Keywords: Travel Advisory, safety briefing, tourism, tourist generating countries.

* Dr Pranil Upadhayaya holds a PhD on tourism. He is a researcher and educationist in tourism interconnecting it (tourism) with various cross cutting issues like landscape, economy, peace, conflict, culture, and environment.

59Upadhayaya: Implication of Travel Advisory...

Introduction: The concept of travel advisoryPotential tourists’ travel behavior is influenced to a certain extent by the risk

assessments conducted and published by some of their respective governments. The government authorities normally use three classifications of notifications as travel security risk information bulletins namely travel advisory/warnings, public announcements, and consular information sheets. Amidst theses three classification of notifications, travel advisory appears on the highest order of importance due to its sensitiveness (Nielsen, 2001). Travel advisory is a statement issued by governments in generating markets as part of their policy intended to advise its citizens about possible risks involved in traveling to security affected destinations, Convincing or instructing tourists to not to go security affected destinations is the official task of travel advisories which are communicated through the mass media and by using the internet.

Travel advisory – as a general rule issued by foreign diplomatic offices - are in most cases ranked on a scale from “precautions are needed” to “strictly no-go destinations” (Pizam and Mansfeld, 2006). Though there is no doubt on the legitimacy of issuing governmental travel warnings for protect the life and health of a given country’s citizens, however there are also some reservations by researchers on the authenticity and comprehensiveness of the security and risk information that is communicated to potential travelers (Beirman, 2003; Mansfeld, 2006). A destination’s image and tourist accessibility can be severely damaged by government travel advisories which caution citizens to avoid or defer travel to a destination or describe a multitude of threats which deter travelers from considering the destination. Many travelers tend to highly value the accuracy of these assessments as they lack the ability to make their own judgments as to the real risks involved. This is mainly owing to the vulnerability of tourism to both structural and violent conflicts as these can impede tourism activities, cause damage to necessary infrastructure and influence travel warnings that decrease tourist arrival numbers (Alluri, 2009).

A destination authority has little direct influence over tourist generating country’s travel advisories, but they can adopt a consultative role and be treated as a credible source of information. Few nations have a diplomatic presence in every country, and foreign ministries sometimes rely on second and third hand advice (e.g. various media sources) in formulating a travel advisory. This can sometimes result in serious inaccuracies. In this conceptual background, this paper attempts to answer to following questions.

What are the causes of the issuance of travel advisories? 1.) How are its after effects on the tourism industry of Nepal?2.)


MethodologyThe author has utilized elective approach for producing this paper. Both

qualitative and quantitative information are utilized from primary and secondary of information. A total of seventy four hotels in Kathmandu and Pokhara were consulted to raise questions in getting their views on the impact of travel advisories during the last period of a decade (1996-2006) long armed conflict when there were much instabilities and the lack of peace in the country. Such hotel unites were selected on the basis purposing sampling as some of such unites (as the leaders of tourism industry) were very important in relations to the knowledge of this author. The univariate analyses of quantitative data are done by applying frequency tables to know the objective reality. A conceptualization of the understanding is made on qualitative data on the positive and negative impacts of travel advisory.

Inherent cause and implications of travel advisories on tourism There are enlarge discourse on the causes and impacts of tourist generating

countries’s travel advisory on both deterioration and improvement of tourist destination image of a host country and consequent consequences on tourist arrival numbers in a tourist destination (Bhandari, 2004; Grandon, 2007; Mansfeld, 2006; Mihalic, 1996; Pizam and Mansfeld, 2006; Sönmez, 1998). Those scholars have remarked on the two trends of governments on their travel advisories: (a) preference to convince people to avoid affected destinations on the whole rather the dealing with tourists trapped in the midst of some kind of security situation in an specific insecure place in a foreign and not always friendly country of travel advisories, (b) occasional uses of partial, biased, distorted, and/or intentionally blown-out-of-proportion information in the travel advisories on the political background.

With such trends of travel advisories as the risk management strategies, governments of tourist generating countries attempt to protect themselves from possible future liability lawsuits (Beirman, 2003). Above latter trend of government is mostly based on political tool which tourism is made of by tourist generating powerful countries. Sönmez (1998) quotes the work of Sharpley and Sharpley (1995) in this tendency and argues that such negative travel advisory is largely associated with power relation and takes tourism as a political tool of politicizing the tourist receiving country. Sönmez, relating examples of such trends (British Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s travel advice on Gambia in 1994, and the US travel advice with bans on Cuba and China in 1989), opines that that the governments of tourism generating countries can influence flow of tourists for political reasons through travel advisories.

The mass media has the common mode of conduct on disseminating the tourism security related information but if the same is practiced by governments, it would be


violation of the basic principles that drive international tourism, it reciprocity and freedom of movement (Mansfeld, 2006).

The primary significance of travel advisories is that travel insurance coverage for that destination is based on the wording of the advisory, which greatly influences the marketability and salability of a destination. These advisories have become an important travel filter since insurance companies and large tour operators base their business policies on this mode of governmental risk assessment (Beirman, 2003). The destination marketers face the most difficult challenges under this circumstance as they have to counter the impact of a negative government travel advisory.

While media reporting can be challenged in the public domain, a government made decision on a travel advisory is extremely difficult for a national tourist office to convince a government to alter the advisory. Consequently, they have a significant impact on tourism to countries cited and the decision by travel insurance companies to cover travel to that country. Travel insurance companies’ decisions in turn influence tour operators’ decisions to include the destination in their programs. Airlines also use advisories as a basis upon which to determine the operation and extend of air links to the destination. Many travelers take advisories into account when choosing a destination to visit, and they are cited by travel writers in articles or guidebooks on destinations (Mansfeld, 2006).

The most common variables used to evaluate the impact of governmental warnings are:

Availability of travel advisories in given generating markets;-

Level of exposure to travel advisories in generating markets;-

Position on travel advisories’ risk scale; and -

Frequency of travel advisory updates.-

Impact of travel advisory on tourism industry in NepalDuring a decade long armed conflict (1996-2006), all major sectors of the country

suffered badly and tourism was no exception. However, armed conflict and the lack of peace were not only the reasons of ailing tourism industry in Nepal.

Though there were some relaxed and positive natures of travel advisories when there was some politically stable situations in the country or less battle between the Communist Part of Nepal –Maoist (CPN-M) gorillas and government security forces, however the armed conflict in Nepal had compounded negative travel advisories about Nepal with unrealistic (far from ground reality) media sensation. Such notices were largely highlighting about the lack of safety and security to tourists on the backdrops of the declaration of emergencies and curfews during November 2001– August 2002 and February – April 2005.


All major tourist generating countries like Australia, Germany, Japan, UK and the U.S.A. had projected the security situation in Nepal by issuing a number of travel advisories as travel warnings. In this context, a travel advisory issued by Australian Embassy in 2004 states:

Australians are advised to defer non-essential travel to Nepal. There is an on-going Maoist insurgency in Nepal. Maoists are present in all districts and violent clashes between government forces and insurgents occur across the country, including popular trekking and tourist areas. Maoists and political parties call frequent national and local strikes, during which most businesses are closed. The lock of transport during banda (closures) can make travel very difficult, including to and from airports (Khadka, 2004).

Among these countries, USA was the most issuing country even sometimes twice in the same month. The excerpts of some those advisories are mentioned in following paragraphs which were issued by USA. One of the earlier negative travel advisories issued by US Department of State on April 22, 2002 states:

Maoist violence throughout Nepal has increased over the past several months. In some areas outside the Kathmandu Valley, the situation is tense and uncertain, with armed conflicts between the Maoists and government security forces occurring sporadically and unpredictably… While no tourists have been attacked to date, the dangers of Americans being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time have increased in the periods leading up to bandhs … (US Department of State, 2002).

Here are some excerpts of another travel advisory issued by US at different times.

Recent reports of threats against and robberies of American trekkers, property destruction suffered by two businesses with an American affiliation and increased anti-American rhetoric by the Maoist leadership indicate an increased risk to American to Nepal... (US travel advisories in 2002 as cited in Thapa, 2009).

The initial state of emergency laid by King during the years 2001 and 2002 was adequate for various foreign diplomatic missions and embassies to issue negative travel advisories which, however, were not always matter-of-fact concerned with safety and security lacks for tourists to visit Nepal. One other advisory of the US Department of State during the armed conflict on September 16, 2004 stated:

This supersedes the Travel Warning dated July 21, 2004… On a number of occasions, Maoists have burned or bombed tourist resorts


after the foreigners staying there were given short notice to evacuate. Maoists also detonate bombs periodically within Kathmandu itself. Several bombs have exploded in Thamel, a tourist hub. The Department of State urges U.S. citizens to defer non-essential travel to Nepal… (US Department of State, 2004).

A thorough review on the trend of such advisories reveal that the projection of the security situation was based on totality for the whole nation and not in accordance with place specific situation where the cross fires or attacks between armed rebels and government security forces were confined. The diplomatic missions of countries other than USA were much based and influenced on advisories issued by US and those missions were following the same track as of USA. However, the European Missions were generally most objective and factual where as USA was more prohibitory and mistrusted on Nepal in its travel advisory wordings. Such episodes became the major reasons in damaging Nepal’s image from a peaceful tourist land to an insecure destination. (Adhikari, 2005; Grandon, 2005; NATO, 2004; Sharma and Upadhayaya, 2008; Upreti and Upadhayaya, 2010). With the particular state of emergencies in place, the foreign countries had advised or warned their citizens from visiting Nepal.

The media had exaggerated to the issuances of travel advisories out of proportion. Such trend of media behavior had far negative implications on the travel advisories. In this context, a summary and brief report on the Tourism Industry Interaction on Nepal which was organized by the Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO) on July 23rd 2004 in Kathmandu reveals this scenario in the tourism sector of Nepal. Referring the welcome speech of its (NATO’s) president, this report on the influence of media on travel advisory that had negative effects on Nepalese tourism states:

Our concern is the release of correct news considering it’s after effects which are over blown news filled by those few journalists. This will help revise the travel advisories issues by several Embassies as many of them are to some extent compelled to prepare travel advisories on the basis of news reports. When life here in Nepal is normal and tourists are as safe as ever the embassies are discouraging their nationals from coming to Nepal. The correction of the news reports will help revise the content of travel advisory as well. Travelers are afraid more with the news and the travel advisories rather than with the event itself... The negative travel advisories have not just worried the local tour operators but also the tour operators of the tourist generating countries. Foreign tour operators are repeatedly asking why such negative news is being reported when their clients have returned back having had a marvelous holiday (NATO, 2004).


Thus it is found that the travel advisories issued about Nepal were not self-determining but rather dependent on various sources of media on general. In this context, travel trade organizations of Nepal expressed their concerns and condemned on the travel advisories issuing tourist generating countries which hit the Nepali tourism industry hard (The Himalayan Time, 2006; The Kathmandu Post, 2006). They demanded to review travel advisories issued by various countries which is clear from a news update that mentions the solicitation of tourism industry from embassies to support tourism industry. One of such media coverage states:

During the armed conflict period, none of the visitors were stranded, seriously hurt, nor had there been a single fatal case. We managed to send our visitors back to their homes happily. Because of harsh travel advisories, businessman as well as low-skilled workers at the bottom of the ‘tourism ladder’ reliant on the arrival of the tourists to provide support in the future to help ensure that balanced and realistic travel advisories are the call of the day (Image Nepal, 2006).

This author’s done primary survey with hotels with schedule questionnaires on their experiences about the intention of travel advisories during the Maoist armed conflict reveal following results in table 1.

Table1: Perception on the foreign diplomatic missions in portraying the safety image of Nepal through travel advisories

Type of respondents

Number of respondents

Implications of travel advisories

Extremely positive Positive

Average on

fairness Negative Extremely

Negative

Hotels in Kathmandu 30 1 - 13 14 2

Hotel in Pokhara 44 - 3 15 24 2

Total 74(100 %) 1(1% ) 3(4%) 28(38%) 38(51%) 4(6%)Source: Primary information from the field About 66 per cent of the respondents’ assessments to travel advisories were

negative and unrealistic. These respondents also viewed that such advisories were mostly based on media news in general which was not wholly realistic. Such advisories also compelled tour operators of Nepal at different tourist generating countries to pull Nepal out from their promotional brochures that target for outbound tourists. One of the respondents mentioned that Western countries as generators of tourists for Nepal feared the entry of Maoists in arena of Nepali politics as the language of such


warning indicated Nepal as country under war. They also feared for their citizens who could become victims of Maoist insurgency and Nepal army battle against internal terrorism in Nepal.

On the backdrop of the dominating and biased travel advisories in general, Sharpley and Sharpley (1995) recommend for the feasibility and logistics of creating an independent and international organization to collect, update, disseminate travel information which is impartial, accurate, and apolitical in nature and useful to prohibit serious damage to the tourism industry of a destination unaffected by political violence, however, declared dangerous by other countries.

Conclusion A destination’s image and tourist accessibility can be severely damaged by

government advisories as such advisories caution citizens to avoid or defer travel to a destination or describe a multitude of threats which deter travelers from considering the destination. There is normally high legitimacy of the government travel warning to protect the life and health of a given country’s citizens. Such advisories act as a catalyst for both deterioration and improvement of tourist destination image of a host country which ultimately affects on tourist arrival numbers in a tourist destination.

As like in other countries, the foreign diplomats in Nepal being bureaucrat of their nation couldn’t set themselves aside from their key responsibilities to prevent and safeguard their citizens from any unexpected accident(s) that could arise from direct and indirect safety and security related incidences for which they were employed. Hence they did their job in full-fledged manner. However, few such countries did this job by mostly asking their country nationals to not to travel in Nepal as a whole instead of indicating certain areas which was really conflict hit and unsafe for tourists during the armed conflict period. The projection of such foreign diplomatic missions in general and of USA in specific was not real at most of the time. Most of the travel advisories to Nepal during a decade long armed conflict period were based on security information produced by print and visual media. These media channels had mostly showed war footage, fighting scene and killings of warring parties which (such incidences) were mostly confined in non tourist areas in Nepal. Foreign diplomatic missions had based the decision of their advisories and the level of such advisories also based on the information spread by media which were not often realistic.

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Workshop on Post-Conflict Tourism in Nepal: Opportunities and Challenges, Kathmandu: Human and Natural Resources Studies Centre, Kathmandu University & Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South.

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Why is Nepal Lagging Behind in Tourism Development?

Sandeep Basnyat*

AbstractThis paper explores reasons for the inadequate success of tourism destination development despite institutional arrangements and supports from the public and the private sector entrepreneurs. The initial research, based on the published articles, statistics, policy papers and newspaper analysis reveals that the tourism activities in Nepal, mostly conducted by the private sector tourism entrepreneurs and supported by the government, have shown significant growth over the last decade. Despite these developments and arrangements, the potentiality of tourism development in Nepal, as appraised by domestic and international evaluators, have not been satisfactorily achieved. This paper argues that the ongoing political instability, lack of commitment from the side of the government to integrate all the concerned tourism stakeholders in consensus and, the potential fear developed through the international media as Nepal being an unsafe destination hindered the extent of tourism development in Nepal. Keywords: tourism success, destination image, tourism development, media effect on tourism.

IntroductionThe attractiveness of a destination is usually distributed across the nation and the

resources and capabilities required to produce them lies with co-producing actors including private and public sector organizations. Therefore, not only the activities of individual organizations are interdependent on activities taking place in other firms (Haugland et al., 2011) but also collective efforts are needed to achieve the desired level destination development success. In this context, this paper examines the extent of the tourism destination development success in three aspects: coordination between public and private sector tourism organizations, the role of mass media and, the level of political (in) stability in a destination.

* Sandeep Basnyat is a freelance researcher and economist. Currently he is doing Ph.D. research from the University of New Zeland.

69Basnyat: Why is Nepal Lagging...

Cooperation and coordination between destinations development organizations (both public and private sector) are a precondition for innovation and renewal for integrated quality management practices (Go & Govers, 2000). Structural holes are absent where a group of actors is strongly associated with each other (Coleman, 1988). However, public sector actors’ behavior influence on both intra-destination and inter-destination relations (Araujo & Bramwell, 2002). The stakeholders in the tourism sectors are diverse in nature and therefore the government has to play active, if not dominant, role as a facilitator and a promoter of the development of tourism (Akama, 2002).

The integrated efforts of public and private sector actors should be, alongside, supported by mass media. Even though information provided through the mass media are not the sole factors that consumers of tourism destinations take into consideration while deciding their choice of destination for visitation, scholars (Gartner, 1993; Hanefors & Mossberg, 2002) have documented that they certainly play crucial roles in their decision making process because of their wide network of accessibility and credibility. The destination image is formed in the mind of a tourist through the development of a mental construct based upon a few impressions chosen from a flood of information (Reynolds, 1965).

Finally, political stability in a country provides a feeling of safety and security for the travelling tourists in that destination. Regardless of how enchanting a destination is, visitors would most likely like to assure their safety first, rather than taking risks of their pleasure trips. Hall and O’Sullivan (1996, pp. 117) noted that “perceptions of political instability and safety are a prerequisite for tourist visitation. Violent protests, social unrest, civil war, terrorist actions, the perceived violations of human rights, or even the mere threat of these activities can all serve to cause tourists to alter their travel behavior”.

Based upon the above assumptions, this paper investigates the role played by the above three factors in discounting the efforts made by both public and private sector tourism stakeholders for successful development of a destination image. As will be observed, tourism development in Nepal has gradually taken shape over the years; however, the intermittent political disturbances and negative mass media publicity have discredited their efforts. In addition, the government as a facilitator has been ineffective in extending its integrated efforts to sustain the level of success achieved so far.

The paper, analysis of which is mostly based on the secondary sources of information such as published research and newspaper articles, institutional and media reports, opens with the thematic concept of the relationships between tourism and other aspects-coordination between public and private sector stakeholders,


media publicity and political instability. It, then proceed with the historical analysis of the tourism development in Nepal alongside the effects exerted by the above three factors.

Tourism destination development and actorsFlagestad and Hope describe a destination as a “geographical, economic,

and social unit consisting of all those firms, organizations, activities, areas and installations which are intended to serve the specific needs” (2001, p. 449). In a more focused form, tourism destination has been defined as “a geographical region, political jurisdiction, or major attraction, which seeks to provide visitors with a range of satisfying to memorable visitation experiences” (Bornhorst et al., 2010, p.572). Tourism destinations are, therefore, the regions that contain a sufficient critical mass or cluster of attractions so as to be capable of providing tourists with visitation experiences that attract them to the destination for tourism purposes. Similarly, big metropolitan cities with a wide variety of products that provide thrilling experiences to the tourists within their borders are also destinations in many countries.

With substitution among destinations being pervasive, competitive advantage requires the ability to effectively manage all components of the tourism system to ensure success is achieved (Bornhorst et al., 2010). This calls for a delivery of a variety of products, and services produced by a large number of co-producing actors (Hu & Brent Ritchie, 1993; Murphy et. al., 2000; Meliań-Gonza´lez & Garcıá-Falcoń, 2003). Since the destination attractiveness is distributed across the nation and the resources and capabilities required to produce them lie with co-producing actors including private and public sector organizations, not only the activities of individual organizations are interdependent on activities taking place in other firms (Haugland et al., 2011) but also collective efforts are needed to achieve the desired level destination development success. However, their collective efforts are simultaneously affected by the extent of their own political engagement; and, hence, the level of political instability in a country will undermine the success of such an integration (Beirman, 2003). Therefore, examination of the extent of tourism destination development success requires analysis of three aspects: coordination between public and private sector tourism organizations, the role of mass media and, the level of political (in) stability in a destination. These three aspects will be considered as the basis for the analysis of Nepal’s level of success in tourism destination development efforts in this paper.

Coordination between public and private sector tourism organizationsDestinations not only vary in resources mobilization, capability utilization,

organization of internal structure, and relative progress in their development stages (Scott et al., 2008); but they are different in identifying sets of problems and their methods of resolution practices. Therefore, as Ness at. al (2014) noted, on the one


hand, specialization and role relations between destination organizations (both public and private) in order to increase the potential for resource exploitation and value creation in their co-producing efforts are important (Gomes-Casseres, 2003; Rodriguez-Diaz & Espino-Rodriguez, 2008); and, on the other, a focus on integration and coordination between these organizations in order to realize the potential gains caused by specialization is essential (Ness et al., 2014).

Go and Govers (2000) argued that cooperation and coordination between destinations are a precondition for innovation and renewal for integrated quality management practices. Ness et al. (2014) applied network theory to examine ‘how destination actors search and make use of bridge ties to achieve knowledge transfer and destination development’ (p.194). Their research, particularly explored the ‘complementary roles of different kinds of bridge ties in connecting different destinations to spur destination development and argued that the problem driven search is important, and that different kinds of ties complement each other and fulfill different roles in this process by transmitting information, knowledge, and practices across destinations’(p.194).

The benefits of inter-organizational networks have also been highlighted by Coleman (1988) and Burt (2004). Coleman argues that structural holes are absent where a group of actors are strongly associated with each other. Burt, in the same line, added that with the inter-organization associations, the actors are exposed to heterogeneous knowledge flows and divergent practices between groups. “Closure within groups enables efficient monitoring, norm-based sanctioning, detailed information sharing, and high levels of trust. In a regional context, individual destinations can be understood as local sub-networks with a high degree of closure. In turn, individual destinations are linked to other destinations through the position of bridge ties” (Ness, et al., 2013, p.185).

Araujo and Bramwell (2002) argued that the public sector actors’ behavior influence on both intra-destination and inter-destination relations. As noted by Akama (2002), government involvement in the tourism industry is peculiar in many countries including least developed one. He argues that the stakeholders in the tourism sectors are diverse in nature and therefore the government has to play active, if not dominant, role as a facilitator and a promoter of the development of tourism. They can provide suitable socioeconomic, political and legal environments and coordinate activities of diverse interest groups as they are the one institution with socio-political legitimacy and institutional capacity (Akama, 2002). In case of Kenya, Akama (2002) argued that it was the direct government involvement in the establishment of tourism and hospitality facilities such as operation and management of hotels and accommodation facilities and, tour and travel operations that led to accelerated development of the industry, especially in the 1970s, and the 1980s.


Bornhorst et al. (2010) studied the role of the public sector in destination development and focused on the examination of the concept of tourism success from the perspective of tourism destination and destination management organizations (DMOs), and attempted to determine if a relationship or distinction exists between the two. DMOs not only provide leadership and advocacy for the management of tourism in the destination; but also coordinate constituent elements of the tourism sector such as local, political, civic, business, and visitor industry representatives; ensure the development of an attractive set of tourism facilities, events and programs, including branding destination image; provide visitor services; and, act as a liaison to external organizations (Gartrell, 1994).

Wang and Bramwell (2012) used a political economy approach to examine the government’s role in determining priorities between heritage protection and tourism related development at heritage sites for two heritage schemes at West Lake in the city of Hangzhou in China. They argued that interventions by the state can be important for the relative priorities given to heritage protection and tourism related economic development at heritage sites. A study by Ruhanen (2013) explored the role of local government in, facilitating, or indeed inhibiting, sustainable development in Queensland, Australia. The study shows that local government had assumed responsibility for facilitating the sustainable tourism agenda, due to the absence of strong industry leadership and due to top-down directives from state and federal governments. It is because the public sector has mandates to represent the broader interests of the population; they are supposedly impartial without commercial interests; they have the legislative empowerment to implement change; and they are not as constrained by short term financial objectives as is more often the case in the private sector (Bramwell, 2011; Sinclair & Jayawardena, 2003; Swarbrooke, 1998). However, power struggles, tokenistic public participation and the strong influence of the local government authority in local governance structures were found to be inhibitors to sustainable tourism development (Ruhanen, 2013).

Role of mass media for the successful tourism destination developmentMass media such as television and newspaper reach a broad and diversified

audience through its wide communication channels and, therefore, has a potential to influence the destination visitation choices of a large range of people from all across the world. Even though information provided through the media are not the sole factors that consumers of tourism destinations take into consideration while deciding their choice of destination for visitation, scholars (Gartner, 1993; Hanefors & Mossberg, 2002) have documented that they certainly play crucial roles in their decision making process because of their wide network of accessibility and credibility. In essence, the mass media create a destination image, either negative or positive or neutral, that eventually help tourists to decide whether they would prefer to purchase a particular


destination for their holiday or not. Crompton (1979) defined destination image as ‘‘the sum of the beliefs, ideas, and

impressions that a person has of a destination’’ (p.18). Despite newer addition to the field of tourism research (Echtner & Ritchie, 2003), researchers (Hunt, 1975; Pearce, 1982) have noted that destination image affects tourists’ actions. The destination image is formed in the minds of the tourists through the development of a mental construct based upon a few impressions chosen from a flood of information (Reynolds, 1965). The sources of information and how they construct mental impression are explained by Gunn (1988) in his model of seven phases of travel experience:

1. Accumulation of mental images about vacation experiences2. Modification of those images by further information3. Decision to take a vacation trip4. Travel to the destination5. Participation at the destination6. Return home7. Modification of images based on the vacation experience.Gunn (1988) identifies three phases of destination image formation using

this model--phase 1, 2 and 7. In Phases 1 and 2, destination images are formed based upon secondary sources of information, whereas in Phase 7, actual firsthand experience is used to modify the destination’s image. Gunn labels the destination image formed in Phase 1 an organic image. At this stage, the image is based primarily upon information assimilated from non-touristic, non-commercial sources, such as the general media (news reports, magazines, books, movies), education (school courses) and the opinions of family/friends. It is only in Phase 2 that more commercial sources of information, such as travel brochures, travel agents and travel guidebooks, are used. As a result of accessing these additional sources of information, the organic image (Phase 1) may be altered. This modified image, which occurs in Phase 2, is labeled an induced image. Studies on induced image have mainly focused on the effects of advertising and other forms of publicity (Chen & Hsu, 2000; Echtner & Ritchie, 1991; Young, 1999) and has been recognized as a significant cause to visitations (Fakeye & Crompton, 1991). On the other hand, the organic image, as a foundation of induced destination image (Wang et al., 2014) can be influential in the initial choice set of destinations (Selby & Morgan, 1996). As the exposure to mass media messages can lead to the changes in people’s perceptions and opinions (Potter, 2011), mass media plays an important role in shaping the organic image of a destination.


Similarly, Mansfeld (1992) considered that all sources of information built up a ‘‘secondary image’’ (a ‘‘prejudice’’, though not necessarily in negative terms) that had to be confronted with reality to create the ‘‘primary’’ image. According to this theory, information sources would fulfill the following three functions: minimization of risk assumption in choosing a destination, image building of the destination, and justification of the final decision.

Media are undoubtedly an important information source regarding risk minimization because they provide tourists with up-to-date news about a destination that other sources such as travel guides cannot. According to Mitra, Reiss, and Capella (1999), information sourcing plays a key role in re-establishing a cognitive balance between customer expectations and the anticipated benefits of the purchase decision. Similarly, Lutz and Reilly (1973) and Murray (1991) have suggested the existence of a positive correlation between perceived risk and the process of information search, in which the role of the mass media is crucial. An extensive study by Wang et al. (2014) explored the impacts of the mass media (e.g. news reports) on the organic destination image of Singapore in the views of Hong Kong residents and identified that organic destination images are the outcome of readers’ assimilation of material from newspapers, publications and books (Govers et al., 2007; Gunn, 1997; Hui & Wan, 2003). The findings indicate that the news help to maintain the status quo and enhance the existing images (Potter, 2011).

However, journalists and editors have also been often accused of focusing on negative aspects such as crime, terrorism or social disruptions while simultaneously ignoring positive news that could enhance the media image of a destination (Castelltort & Mader, 2010). As Avharam (2015) noted, the Arab Spring uprisings received intensive coverage and had a negative effect on tourism to the Middle East. The mass media framed the events in the beginning as a grassroots attempt to bring social and political changes, while replacing dictatorships with democratic regimes, which evoked sympathetic reactions in the West. After several months it became clear that the situation was more complicated, and the road to achieving freedom of expression, free elections, women’s rights and independent media was long and complex. The media reports on the demands for social and political change in the Middle East led to Western sympathy, but created a deep crisis in tourism (Avharam, 2015). Yet in another study by Mercille (2005), it was noted that absences in media productions, such as Sinification and Westernization, led to tourists being surprised by Tibet’s relatively high level of development and Chinese presence upon arrival.

Political (in) stability and its role in the tourism destination developmentPolitical instability has been defined as “a situation in which conditions and

mechanisms of governance and rule are challenged as to their political legitimacy


by elements operating from outside of the normal operations of the political system. When challenge occurs from within a political system and the system is able to adapt and change to meet demands on it, it can be said to be stable (Hall & O’Sullivan, 1996, pp.106). A political system needs to adapt to those challenges in order for it to become stable again. When forces for change are not satisfied within a political system, the uses of non-legitimate activities like unauthorized protests, violence, or even a (civil) war occur, in order to initiate change; and hence, the political system then becomes unstable (Causevic & Lynch, 2013). Islam (2005) argues that it is not the type of regime, but its stability which permits sustainable economic development. Therefore, tourism development and political stability can be considered that often go hand in hand.

The relationship between political conflicts and tourism was pioneered through the work of Matthews (1974), Matthews and Richter (1991), Richter & Waugh, (1986), and still continues to inspire tourism research (Causevic & Lynch, 2013). Similarly, the relationship between tourism and political (in) stability in terms of tourists and their perception of the politically unstable destinations by is studied by Cavlek (2002). Among such researches, the primary research stream emanating from the late 1990s addresses post political conflict situations in relation to business oriented themes such as destination image reconstruction, particularly the rapport between media, PR and destinations (Baral, Baral, & Morgan, 2004; Hall, 2002; Sonmez & Sirakaya, 2002).

Hall and O’Sullivan (1996, pp. 117) noted that “perceptions of political instability and safety are a prerequisite for tourist visitation. Violent protests, social unrest, civil war, terrorist actions, the perceived violations of human rights, or even the mere threat of these activities can all serve to cause tourists to alter their travel behavior”. Tourists are often regarded as longing for relaxing and unconcerned holiday making and therefore are sensitive to events of violence in holiday destinations. Ironically, for most of human history, traveling has been associated with risk and fear for the physical integrity and the belongings of the traveler (Neumayer, 2004).

Neumayer (2004) argues that the broader definition of political instability incorporates political violence. Political violence is the exercise of such force that is politically motivated and can be exercised by governmental or anti governmental groups. Depending on its exact definition, political violence is regarded as an essential ingredient of the somewhat broader notion of political instability. Political instability will therefore normally go hand in hand with political violence (Neumayer, 2004). Lancaster (1971) predicts that tourists consume certain characteristics of a tourist destination rather than one single good. Unless these characteristics are very specific to the country and highly valued, tourists will easily switch to another destination if faced with violence. For example, a country whose main attractions are a warm,


sunny climate with nice beaches will find itself vulnerable to events of violence because tourists can easily enjoy similar attractions in other countries without the risk of encountering violence. As Richter and Waugh (1986, pp. 231) put it, “tourism is frequently an early casualty of internecine warfare, revolution, or even prolonged labor disputes. Even if the tourist areas are secure . . . tourism may decline precipitously when political conditions appear unsettled. Tourists simply choose alternative destinations”.

Causevic and Lynch (2013) explored the ways in which the context of economic and social renewal in the aftermath of political conflict affected tourism development in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). Their findings argue that the particular change to the peace agreement was necessary if tourism was to be developed in B&H. They recommended that a legislation has to be introduced which would give more power to the state itself in order to maintain law and order and promote tourism development as the existing circumstances (of political instability) would not allow even a tourism strategy on a national level; and, therefore, the country needs to reform the current system in order to install a positive peace (Causevic & Lynch, 2013).

When countries are dependent on tourism receipts, groups that want to destabilize the government will find it attractive to cut off some of the government’s finance by seeking to reduce tourism (Neumayer, 2004). Some insurgent groups such as the Kurdish Workers Party, Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan (PKK), in Turkey have frequently warned tourists against traveling to the country because they stand the risk of becoming harmed. Even when tourists are not concerned about their personal safety, they might be repelled by the heavily armed police and army forces needed to protect them from terrorist attacks (Richter & Waugh, 1986).

However, the effect could be opposite too, if the political parties take the opportunities positively and engender tourism. For example, Cruz and Bersales (2007) argued that tourism as a political platform has served Gordon well in catapulting him to the Philippine Senate, mainly because of the positive perceptions of WOW Philippines – The Best of the Regions, and his being closely identified with the successful project. However, the reasons for the positive perception were non-economic (as Gordon flaunted during the campaign) but factors relating to cultural awareness and sense of well-being (Cruz & Bersales, 2007).

Tourism destination image and its development in NepalAfter its formal opening to foreigners in 1951, Nepal saw a few foreign arrivals

during the 50s enchanted by its cultural heritage and natural beauties. When they returned to their respective countries with exotic tales of a hidden Shangri-La nestled in the Himalayas, they acted as a prism through which the world viewed the country. After the first ascent of Mt. Everest in 1953, alluring image of the kingdom


further enhanced which was later validated by travel diaries and postcards sent to loved ones (Bhattarai, Conway, & Shrestha, 2005). In no time, Nepal became a popular destination for adventure tourism, including trekking, rafting, and wildlife observation for mountain climbers, trekkers, tourists and researchers (Chand 2000; Shrestha 1998).

With the increase in the number of tourists, including low-budget Western hippies, the local response was to meet their various demands in a makeshift fashion. That is, in the absence of any regulatory requirements, the bootleg operations thrived as ‘‘overnight’’ entrepreneurs entered the supply market. Soon ghettoes sprouted with their early gravitational force centered on what appropriately became known as the ‘‘Freak Street’’ located right in the heart of the city (Bhattarai, Conway, & Shrestha, 2005). The tourism industry in Nepal gradually started expanding and became the third largest export industry in terms of foreign exchange earnings, surpassed only by the carpet and garment industries during the 90s (Bhattarai, Conway, & Shrestha, 2005). In fact, ‘‘the increasing flow of tourists as well as airfreight at the height of the carpet boom turned Kathmandu into one of South Asia’s busiest air transportation hubs’’ (Rankin, 2004, pp. 172).

Tourism in Nepal, primarily run by private sector tourism entrepreneurs and their associations (UPZRS, 2009) have been actively supported by the Nepalese government. Establishment of Nepal Tourism Development Committee in 1969 for formulating the tourist policy as well as to draw a long term development plan for this sector, establishment of Hotel Management and Tourism Training Centre in1972 (later named as Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management (NATHM) in 1999) with the joint effort of UNDP and ILO with a view to produce trained manpower in the tourism sector, preparation of Tourism Master Plan 1972, review of the Master Plan 1984, and defining of Tourism Policy in 1995, the establishment of separate ministry, and tourism promotion council for the development and promotion of tourism in Nepal are some of the efforts made by the Nepalese government to extend institutional supports and develop tourism industry in Nepal (UPZRS, 2009).

However, with the advent of democracy in 1990, after a successful people’s movement against the monarchy, brought political instability to Nepal. From 1991 to 2000 there were nine Prime Ministers who each led different governments (Upadhayaya et al., 2011). The situation got worse after the Maoists started the Civil war in 1996 and Gyanendra Shah became the king in the aftermath of the massacre that killed all the family members of King Birendra in June 2001. Establishment of Nepal Tourism Board in 1998 in a Public-Private Partnership model has demonstrated the commitment from the side of the government to liberalize and promote the industry. However, these incidences along with the negative travel advisories issued by foreign embassies and diplomatic missions in Nepal and abroad, and removal of Nepal from


promotional brochures by tour operators in tourist generating countries created negative word of mouth; and, had dramatic effects on the destination image of Nepal (Upadhayaya et al., 2011). Statistics from the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) shows that tourist arrivals in Nepal decreased by 5.7%, 22.1% and 23.7% in the years 2000, 2001 and 2002 compared to the previous years (MoCTCA, 2013). The withdrawals of international flight connections by foreign airlines were instrumental in the decrease in tourist arrivals and revenue from tourism (Sharma & Upadhayaya, 2008). The employment situation worsened, not only in the hotels, but in the entire tourism sector of Nepal.

It was only after the ceasefire between the rebels and the government for a period of seven months and the organization of a mega tourism promotion event (Golden Jubilee celebration of the first ascent of Mount Everest) in 2003, growth in tourist arrivals and income generation started to spur (Upadhayaya et al., 2011). For the period 2003 to 2009 the arrival rates have been fluctuating; however, since then, there have been a steady increase (MOCTCA, 2012). Promotional activities such as visit Nepal’98 and Nepal Tourism Year 2011 also contributed to the development of a positive image of Nepalese tourism, thereby steadily increasing the number of tourists every year.

Tourist Arrivals in Nepal from 1996 to 2012

Year Number of Tourists

Annual Growth Rate (in %)

1996 393,613 8.31997 421,857 7.21998 463,684 9.91999 491,504 62000 463,646 -5.72001 361,237 -22.12002 275,468 -23.72003 338,132 22.72004 385,297 13.92005 375,398 -2.62006 383,926 2.32007 526,705 37.22008 500,277 -52009 509,956 1.9


2010 602,867 18.22011 736,215 22.12012 803,092 9.1

Source: Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA, 2013)Despite a steady increase in the tourist arrivals over the last decade, government’s

institutional supports, private sector tourism industry’s promotional efforts (see UPZRS, 2009 and NTB, 2011-12) and international media’s repeated acclaims (NTBa, nd), the anticipated level of success in tourism development has not been achieved. For example, in the UK based travel magazine - Wanderlust, international travelers (about 1,600) voted Nepal, among 180 countries, as the second best country to visit behind New Zealand in the Travel Awards 2001. Similarly, Nepal has been voted as the favorite long-haul country among subscribers of two popular U.K. newspapers (The Observer and The Guardian) after New Zealand in 2002; Annapurna Trail, was voted as one of the best 12 walks in the world by Modern Maturity, a U.S. based magazine; and, Nepal have been featured in a documentary as one of the 50 must see destinations before death by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC TV) aired in late 2002 (see Thapa, 2004). More recently, Everest Base Camp has been acclaimed among the world’s 10 best treks in the world by Lonely Planet in 2012, and, Nepal as a destination has been voted as a travelers’ first choice in Asia for upcoming destinations and third choice globally in Trip Advisor’s study in 2013 (NTBa, nd).

With the gain in confidence due to international popularity, the government of Nepal launched Nepal Tourism Year 2011 (NTY 2011) a national tourism campaign in consultation and comprehending the voice of the Nepalese tourism stakeholders. The announcement of the campaign reflected the recognition of the tourism sector as one of the economic mainstays of the Nepalese economy by the government. It was also analogical to the various interactions and consensus among the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), tourism entrepreneurs and other stakeholders in launching a special tourism promotion campaign, in order to further enhance the image of Nepal as a safe and pleasant tourist destination in the international tourism arena (Bhandari, 2011). The primary goal of the campaign was to bring in one million international tourists to Nepal, almost double of the then figure of slightly over half a million tourists in a year, in 2011. According to the tourist arrivals statistics revealed by Nepal Tourism Board later, there were 719,547 visitors in 2011, including those travelling overland. Tourists through air increased by 21 percent compared to last year. Most of the growth has come from neighboring India and China (NTBa, nd). Though the number was lower than the anticipated million visitor mark, it was the highest ever in Nepal.


Launching NTY 2011 campaign, then Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal had said that the government was expecting to increase average stay and expenditure of tourists during the year (GTN, 2012). However, arrivals data suggested that there was no major change in tourism income and average stay despite the increment in tourist arrivals (NTB, 2011-12). Though political parties had expressed commitment to refrain from enforcing banda and strikes during the year, they failed to translate it into practice. Similarly, labor strike was the other setback for hospitality industry which led to shutdown of popular hotels, including Club Himalaya and Hotel Vaishali, for a few days (GTN, 2012).

Triple forces at work: political instability, government menial efforts and safety issues

What explains the inadequate success in the tourism development of Nepal? The information about continuous political instability in Nepal propagated in the international tourist market through mass media, gendered the feeling of insecurity among the potential tourists intending to visit Nepal. The effect was exacerbated by the negative travel advisories issued by the foreign embassies. As a result, the private sector tourism entrepreneurs were unable to sell Nepal through their tour operators. The government of Nepal, though, supported in promoting Nepal through the Nepal Tourism Board, was ineffective in managing crisis by integrating stakeholders and seeking cooperation through them. The tourist arrivals, therefore, increased in recent years, however, to the lesser extent compared to anticipated level.

Maoists’ civil war, that started in 1996 in Nepal for the establishment of People’s Democratic Republic, had its stronghold in an extremely rural and remote region of western Nepal and eventually spread its tentacles to the neighboring regions via terror tactics on locals, destruction of government offices/properties, and bank robberies. The movement had a slow beginning, but grew and intensified its guerilla offensives against the government later (Thapa, 2004). Besides the attack on the establishments, the Maoist rebels resorted to indiscriminate killing of civilians, civil servants and members of the ruling and major political parties. Infrastructure such as bridges, telecommunication stations, schools and hydroelectric power plants were all targeted (Chand, 2000). The government originally employed the use of the police force to counter the insurgency, but later moved to employ armed paramilitary forces and then Nepal Army. The state of emergency was declared in November 26, 2001 and the rebels were declared “terrorists,” (Thapa, 2004).

The Maoists’ attacks spread all across the countries, including the capital city, Kathmandu, where sporadic bomb blasts and various associated threats created terror among the civilians. However, the escalation of violence was especially apparent in several mountain regions. As a result, the most popular activity among tourists, i.e.,


trekking, was severely impacted. Alongside, western governmental entities such as the U.S. State Department issued travel advisories notifying its citizens to restrict their visits within the confines of the capital city, Kathmandu (Thapa, 2004).

In the meantime, negative mass media reports contributed to the erosion of a peaceful destination image during the conflict years. For example, on December 23, 1999, an Indian Airlines flight (IC-814) from Kathmandu, Nepal-New Delhi, India was hijacked through Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Kathmandu. This was the first international hijacking conducted through Nepal. Following the hijacking, all flights to Nepal from India (Indian Airlines) were suspended and eventually resumed after six long months (Thapa, 2004). Excessive negative media hype about the lack of strong security measures at TIA and the possibility of the repeat of such incidents caused a 32 percent reduction in the tourist arrivals in Nepal (Upadhayaya et al., 2011).

Similarly, Royal palace massacre on June 1, 2001 which killed most of the Royal family members, including the King and the Queen allegedly by the Crown Prince and made Gyanendra as the new King, brought another wave of negative media publicity of Nepal as almost a week of curfew in Kathmandu created inconvenience for tourist movement. Media cell of Nepal Tourism Board had to protest against media broadcasts about physical insecurity to the tourists in Nepal (Upadhayaya et al., 2011). Upadhayaya et al., (2011) presented a list of similar incidences from 1999 to 2003 in Nepal, and media comments and their impacts on tourist, and argued that the highly negative Indian media reports, especially those from the private television channels, contributed to a sharp decline in Indian tourist arrivals in Nepal - 1.82 percent in 1999, 32 percent in 2000, and 33 percent in 2001.

After the second people’s movement in April 2006 by the joint efforts of various political parties, the Maoists and the civilians, King Gyanendra’s direct rule ended and the rebels entered talks with the parliamentary government to end the civil war. Later monarchy was overthrown and democratic republic was established. Upadhayaya, Muller-Boker, & Sharma, (2011) argued that in a state of heightening disputes and disagreement among political parties on various issues in the post-conflict period, tourism was the only agenda item which was able to overcome such disagreements and to bring political parties to a single platform for a common cause. The introduction of a new Tourism Policy 2009 was unconditionally accepted by the government formed after the collapse of the Maoist-led government in May 2009. This demonstrated the that the government, communities, and private sectors envisioned various opportunities for peace and prosperity through tourism in the nation.

However, the anticipated increase in positive image of the country through these attempts could not be fully materialized as the nation continued to be engulfed with


political instabilities and lack of concerted efforts from the government to revitalize the image. Political instability has plagued Nepal since the end of the civil war. Several years have passed since a 10-year civil war between the state and Maoist rebels ended, but the country has been beset with political instability and weak governance, which is mostly due to constant feuding between Nepal’s biggest political parties - the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (CPN-M), the Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) and Nepali Congress (NC) (IRIN, 2009).

The Maoists won a landslide victory in the 2008 Constituent Assembly elections, but quit the government in May the same year over differences with other major political parties. In 2013, Nepal witnessed the second constituent assembly election and, since then, an unwieldy coalition of various parties has been in power. Politicians have yet to agree on a new constitution - a key part of the peace deal with the Maoists - and are at odds over proposals to divide Nepal into states, along ethnic lines. In addition, Nepal’s flourishing tourism industry faces problems of deforestation and encroachment on animal habitats (BBC, 2014).

Political feuding also means that legislation to improve policies on various issues, including tourism crisis management has stalled at cabinet level. On the issue of disaster and risk management, as reported by IRIN (2009), UN remarked that “political deadlock at the centre means that a lot of important legislation has not gone through..you need an end to the vulnerability that is being caused, and political deadlock is blamed by the development sector. This is a big blow because there is financing available, but the implementation has been delayed”. Further quoted by IRIN (2009), Bhusan Tuladhar, the executive director of the Environment and Public Health Organization (ENPHO), an NGO, said the delay in passing legislation underscored a lack of commitment from the government to mitigate poverty-related deaths. For example, in August the last year, the government promised to build 5,000 toilets in Jajarkot, but so far that has not been done. According to Tuladhar, the government was basically not serious about development efforts. However the government officials deny any such allegations. As noted by IRIN (2009), the government officials blamed political instability causing such a transition.

A number of problems such as air safety oversight, stalemate on the appointment of the chief of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and the government’s inattention to the industry have plagued the country’s burgeoning tourism industry causing a certain amount of panic among travel trade entrepreneurs; and, demonstrating the lack of the government’s efficiency in leading an integrated developmental effort. NTB, which has been entrusted with the responsibility of promoting Nepal in the domestic and international arenas, is without its chief executive officer (CEO) since late 2011. The delay in appointing the chief has affected all promotion and publicity campaigns (TKP, 2012). As quoted by TKP (2012), the government officials say the lack of unity


among private sector representatives on the board has put the CEO selection process in a limbo, while the private sector has passed the buck on the tourism ministry, saying that it has not shown any interest to appoint the CEO (TKP, 2012). The 11-member NTB board consists of five representatives each from the government and the private sector, besides the CEO. The tourism secretary chairs the board.

Over the issue inattention to the industry, TKP (2012) quoted the tourism entrepreneurs arguing that the tourism sector has not been given the status of a “national priority industry”, although the Cabinet has already approved it. Tourism entrepreneurs have been found complaining that the tourism sector has not been given the status of an industry, despite being one of the major foreign currency earners. In the 1980s and 1990s, carpet and readymade garment industries received special government treatment (TKP, 2012). Tourism was made a priority in the 1980s, but the government was not sure about giving the industry status to a service sector (TKP, 2012).

Recently, the government has resurrected the Department of Tourism after 15 years by dissolving the existing Tourism Industry Division. The Tourism Department was formed in 1973. In 1999, the government dissolved the department and replaced it with the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) formed under the public private partnership (PPP) model (eKantipur.com, 2014). The Tourism Department will ensure that the licenses, necessary to set up businesses like hotels and travel agencies, are issued on time besides formulating policies on tax and other matters in view of the needs of investment. The department will basically work in the area of providing services and regulating four sectors—expedition, trekking, hotel and restaurant and adventure tourism. In addition, hundreds of hotels and restaurants had been added in the country over the past few years, and that only few of them were registered at the Tourism Ministry and many of them were yet to come under the tax net. The department will also work to bring them into the tax system (eKantipur.com, 2014). However, strengthening the department should not necessarily paralyze the performance of the NTB as it has been formed to promote Nepal’s tourism with the private sector’s participation. Since NTB is currently not able to carry out its duties efficiently, it has been revamped (eKantipur.com, 2014).

Conclusion:The complexity of the overall issue of the tourism destination image development

of Nepal revolves around three readily observable issues- political instability, negative media publicity and lack of government initiative in integrating efforts to collectively promote tourism. As was seen, negative media publicity and travel advisories due to the continuing political instability in Nepal propagated through the mass media gendered the feeling of insecurity among the potential tourists intending to visit Nepal. The effect was further exacerbated when the government of Nepal was


ineffective in managing crisis by integrating stakeholders and seeking cooperation through them. As a result, the tourist arrivals increased in recent years, however, to the lesser extent compared to anticipated level. Development of tourism destination image, therefore, is an integrated concept, build through the collective efforts of integrated stakeholders, and propagated through the mass media of the positive, and integrated information.

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Buddhist Circuits in Asia: Lumbini as a Nerve Center

Him Lal Grimier*

AbstractLumbini being the birthplace of the Buddha, it is the place of origin of Buddhism and holds the important position, particularly among the Buddhist countries in Asia. A number of important places connected with the Buddha are located not only in Nepal but also in India and other Asian countries. The Buddhist circuits are the pilgrimage networks including the places of highly significant holy sites of Buddhism. There has been a long felt need for an integrated Buddhist circuit covering the different sites in Nepal and India. The opportunities to promote circuit tourism in the Asian region are quite evident. The benefits are not only to Nepal but to all other regional countries when Buddhist circuits are developed and implemented promptly.Key words: Heritage, circuit, pilgrimage, authenticity and trail.

ContextNepal is one of the world’s great reservoirs of history, cultures, philosophies,

religions, nature and adventure. Global interest to visit and experience these assets puts Nepal amongst the most desired destinations for tourists and pilgrims. As Nepal is the birthplace of the Buddha, it is the place of origin of Buddhism. Therefore Nepal is deeply conscious of the country’s important position, particularly among the Buddhist countries in Asia. A number of important places connected with the Buddha are located not only in Nepal but also in India and other Asian countries. Buddhism flourished for centuries in Nepal, India, and Tibet, and spread to various parts of the world. The Buddhist circuits are the pilgrimage networks including the places of highly significant holy sites of Buddhism; where Lord Buddha was born, attained Enlightenment, preached his first Sermon, reached Nirvana, and other important sites related to the Buddha or his life. Buddhist Monks, philosophers, scholars, and

* Dr. Ghimire has Ph.D. in “Pilgrimage Tourism Special Focus on Lumbini” from Tribhuvan University, Nepal, Master of Science in Leadership for Educational Change (MSEd) from Bank Street College, New York, an educationist and a statistician. He has published 100’s of articles in international and national journals, newspapers and magazines. email: [email protected].

91Grimier: Buddhist Circuits in Asia...

lay followers helped in the dissemination of the teachings of the Buddha to various countries. A large number of Buddhist devout people from all over the world as well as Hindus and travelers with other religious faith who has interested in history, culture or religion visit every year the holy Buddhist sites in Nepal and India to pay their respects to the Tathagata (Ghimire, 2014b:42).

Developing a Buddhist circuit should be one of the priorities among Asian countries and particularly of the government of Nepal. There has been a long felt need for an integrated Buddhist circuit covering the different sites in Nepal and India, and this has been discussed in various forums in the past. India has already developed and benefited from Buddhist circuit packages. However, Nepal is far behind in preparing infrastructure, networks, policy thrusts, implementation strategies, and consistency in commitment. In his inaugural speech at BIMSTEC Summit in Myanmar in February 2014, Sushil Koirala, the Prime Minister of Nepal urged the development of a Buddhist circuit. However, it came haphazardly without ground work, preparation, study, plan, discussion with stakeholders and infrastructural development, in order to get the attention of leaders from the participating countries in the meeting (Ghimire, 2014b). Tourism has been an important dimension of most of the subsequent SAARC Summits. The SAARC Leaders have always recognized the importance of Buddhist circuits and tourism development, and emphasized the need to take measures for promoting it in the region. Most of the head of state/government participating in SAARC summit in Kathmandu in November 27-28, 2014 also urged the need of Buddhist circuit and integrated tourism development in the region. However, it has been just a propaganda to speak in international forum but not to implement in reality. No preparatory works has been started for the Buddhist circuit development and execution.

The rationale of developing Buddhist Circuits is to improve the experience of visiting these important sites and link that to the potential of tourism to deliver sustainable and inclusive economic growth through job creation and income generation. In this context, this article is aimed to conceptualize the framework of circuit tourism, maintain the momentum about the Buddhist circuit development, identify potential Buddhist Circuits/Destinations across Nepal, India, and other Asian countries, and project Lumbini as a nerve center for developing Buddhist circuits.

Approach and MethodologyMethodologically, the study started with an objective of identifying and

developing Buddhist circuits to and from Lumbini is based on both primary and secondary sources such as books, journal articles from the library and the internet; field visits, interaction with tourists/pilgrims, interview with resource persons and sacred specialists and interaction with stakeholders. The author had made several visits to Lumbini and other important Buddhist pilgrimage sites of Nepal during this


study. He also used both primary and secondary data from previous study of his PhD about Lumbini to construct the vital part of this paper.

The conceptual framework of the study starts from critical reasoning concerning the concept and issues of circuit tourism that cover the development, pattern, and volume of circuit tourism worldwide. The second part of the conceptual framework consists of identification of the issues, prospects, and constraints of circuit tourism promotion in Nepal in cooperation with neighboring countries. The final part of the framework identifies the lessons for Nepal in light of circuit tourism experiences in global, regional, and local context, and proposes strategies for workable circuits for Nepal. For the said purpose, initial short listing of the circuits are based on author’s previous research and consultation with the tourism experts, sacred specialists and stakeholders. Those circuits are based on Buddhist religious themes, popularity, and perceived need for improvements/investments to basic and tourism infrastructure.

The Conceptual Framework of Circuit TourismA tourist circuit is defined as a route on which at least three major tourist

destinations are located such that none of these are in the same town, village, or city. At the same time they are not separated by a long distance. In a report “Central America Panama Circuit Tourism Study” circuit tourism is defined as a pleasure trip which includes two or more countries by a resident of a third country and the Silk Route destinations in such perspective may provide a contemporary approachas there involves a complete array of induced destinations that formed a bridge between the East and West and was an important vehicle for trade among ancient empires of China, India, Persia and Rome (Cullinan et.al., 1977; in Manhas etal., 2014; Chowdhury, 2011:2). Circuit tourism involves visits to more than one destination during a trip away from home. Circuit tourism is typified by short lengths of stay at each destination on the circuit, a pre-planned itinerary, and regional or national clustering of attractions. Circuit tourism depends, for its existence, on the identification, development, and promotion of tourist circuits. From a general point of view, a tourist circuit is defined as a route on which at least three major tourist destinations are located in different areas but within such distance that tourists can and would like to cover them in a sequence (MoT, 2008; in Chowdhury, 2011). Tourist circuits should have well defined entry and exit points that motivate tourists to visit all the destinations within the circuit once they enter the entry point. The objective of having a tourist circuit is to increase the total number of visits to all the destinations on the circuit and to provide to the tourist the attraction of all the destinations located on the circuit.

Circuits can be developed either within a country (intra-border) or between two or more countries (cross-border). Cross-border circuits could be based on various themes or on effective transport connectivity (Sisodia, 2008). A few types of circuit


development that can take place around a theme are religious circuits, historical events circuits, tribal circuits, heritage circuits, wildlife tourism circuits, and so forth. Circuit tourism is mostly comprised of a chain of destinations lying in more than one neighboring country. Circuit tourism within countries also applies for countries having similar types of destination settings and especially complementary destinations (that is, religious destinations within the same region but now in different countries).From the broader perspective, circuit tourism is mostly comprised of a chain of destinations lying in more than one neighboring countries (Chowdhury, 2011:3).

In 1990 three quarters of US travelers visited only one country on each trip abroad, and only a tiny fraction of travelers visited three or more countries. All US travelers to the Caribbean restricted their visit to a single island. In contrast, the opening up of Central Europe appears to have occasioned additional itinerant visits there, with a mean of 3.2 countries visited. Africa and the Middle East also produce higher than average multi destination trips. Information reveals that visitors to Great Britain from outside Western Europe reported their intention to mix a visit to Britain with at least one other European country. The bulk of New Zealand visits to Fiji consist of destination travel or circuits involving other Pacific destinations. European circuits demonstrate a roughly parallel model to that of the Americans (ibid:4).

Pilgrimage: A Multi-destination PhenomenaThe origin and evolution of the tirtha yatra - tradition of Hindus seems to be as

old as their civilization or perhaps older than that (Kaur 1985: 27).Pilgrimage with mechanized travel is scored by purists whose whole trip may take many weeks, or even months. Dedicated pilgrims go through the difficulties of the trail just as their ancestors did for well over twenty centuries (Messerschmidt 1989: 95).Pilgrimage visit to multiple sites has been widely practiced for a long time in Hinduism (e.g. four dhama, the most popular and pious places like Kedarnath, Badrinath, Dawarikanath and Jagannathvisits in India is supposed to be completed by the final visit of Pashupatinath in Nepal). Nepalese used to go to the holy places for pilgrimage not only of their own country but also to the famous holy places of India. Likewise, millions of Indian pilgrims come to Nepal every year to visit Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage sites.

The Buddha himself enshrined pilgrimage as an important act in the life of a practitioner. The Buddha mentioned four places which a pious disciple should visit and look upon with feelings of reverence. They are: Lumbini: “Here the Tathagata was born! Buddhagaya: “Here the Tathagata became fully enlightened, in unsurpassed, Supreme Enlightenment!, Sarnath: “Here the Tathagata set rolling the unexcelled Wheel of the Law!, Kusinagara: “Here the Tathagata passed away into Nirvana! Thus a salient characteristic of multiple-site routes is that they contain a set number of places that have to be visited in the context of the pilgrimage.Further the Buddha said, “And


whosoever, Ananda, should die on such a pilgrimage, with his heart established in faith, he at the breaking up of the body, after death, will be reborn in a realm of heavenly happiness.” (Mahaparinirbana Sutra Chapter V; in San, 2002:15, Kunwar & Ghimire, 2012:11, Ghimire, 2013a).After the parinirvana (physical death) of the Buddha, the relic of His body was collected from the funeral pyre and divided into eight parts. The holy relic was distributed to the claimants, and stupas were erected with relics enshrined in it. The practice of pilgrimage in Buddhism probably started with visits to these places, and the purpose could be the aspiration of rebirth in a fortunate condition, as well as to pay homage to the great master. Thus the custom of pilgrimage has been widespread among Buddhists for many centuries (Buddhanet, 2010; Ghimire, 2011: 46; Ghimire, 2013b:79).The “expansion” or “multiplication” of pilgrimage sites also clearly happens indue course of historical development of Buddhism. Kōichi Shinohara has distinguished three ways of “constructing Buddhist sacred places” which are all relate to the life (orlives) of the Buddha: 1. “converted local deities”, 2. “movable objects (relics and objects) used by the Buddha”, and 3. “previous Buddhas and previous lives of the Buddha”. In the wider context of the establishing of Buddhist sacred topography and potential pilgrimage places, these categories of the “sanctification” of a place, which partly overlap (e.g. in relics left at a place of visitation or of a particular action, such as the many hair and nail relics), can and, indeed, must be extended (Deeg, 2014:13).

As per a commentary to the Vinaya Sutra known as ‘Lung-Treng-Tik’ in Tibetan by the First Dalai Lama (1392-1474), the Buddha is said to have emphasized several times the importance of pilgrimage. “Bhikkhus, after my passing away, all sons and daughters who are of good family and are faithful should go to the four holy places and remember. There will be activities such as circumambulation of these places and reverence to them. New Bhikkhus who come and ask of the doctrine should be advised for pilgrimages which help to purify their previously accumulated Karmas or actions.” A pilgrim is defined in the Dhammapada as one who has abandoned the world, and be a ‘wanderer’ free of worldly attachments by becoming a member of the Buddhist Sangha. However, the wandering of a monk is not completely aimless; it includes the visits to sacred shrines for religious merits. It also contributed to the spread of Buddhism (Buddhanet, 2010; in Ghimire, 2011:46).The early Buddhist pilgrims endured tremendous hardship, and some of them changed the course of history (Szostak, 2007).San (2002:11) writes for the majority of Buddhists when he says that going on a pilgrimage to the holy places mentioned by the Buddha is a once-a-lifetime undertaking. Buddhism has the power and strength to transform the lives of people of all walks of life. As a reminder of Buddha’s difficult journey and its ultimate goal, the Buddha prevailed upon them to visit the four important places that were the cornerstones of his great journey..


It is, indeed, generally agreed that the circuit or multiple-site type of pilgrimage has flourished most widely in Asia. Certainly, one does not find it in Christianity or in the world of Islamic pilgrimage (Hoshino 1997: 279, Ghimire, 2014a)).The pilgrimage networks (circuits) was established by Chinese pilgrims long ago in Asian regions. Faxian, Xuanzang, and Yijing were among hundreds of Chinese monks who made pilgrimages to South Asian region during the first millennium CE. The detailed accounts of their journeys are important historical resources for several reasons. First, they provide meticulous accounts of the nature of Buddhist doctrines, rituals, and monastic institutions in South, Central, and Southeast Asia. Second, they contain vital information about the social and political conditions in South Asia. Third, they offer remarkable insights into cross-cultural perceptions and interactions. Additionally, these accounts throw light on the arduous nature of long-distance travel, commercial exchanges, and the relationship between Buddhist pilgrims and itinerant merchants (Sen, 2006:24; in Ghimire, 2014b). The Silk Road resulted from an expansion of commercial and cultural exchanges from the Mediterranean through Central Asia to China in the late second century BC. The Silk Road drew many people by the lure of silk trade along ancient pathways of profit. This rout was not only used for transporting goods, but also for communicating news of foreign worlds (Silk Road Project, 2004; in Chairatudomkul, 2008:2)

Pilgrimages are necessarily linked to a locus sacer, or, in some cases with a whole system of such places, which can develop into a structure and sequence reflected in pilgrimage itineraries. These sacred sites are usually connected to a numinous or sacred being or entity, or, in the case of founder religions, with the biography of the founder or an eminent saint, be it trans-traditional or more local, of the religious tradition (Deeg, 2014:8).Pilgrimages are important in Japanese religious development, and play specific and crucial roles within the functioning of the various religious organizations with which they are associated. The most widely known of multiple site pilgrimages are two that we have mentioned a number of times already, the Saikoku 33-stage junrei that goes around the Kansai-Kinki region of west-central Japan, and the Shikoku 88-stage henro around the island of Shikoku. In many ways these are the multiple-site pilgrimages par excellence in Japan. Voluntary pilgrimages such as the Ise pilgrimage, and multiple-site types such as the Saikoku junrei, the Shikoku henro, and the various regional “copied” pilgrimages, that have tended to attract the greatest levels of mass participation and to have had the greatest influence in the broader development of Japanese pilgrimage culture. It is these pilgrimages in particular that are focused on in this volume, and it is to these, and the typological differentiations that may be made between them, that we now turn (see Reader & Swanson 1997:238). It is, for instance, common practice for pilgrims doing multiple-site routes in Japan to carry a scroll or pilgrim’s book that they have stamped at each site and that serves as testimony, as it


is filled with stamps, to the pilgrim’s progress and when full, to the completion of the pilgrimage. Thus each site on multiple-site routes is equally important in terms of completing the route (ibid:240).The existence of multiple-site pilgrimages with fixed numbers of places that must be visited is not, of course, unique to Japan: linking a number of sacred sites together to form a numerically fixed pilgrimage route that spans a broad landscape is a theme found also. However, the extent to which this practice occurs in Japan, and to which pilgrimages utilizing such numerically prescribed formats are created and produced, is probably unrivaled (ibid:243).

Authenticity of Heritage Trail“Authenticity” is one of the core concepts in tourism. It gives theoretical explanation

of tourism attractions from the angle of tourist motivation and tourists’ perception. The search for authenticity reflects the needs of urban tourists from industrial countries. When they travel, they seek to experience something new outside their daily lives, something innovative and different. They want to experience new things and enjoy the sensation of being where things are real and original. They want to share the joyful moment with other people or write a note “I was there”. MacCannell’s tourist, however, is concerned with the authenticity of attraction. The quest for authenticity, indeed, rather than the search for contrived illusions, is said to be the fundamental motivation of modern tourists. Modern tourists, however, alienated from their own inauthentic and shallow world, may seek authenticity elsewhere in other times and places (MacCannell, 1976; in Kunwar, 2002: 53). Authenticity can be measured in terms of the tourist’s own values and satisfactions. It occurs when travellers return home feeling they have truly experienced a change in scenery, gained a better understanding of the country visited and its development, or connected in some way with the local population. Authenticity is categorized into three types such as perceived authenticity, original authenticity and created authenticity (Kunwar & Ghimire, 2013:3). Far from being content with inauthentic existence, MacCannell’s tourists are on a modern day “quest” in search of authenticity. These tourists constantly attempt to go behind the “staged authenticity” of the surface in order to reach the “reality” that presumably lies there (MacCannell, 1976; in Red foot, 1984: 292). There have been many reasons to travel to seek fortune in faraway lands, to seek religious experience in a pilgrimage, to seek the personal and national aggrandizement of colonial conquest, or to seek escape, in exile, from persecution. Stories of those who sought escape from the everyday reality of home are the stuff of great mythology. By stepping out of the reality of the familiar and the everyday life, these travellers have provided rich symbols of heroic confrontation with the unknown and the mysterious. While the actual experiences of these earlier travellers may have been less than heroic, they have been viewed metaphorically in heroic terms good, evil, or tragic (Redfoot, 1984: 291; in Kunwar & Ghimire, 2013: 6).


Authenticity should also be evident in the natural context of the route, as well as in the other tangible heritage elements included within its historic functionality and its setting. For the purpose of its comparative evaluation, the temporal duration and historic significance of the different sections of the route in relation to the whole should also be taken into account (Chairatudomkul, 2008:69). Tourism to be a benign and possibly beneficial agent of change (McKean, 1976; Cohen 1979; in Kunwar 2002: 37), like all industries, is embedded within a complex of socio-spatial processes that are historically, culturally, and locally dependent. Kunwar (2002:37) writes for Boorstin (1962), it is ‘pseudo-events’, for MacCannell (1976), it is ‘staged authenticity’ and for Turner (1973), it is ‘center out there’. The key factor in the tourist search is nostalgia, which is closely related to authenticity. That nostalgia motivates and attracts tourists. However, it can also be taken as evidence of dissatisfaction with modern life and of the search for simpler or more morally uplifting qualities in other places, times or culture.

Faxian was one of the first and perhaps the oldest Chinese monk who embarked on his trip to travel to South Asia in 399. He visited major Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, and other Asian countries (Figure 1 shows his travel itinerary). He returned to China after fourteen years. Faxian’s travel records shows that he wanted to highlight Buddhist practices at the sites he visited. Thus, his account includes the description of local Buddhist monasteries, the approximate number of Buddhist monks in the region, the teachings and rituals practiced by them, and the Buddhist legends associated with some of these sites. Near the city of Taxila (in the present-day northwestern region of Pakistan), for instance, he points out that this was the site where the Buddha, during one of his previous lives, had offered his body to a starving tigress. He describes the conception of the Buddha at Kapilavastu, his birth in a garden in Lumbini, and the attainment of nirvana at Kushinagara (ibid:26). Like other Chinese pilgrims, one of Xuanzang’s main reasons to undertake the arduous journey to Nepal and India (Figure 2 shows his travel itinerary) was to visit its sacred Buddhist sites. Dissatisfied with the translations of Indian Buddhist texts available in China, Xuanzang also wanted to procure original works and learn the doctrines directly from Indian teachers(ibid:29). Yijing’s Memoirs of Eminent Monks claims that, despite the perilous nature of the journey, Chinese Buddhist monks visited India frequently and in considerable numbers during the seventh century. Some of these monks used the overland routes through Central Asia and Tibet to India. Some returned to China after their pilgrimages, others either decided to stay in India or died before they could embark on the return voyage. In the biography of the monk Xuanzhao in fascicle one, for example, Yijing gives Xuanzhao’s genealogy and narrates his experience learning the Buddhist doctrine, the long journey he took to India through Tibet, the education he received at Indian monasteries, and his return to China through Nepal and Tibet (ibid:32; in Ghimire, 2014b).


Figure 1: Faxian’s Itinerary Figure 2: Xuanzang’s Itinerary

Map illustration by Willa Davis using Cartesia Map Art for the base map of Asia (Source: Sen, 2006)

Chinese pilgrim Fa-hsien visited Kapilavastu, Lumbini, and Ramagrama in Nepal in the fourth century AD and prepared notes on those sites. His travel account has been an important source to locate these historical sites. Huien Tsiang visited Lumbini and other important sites around Lumbini such as Kapilavastu, Niglihawa, Gotihawa, Kudan, Sagarhawa, Sarakupa, and Ramagrama in 629 AD. He prepared beautiful account about those sites (Hari, 2013). The travels of Buddhist monks and pilgrims and the simultaneous circulation of religious texts and relics not only stimulated interactions but also influenced people living in Central and Southeast Asia, and China. Indeed, the transmission of Buddhist doctrines from one country to other was a complex process that involved multiple societies and a diverse group of people, including missionaries, itinerant traders, artisans, and medical professionals (Sen, 2006:24; in Ghimire, 2014b).A pilgrimage to India “The Western Paradise” - was the ultimate dream for many Chinese. Indian sculptors, painters, artists, musicians, astronomers, mathematicians and scholars were to be found in every city along the Silk Road, and had an honored place in Xian, the then capital of Imperial China. Even more remarkably, these two civilizations co-existed peacefully for nearly three millennia without any significant period or event of armed conflict. Such a record between neighboring countries must be unprecedented in world history (Manhas etal., 2014:145).

Circuit of heritage and literary tourismThere is a strong consensus in literature that cultural heritage may contribute to create competitive advantages and innovation in cities and regions. This is believed to be the case not only for the tangible cultural heritage, but also for the intangible one. We refer to knowledge, skills and practices which found the individual’s and the


community’s identity and dignity, and whose reproduction entails the transmission and enrichment of tacit, informal capabilities. Further, cultural heritage not only refers to the so-called high-culture, i.e. the arts, the antiques, the monuments, etc. but also to the popular and industrial cultural heritage. This means that fostering cultural heritage opens up a space for rejuvenating historical industrial regions and low-tech sectors (Bailey et al., 2010; in Alberti &Giusti, 2012:263). Despite the increasing debate in literature on cultural heritage and tourism-based clusters for regional competitiveness, the discussion is still in its embryonic stage and the relation between cultural heritage and competitiveness remains vastly unexplored, especially in relation with the mediating role played by tourism. Likewise, empirical evidence on this to-pic is still anecdotic and descriptive and cases are still embryonic (Alberti & Giusti, 2012:262).With regard to the work of some scholars, the circuit of heritage and literary tourism can be used to describe relationships shown in following figure (2). Heritage manifests itself not just in traditional local practices, but is also formed in the local as well as in the global space of discourses. Heritage as a discourse is produced by texts; texts from historians and also from city or tourism marketing. It is a form of encoding heritage for local practice, as well as for tourist practice (Hall,1980; Pillai, 1992; Langthaler, 1999; in Saretzki, 2013:64).

Figure 3: The circuit of heritage and literary tourism

Buddhist Circuits in Neighboring CountriesIndia, bordering Nepal, already has vigorously realized and developed Buddhist

circuit packages. The Action Plan for the Development of the Buddhist Circuit was launched in 1986, there have been fragmented efforts to develop and promote the Buddhist Circuit as a mainstream tourism product in India. Various tourism master plans, investment projects by the states and the Government of India, and donors have targeted this important historic and living heritage (IFC, 2014:9). Investment Climate teams of the World Bank Group (WBG) are working with the Ministry of Tourism,


the state governments of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, and private sector stakeholders to develop tourism infrastructure and identify potentially transformative investments along the famed “Buddhist Circuit.” The initiative aims to create more than 10,000 jobs and improve livelihoods for communities in the low-income Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The Buddhist Circuit is a pilgrimage route including sites of significance related to the life of the Buddha. Improvements in the tourism infrastructure and investment climate are expected to draw $200 million in new private sector hotel investments to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and create thousands of jobs. In addition to attracting private sector investments, the programs are expected bring $200 million in leveraged public sector investments to preserve and improve the management of cultural assets and improve access along the Circuit (WBG, 2014).The Ministry of Tourism in India has launched a major campaign ‘Come To India - Walk With The Buddha’ in the South Asian market and domestic market for promotion of Buddhist circuits destinations in Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The Indian government has sanctioned huge amount of money for development of tourism infrastructure and fourteen major Buddhist sites (TTI, 2007). Identifying the scope for inter-nation travel opportunities focusing on places of importance for Buddhist sites, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) proposed for India to be its partner in a joint promotion in India and Thailand that increase tourism activities in both countries to promote areas of common interest like Buddhist tourism circuits.

Mendis (2012) writes that tourism in the South Asian sub region will be collectively promoted with Buddhism and ecotourism circuits through a road map designed by the five-member South Asia Sub Region Tourism Working Group (TWG) with representations from member countries - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. A proposed financing strategy of an estimated US$ 452.8 million over five years, the plan is to boost the tourism of the countries by promoting its Buddhist heritage and diverse natural beauty, which have been identified as competitive advantages of the sub region. As the cooperation among the nations is crucial, it must be possible to move easily across borders in the sub region in a say that is similar to the situation in Europe. Proposing a single visa system among member countries for those who travel by air, sea, or land, a tourist friendly visa regime would be ideal for tourism promotion. Hindrances in the partnerships are caused by political misunderstandings, bickering, geopolitical positioning, and a general absence of knowledge. Political commitment must be in place to promote inter and intra-regional tourism, which could be used to immediately harness and leverage circuits.

Lumbini’s Position in Buddhist CircuitsThe grove of Lumbini had changed into a pilgrimage site soon after the parinirvana

of the Lord Buddha. The importance of Lumbini is so great that the Buddha himself


advised his followers to make pilgrimage to Lumbini. The Buddha explained the significance of Lumbini in the words: “Lumbini should be (visited) seen by person of devotion, and which would cause awareness and apprehension of the nature of impermanence…..…” because Lumbini is the foremost Buddhist pilgrimage site in relationship to the other sacred sites. The birthplace of the Buddha should be highly respected by Buddhists. However, Lumbini is equally respected and visited by Hindus, and is an important sight-seeing destination for people with other religious faiths. Everyone can equivocally claim that Lumbini is one of the world’s major holy land pilgrimage sites; however, for several reasons, this place has not been able to get the attention of global pilgrimage tourist and has been struggling compared to similar pilgrimage sites (Ghimire, 2013a). Lumbini being a fountain of world peace and the birthplace of the Buddha, it should be the nerve center of Buddhist Circuits. That is, the Buddhist Circuits either should start or end at Lumbini.

Screening of the CircuitsOn the basis of secondary research and literature review, list of Buddhist circuits

are identified. Visitors can travel through this Buddhist Circuits to savor the splendid beauty and great appeal of Buddhism. Lumbini has been considered as the origin of all circuits. The names of these circuits are listed as below (Ghimire, 2014b):

Greater Buddhist Circuits:a) In Asia, the majority of the population are either Buddhist or Hindu. Both populations have a high respect for Lumbini. This circuit would include major Buddhist religious sites of Asian countries such as Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Burma, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Korea, Japan and others. Prime Buddhist Circuit: b) This includes the major Buddhist destinations of Nepal and India. They are Lumbini, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, and Kushinagar, as they are the primary pilgrimage places as mentioned by the Buddha.Domestic Buddhist Circuits: c) This includes the major Buddhists destinations of Nepal. They are Lumbini, Swayambhunath, Bouddhanath, and Namobuddha.Local Buddhist Circuits: d) Thisincludes major Buddhists sites in and around Lumbini. They are Lumbini, Kapilavastu, Kudan, Niglihawa, Gotihawa, Sagarhawa, Ramgram, and Devdaha. Lumbini Brihat Parikrama (Circular pilgrimage): e) This includes a circular way of walking meditation (parikrama) or Kora in Tibetan term around all three zones of Lumbini Master Plan Area as proposed by Monk Krishnaman. As he suggests, Buddhist pilgrims first complete brihat parikarama and then only visit Mayadevi complex and other monasteries in Lumbini.


Buddhist-Hindu Circuits: f) This includes major/common Buddhist-Hindu religious sites of Nepal. They are Lumbini, Manakamana, Pashupatinath, Swayambhunath, Muktinath.

Today, Buddhists from all over the world, as well as other travelers, are interested in the ancient history and culture of Nepal. They also travel Buddhist circuits destinations associated with the life and miracles of the Buddha and other important touristic destinations in Nepal. Even with today’s modern transportation and conveniences, it takes some time and planning to get too many of these sites, so one can only imagine what it must have been like for pilgrims more than two millennia ago. Still, these sites have remained despite the ravages of time, and continue to be venerated.

Target marketsGlobalization can also be seen as a prospect to benefit from the open world

market. In order to cope with the threats of global competition and develop strategic positioning, tourism destinations should encourage the emergence of tourism clusters, the establishment of networks and strong partnerships, among neighboring countries (Chowdhury, 2010). While the circuit is patronized almost exclusively by Buddhist pilgrims, their numbers are limited in relation to the large numbers of Buddhists globally. Also, the majority of pilgrims are relatively low spending travelers. Non-Buddhist travel on the circuit has been very limited when compared to overall leisure travel to Nepal. Current non-Buddhist travel is primarily of abackpacking, budget nature. However, a large number of Buddhist pilgrims visit mostly to the pilgrimage sites in India and Tibet, so the tie-up will be crucial for Nepal to bring in more Buddhist tourists. As Lumbini is one of the important Buddhist sites, both Nepal and India can hugely benefit through the joint promotion of Buddhist pilgrimage sites. Nepal could attract a large number of pilgrims from other Buddhist countries as well to Lumbini, if only Nepal and India could work together. Tie-up between Nepal and India will not only increase the flow of Buddhist pilgrims to Nepal but also help increase Indian tourists, already more than 47% (120583) particularly in Lumbini and 20.6% (165815) tourists in Nepal in 2012 (LDT, 2012 & NTS, 2012). Likewise 94.26% international tourists (including Indians) and 89.18% passport holder international tourists who visited Lumbini were from major Asian (regional) countries. Bordering countries India and China together comprised almost 40% of the world’s population. Both India and China are the largest source for outbound tourism in all of Asia. Tourism in both countries have greatly expanded over the last few decades. Pleasant weather throughout the year, top class pilgrimage sites Lumbini, Pashupatinath, Muktinath and others, high Himalayas with Mount Everest, cultural and ethnic diversity, politically neutral country are contributing to the increase of regional tourists in Nepal. Regional tourists especially with pilgrimage purpose are less affected by international incidents and they hardly abandon their trips.


Table: Tourist arrivals in Lumbini from Major Asian Countries

Major Asian Countries Tourist arrivalsIndia 120583China 8598Japan 1779Korea 5158Malaysia 1164Myanmar 17595Singapore 903Sri Lanka 52671Taiwan 1346Thailand 28480Vietnam 3588

Source: LDT, 2013The majority of visitors to the circuit are of the following four types:

Budget pilgrims: • Devout Buddhists committed to visiting all sacred sites where the Buddha was born, became enlightened, taught, and died. This segment travels under tight budgets and prefers basic, simple facilities and services. They mostly travel in large groups by road and sometimes by train.Comfort pilgrims: • Devout Buddhists committed to visiting the full circuit or at least part of it, especially the four most sacred Buddhist sites. The segment requires greater travel comfort and often travels on tighter time frames than budget pilgrims. They travel in both large and smaller parties and often prefer to travel more independently than the budget pilgrims.Budget explorers: • Non-Buddhists on a backpacking, independent budget trip or domestic family holiday trips. They visit a few of the circuit sites as a quick-visit component of a wider itinerary, or they could make the circuit an important component of their itinerary and spend a substantial portion of their itinerary here.High-end explorers: • Includes high to medium-end foreign packaged tourists and independent “flash packers” on a wider Nepal-India and other regional itinerary, as well as domestic leisure travelers on a holiday break. They mostly visit a few selected sites on the circuit and require comfortable and good-quality facilities, services, shopping, and recreation.


A country like Nepal with its diversity can best be covered in clusters of tourists spots grouped together so that they are well connected for all travelers, especially international travelers and more especially repeat travelers. In this context, Nepal has to generate attractive but workable alternatives to better connectivity and infrastructural facilities for both pilgrims as well as other tourists. The government should be committed to undertake initiatives which will enable people to personally visit the holy places connected with the life of Buddha. Besides the already known important spots connected with the life and teachings of the Buddha, efforts should also be aimed at identifying hitherto unchartered territories which deserve to be identified, developed and connected. Such endeavor will help not only in spreading the noble teachings of the Buddha but also give a boost to tourism as well as economy of the so far neglected territories. Nepal will receive enormous benefits by the development of Buddhist Circuits both locally and internationally (Ghimire, 2014b).

Strategies to Develop Circuit Tourism: The Way ForwardInterest in regional clusters and their role in economic development have grown

considerably among academics, politics, professionals and stakeholders. One reason for the massive interest in regional clusters is the simple fact that ‘they are there’. Historical investigation suggests that economies tend to develop through the appearance of regional clusters. A basic reason for the growing interest in partnerships in tourism development is the belief that tourist destination areas and organizations may be able to gain competitive advantage by bringing together the knowledge, expertise, capital and other resources of several stakeholders (Kotler et al., 1993, Bramwell & Lane, 2000; in Chowdhury, 2011). Costa (1996) writes that the importance of networks and partnerships for tourism seems huge. First, they offer planners an organizational framework in which more comprehensive, wide-ranging, participatory, informed, and democratic approaches may be put forward, because policies are not entirely designed by planning agencies but are, instead, supported by a wider range of stakeholders. Additionally, they bring the tourism industry the hope that economic growth is seen not only in the short term but also in the medium and long terms. By conveying more stability and competitiveness to the web, networks also bring more safety and profitability to private sector investments. Lastly, networks transmit governments the advantage that the development of tourism is seen with respect to the natural and social patrimony; that development takes into account the economic structure of every place; and also that, by inspiring the inter - regional coordination of policies, the indirect and induced economic impact produced by tourism are enhanced. Globalization can also be seen as a prospect to benefit from the open world market. In order to cope with the threats of global competition and develop strategic positioning, tourism destinations should encourage the emergence of tourism clusters, the establishment of networks and strong partnerships, among


neighboring countries (Chowdhury, 2010; in Ghimire, 2014).Tourism promotion can be compared to dream selling. To sell dreams to people, the dreams sold must be beautiful and believable. In promoting and branding South Asia as a tourist destination area, the challenge faced by the marketer is to ensure that the three key characteristics of brand identity are met: quality, consistency, and integrity. To ensure that these characteristics are maintained, an intense and continuous effort is needed at both the destination and the regional levels (Alwis, 2010).

The diagnostic approach outlined in Figure 4 is based on global best practices and principles for destination development. The process starts with an analysis of the current tourism situation, a vision for a desired future, demand assessment, and an analysis of the gaps that need to be filled and the challenges faced to progress the vision (IFC, 2014:10).

Figure 4: Outline of strategy development process and elements adopted from: IFC, 2014: 11

Current Situation

• Spend & revenue

• Jobs• Small &

MediumEnterprises investment

Product/experience

development • Heritage sites

& surrounds • Activities• Facilities &

services•

Local interaction StrengthenedMarketing

• Branding• Promotion • Product

Packaging • Distribution

and sales

ImprovedConnectivity

• Flight, rail, roadconnections

• Visa &immigration

• Road quality• Signs & rest area

Operations

• Quality and standards

• Customerservice levels

Marketdemand

Market positioning

Pilgrims International tourists

Requirements and gaps

Domestic tourists

Goals & objectives Principles

Vision

Target Market

Heritage andhumanresources

Facilities andinfrastructure

Industrycompetitiveness

Support Services Infrastructure planning and provision; human resource development; visitor

service; safety; health & hygiene; investment and business facilities


The largest intraregional tourism-generating market is India, and with better connectivity and thawing of political tensions, the potential growth of Indians traveling within the region will become even more significant. Both India and Nepal share significant resources (such as mountain ranges, pilgrimage sites, cultural practices, open borders etc.).Also due to minimal requirement of border crossing formalities between the countries, the movement of tourists is massive, thus offering the largest working model of circuit tourism. Along with Nepal, India’s southern regions have developed a tourist circuit, basically based on trade, with Sri Lanka, which is now experiencing a rapid transformation from a conventional position to a treasured island with a warm people offering nature, culture, and adventure to include an extensive green cover. Between Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka, Buddhist pilgrimage travel is currently a strong phenomenon. However, Pakistan is almost isolated in terms of tourist exchange with its neighbors, especially India. Political conflict, distrust, and a history of warfare on several issues are acting as obstacles to melt the ice between the counties (Lal, 2006; in Chowdhury, 2011).

IFC (2014) presented the following three experience pillars contribute to a unique market positioning and selling proposition for the Buddhist circuits:

Pilgrimage: • The religious significance and holiness of the area for Buddhists, given that the Buddha spent his entire life here and that the Dharma and the Sangha originated here, and that the Buddha suggested his disciples both lay and monastic to visit the places associated with his life.Ancient heritage:• Many of the circuit sites and relics date back as far as 300 BC and the location of the circuit in and around the historic Ganges Valley provides for an exceptional experience of ancient history, traditions, and architecture. Many of these ancient places compliment the spiritual experience and showcase India’s diverse cultural and heritage tourism offering.Mind, body, spirit: • The character, ambience, and history of the sites and the traditions of Buddhist communities on the circuit offer Buddhists and non-Buddhists the perfect environment to engage in healthy, therapeutic practices like meditation and self- reflection, yoga and other exercises, and healthy eating.

Other issues that also require attention are: co-branding, marketing, tourism investment promotion, tourism standards, human resource development, and tourism information. Nepal, through tied up itself with Indian travel companies and PATA proposition can gain quite significantly in the field of tourism. This requires an understanding of the concept of Buddhist Circuit by the policy planners and tourism stakeholders, and work accordingly so that the circuit tourism is promoted.


The following are some strategies to develop Buddhist circuit tourism:strong and workable memorandum of understanding’s with different countries •and tourism entrepreneurs to share mutual benefits from Buddhist circuitsdevelopment and conservation of major pilgrimage sites•

infrastructural development (roads, hotels, guest houses, restaurants, •communication, airports etc.) in all sitesbetter packaging of the circuits with detailed information (location, mode •and duration of travel, significance of sites, facilities etc.)creation of an enabling environment for business and investments related to •religious, spiritual, cultural and local tourismhuman resource development and skills upgrading of all frontlines•

preparing the community so that they become instruments in the promotion •of tourismOffering promotional prices on fares, hotel rates, transportation, and •restaurant pricesStrategic tourism marketing plan, may also be joint form of advertising •campaigns and public relations exercises in major tourist-generating countriesA tie-up with the Asian tour operators can help tourism industry to get •something out of the Buddhist circuit tourismNepal can join the branding campaign with the other Asian countries and •become co-brandedPersonnel of Nepalese missions abroad should inform foreign tourists about •country’s attractive places and facilities, Buddhist circuits and LumbiniIntegrated development of important Buddhist sites around Lumbini•

Buddhist shrines and holy places are scattered throughout the Asian region. The most significant competitors and/or partners of Buddhist circuits along with Nepal are India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, China-Tibet, Korea, Japan, Myanmar, Taiwan, Vietnam and Bhutan. These countries not only host the sacred Buddhist shrines and sites but also large local population practice Buddhist religion. Countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh host some of the important sites related to early history of Buddhism and the life of the Buddha with a small Buddhist population. Developing local circuits might be countries own policy, however, Lumbini is an international destination and without Lumbini, the Buddhist circuits will be incomplete. That is why, not only the Asian countries but also the UN and other European countries and America are also


involved with Lumbini development. They would be interested in Buddhist circuit development. International Buddhist circuits in partnership with those countries will definitely be easier to develop, publicize, and execute. It will ultimately benefit all countries economically, religiously and socially. India has been selling Buddhist circuit packages consisting of five days to fifteen days as per interest and need of tourists, however, the itinerary is designed in such a way that tourists visiting Nepal via India spend only a half day trip to Lumbini. India might not ignore Lumbini in their packages, however, the contribution from this type of half day trip is almost negligible for Nepal. If the immigration office issue 24 hours visa to the tourists, they have to spend at least that much amount of time in Nepal. For this, Nepal should create spiritual and cultural environment, organize Lumbini Brihat Parikrama and develop networks among important sites in and around Lumbini.

The growing increase in international and inter-regional competitiveness, associated with the apparent shortcomings of traditional regional development models and policies, are some of the reasons that have triggered the interest of academic and researchers for studying clusters and networks. In order to cope with the threats of global competition and develop strategic positioning, tourism destinations should encourage the emergence of tourism clusters, the establishment of networks and strong partnerships, among private sector operators (Breda et al., 2006). The term partnership describes regular, cross-sectional interactions between parties based on at least some agreed rules or norms, intended to address a common issue or to achieve specific policy goals (Bramwell & Lane, 2000; in Breda et al., 2006:69).The circuit tourism development provides opportunities for the destination by maintaining a collaborative approach thus attaining the benefits of international expansion that are known and include additional growth and expansion; the opportunity to increase revenues, profits and return on investment (Peric, 2005; in Manhas etal., 2014:145).

The largest intraregional tourism-generating market is India, and with better connectivity and thawing of political tensions, the potential growth of Indians traveling within the region will become even more significant. Also offering potential are Pakistan and Bangladesh. Between Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka, Buddhist pilgrimage travel is currently a strong phenomenon. If access (air, sea, and road transport) is efficient, better border formalities are established, and restrictions are eased, the tourist numbers have the potential to grow exponentially. In each of the countries, the growing middle class is offering new opportunities for travel (Singh 2005; in Alwis, 2010).The Asian Highway network is the largest highway that connects Southeast Asia with South Asia and then on to Europe. A network of 141,000 kilometers of standardized roadways criss-crossing 32 Asian countries, the Asian Highway is the single most potent infrastructure project undertaken by the nations of ASEAN and SAARC. UNESCAP and ADB are undertaking a number of joint activities to promote


international road transport along the Asian Highway under a regional project. This project aims to assist in providing a transport infrastructure linking Asia to Europe, to promote regional and inter-national cooperation for the economic and social development of the region, and to open new potential for trade and tourism. Countries linked by the Asian Highway share a wealth of historical and cultural heritage and unspoiled natural beauty. These countries could join together in promoting tourism under a common tourism banner. Promotion of tourism would provide excellent opportunities to strengthen not only intraregional cooperation within South Asia, but with Southeast Asia, China, the Middle East, and Europe (Alwis, 2010: 271). Nepal can benefit to a great extent from both her neighbours i.e. India and China with their large Hindu and Buddhist populations. Nepal could be the bestvenue for those who are in search of total spiritual satisfaction. Nepal and its socio-religious setup do not allow or advocate or tolerate any form of religious fanaticism and extremism. Moreover, strong initiatives should be taken by the government and stakeholders to coordinate and develop networks including pilgrimage sites in India and other countries for mutual benefits (Ghimire, 2014a).

ConclusionTourism promotion can be compared to selling dreams. To sell dreams to

tourists, they must be beautiful and believable. In promoting circuit tourism among Asian countries, the challenge to face is to ensure that all the destinations spread across member countries are equally successful in the three key destination services characteristics: quality, consistency and integrity. To ensure that these characteristics are maintained, an intense and continuous cooperation and effort are needed among the members at the regional levels. This challenge stretches beyond the capacity of a country’s tourism industry to the level of the policy and strategic leadership in each of the Asian countries, engulfing the collective conscience of the region. The opportunities to promote circuit tourism in the Asian region are quite evident. What is lacking, however, is consistent commitment, in terms of action on the ground, to transform the need and will into solid action. Given the premise above, it is the responsibility of both the public and private sectors to come forward to develop Buddhist Circuits Promotion for Nepalese tourism industry to move few steps forward thus contributing significantly to the country’s economy, reduction of unemployment and bringing manifold good to the society. Finally, Buddhist Circuits in Asia and development of Lumbini should not be just a political agenda. The governments and stakeholders should understand the gravity of Buddhist circuits in the region. Now the time has come to materialize it.

Once Buddhist circuits are developed, a number of other developments take place around it, which leads to increased job creation, more foreign currency earning, more business opportunities, infrastructural development, promotion


and conservation of important Buddhist sites, promotion of local arts and crafts, promotion and consumption of agricultural products etc. The benefits are not only to Nepal but to all other regional countries when Buddhist circuits are developed and implemented promptly. By the development of circuit tourism, there will also be other multiple benefits such as increase length of stay of tourists, re-visit the sites (might be interested to visit again or visit all destinations in a circuit if they were unable to visit all in previous visits), recommend friends and relatives, write articles or news about their visits.

Acknowledgements The author would like to thank Dr. Paul L. Swanson of the Nanzan Institute

for Religion and Culture, Nanzan University, Japan and Prof. Dr. Ramesh Raj Kunwar, Tribhuvan University, for their advice in the preparation of this article.

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Prospects of Tourism in Far Western Nepal with Special Reference to Khaptad National

Park

Basant P. Joshi*

AbstractThis paper gives an insight of the potentiality of the pilgrimage tourism (Religious tourism) in the far western region of Nepal, which is one of the highly impending destination of Nepalese tourism industry with the most inherent sites for flora, fauna, wild life, rivers, medicinal herbs, trekking routes, cultural sites, heritage sites and religious sites. The development of tourism in far-western region of Nepal seems possible only with the basic infrastructure like good roads, airports, hospitals, hotels and restaurants. The awareness campaign for the business people and locals on the functions of tourism in the contribution to the economic development of the community is enormously important for the growth of this sector. This paper will present the basic scenario of the far western region of Nepal in terms of the possibilities of the development of tourism industry as a whole with an special focus on the pilgrimage tourism with reference to the Khaptad National park a natural pilgrimage site of this region. The paper also presents the analysis of the touristic sites, the limitations of the region and the role of government upon the successful development of tourism in this area. The study is carried out on the major tourist sites of this region which are in a complete shadow to the local as well as the international tourism. If the local tourism is promoted in a right way, Nepal can attract thousands of outbound tourists to visit such places and hold millions of dollars going abroad in the name of vacation tourism, holidays and entertainment.Keywords: Pilgrimage tourism, Khaptad National Park, Philosophy of Khaptad Swami

* Basant P. Joshi is currently associated with Asian Institute of Technology and Management as a promoter and is the Director/Head of School of the AITM-SHM. He is also associated with A LA CARTE Hospitality Nepal Pvt. Ltd as a founder member. Mr. Joshi is by profession a chef who is working to promote the enthno-Nepalese food in the country. He wrote three books in different areas of hospitality management and culinary arts. He is also the vice president of the Association of Hospitality Educators Nepal.


Introduction to Tourism in NepalNepal gives an image and impression to the outside world as a country with

diversified natural surroundings with an amalgamation of high Mountains, Peaks and valleys. It is the only country having eight, eight thousanders (The mountains with more than 8000 meter heights) . White and silvery snow falling mountains, piercing Sharpe peaks and the Mahabharata (Epic Period) Hilly range with an interesting combination of plain Terai region gives an another geographic beautification and cultural diversity to this country. With the extreme beauty of the nature, this country also accommodates the diversity of wildlife, national parks, shrubs, herbs, flora and fauna. This has always been a great site for researchers and adventurers. In 1978, UNESCO had kept Nepal in the list of World heritage sites where there are seven important religious, cultural and monument heritage sites in the list. This reveals that the impression of Nepal as a country with an advent relationship with nature and culture. There are many facts which identify and prove Nepal as one of the great countries having a lot of potential for the grown of tourism for economic sustainability, which holds 0.1% of the entire geography of the world.

According to the statistics of 2012, there is a slow growth rate of 9.8% in the number of tourists visiting Nepal. The number of tourists had increased by 21.4 percent in 2011, which was Nepal Tourism Year (NTY). According to statistics from Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), a total of 598,204 foreign tourists entered the country via aerial route in 2012. The government of Nepal declared 2011 to be Nepal Tourism Year, and hoped to attract one million foreign tourists to the country during that year. The tourist industry is seen as a way to alleviate poverty and achieve greater social equity in the country. The government of Nepal has also declared Lumbini Tourism Year 2012 to promote Lumbini - the birthplace of Lord Buddha.

In 2007, the number of international tourists visiting Nepal was 526,705, which was an increase of 37.2% compared to the previous year. In 2008, the number of tourists decreased by 5% to 500,277. In 2008, 55.9% of the foreign visitors came from Asia (18.2% from India), while Western Europeans accounted for 27.5%, 7.6% were from North America, 3.2% from Australia and the Pacific Region, 2.6% from Eastern Europe, 1.5% from Central and South America, 0.3% from Africa and 1.4% from other countries. Foreign tourists visiting Nepal in 2008 stayed in the country for an average of 11.78 days. The number of tourists visiting Nepal has decreased by 0.7 percent in 2013. A total of 797,759 tourists visited Nepal last year via air and surface routes.

The total number of tourist arrivals by air was 594,991, whereas overland tourist arrival figure was 202,768 in 2013. According to the Ministry for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, most of the tourists visiting Nepal in 2013 were from India, China,

117Joshi: Prospects of Tourism...

USA and Thailand among others. The total number of tourist arrivals by air in 2012 was 598,204. Likewise, the number of tourists visiting controlled areas recorded an increase of 11.2 percent year on year. A total of 12,937 trekkers visited the controlled areas in 2013, while the figure was 11,632 trekkers in 2012. The Manaslu region in western Nepal received the highest number of trekkers last year among controlled areas. The number of foreign trekkers in Manaslu was 4,439 in 2013. Maximum trekking route visit was on Manaslu 4,439 (34.3 percent of total) followed by Mustang trek 2,862 (22.1 percent), Humla trek 1,603 (12.4 percent), Tsum Valley 1,179 (9.1 percent), Narphu 862 (6.7 percent), Kanchanjunga trek 837 (6.5 percent), Lower Dolpa trek 585 (4.5 percent) and Upper Dolpa trek 338 (2.6 percent). The government has categorized some parts of Mustang, Dolpa , Jumla , Humla and Gorkha districts as restricted or controlled areas for trekking.

Nepal is a land with 7000 different flowering shrubs which is 2% of the total plants in the world. Total of 8% i.e. 848 varieties of bird species are available in Nepal. Total of 4% mammals are found in Nepal. Total 11 out of 15 varieties of butterflies are found in Nepal. Total 600 varieties of local plants are available in Nepal. Total eight out of eleven (eight thousand meter high mountains) are in Nepal including Mount Everest which is the largest among all and named after British Engineer Mr. George Everest. Lord Gautam Budda, who was born in Lumbini is one of the world heritage site is in Nepal.

Pashupatinath temple of Kathmandu, Swoyambhunath temple of Kathmandu, Birth place of Gautam Buddha of Lumbini, Swargadwari of Dang, Barahachhetra of Sunsari, Halesi Mahadev of of Pyuthan, Manakamana temple of Manakamana, Janaki Temple of Janakpur,Muktinath Temple of Muktinath Chhetra, Gosaikunda,Balmiki Ashram, Devghat of Chitwan,Ridi Ghat of Gulmi, Ishwari ganga dham of Baitadi, Saileswari Bhagwati of Doti, Tripurasundari Bhagwati of Baitadi, Malikarjun Sibhalaya of Darchula are the most famous pilgrimage sites including heritage of Nepal . Nepal keeps its importance for not only as a destination for nature lovers, it is more of a natural gift of gods and goddesses, and their residual places. Therefore, it is very important to know how pilgrimage and pilgrims are important for the economic sustainability of the country. However, this study aspires to find out the importance of both prospects of nature tourism and religious tourism which are considered as the essential destinations for the adventure tourists.

Far-western Region of NepalThe Far-Western Region of Nepal is one of Nepal’s five development regions. It is

located at the western end of the country with headquarters at Dipayal.The Far Western Region covers 19,539 km2. It has nine districts with the regional

headquarters at Dipayal, Doti district. The Far Western Region is remote and


developmentally challenged. Some 44% of people in the Far West Hills and 49% in the Himalayan districts live beneath the poverty line. The region has limited access to basic services and increasing services is challenging due to the difficult topography. The region has complex socio-economic structures and there is both widespread gender and caste based discrimination. Traditional systems associated with religion, culture and customs also have a great impact on overall development. This region comprises of two zones called Mahakali and Seti. The Far Western Region of Nepal is sometimes called the Doti region, which some believe originated from ‘Dovati’ meaning land between two rivers. Others believe it originated from the Hindu god Dev, and aatavi, meaning the place of re-creation. The area’s history goes back to the 13th century when Niranjan Malldeo founded the Doti Kingdom following the fall of the Katyuri dyanasty. Dotiyali and Kumauni is spoken in the Far Western Region. Deuda,Jhoda, Chhpeli, Chhaliya, Bhada etc. are traditional dance of the region and Gaura or Gamara is the biggest festival of the region.

Study has been carried out by the different scholars of Nepal (eg.Bhattarai, 2067, Sharma, 2012, Subedi, 2070, Gurung, 2067, Devkota, 2051, Joshi, 2029, Sharma, 2031, Sharma and Gautam, 2061, in Gandaki and Karnali but there are a quite a few researches only who had made study on the far western region of Nepal.

Far western region, out of five different regions of Nepal, keeps its existence as the western entry door to the tourists. This region is one of the key tourist destinations with nature, culture, religion and lots of heritage sites which are unexplored to the outside world. The feedbacks and the suggestions collected from the different trekkers and the tourists suggest that far western region in comparison to the other tourist destinations is such a versatile-geographical location which is not only famous for mountaineering, but also for trekking, wild life observation, bird watching, skiing, rafting, hiking, biking, boating, paragliding, etc.

Far western region of Nepal also holds a diversity of food items with their unique taste and cooking style. This region could also be a great destination for food torism/culinary tourism which is an emerging tourism product in the world. The great dishes of all nine districts of this region give a great taste and flavor of the organic combination of hundreds of dishes which could be an attraction to the people of the west world. Few to name, like Mada (rice flour pancake), Dupka (stew of lentil dumplings) , Batuk (fried lentil dumplings), Paanroti (stew of chapati and vegetables), Kaapu ( stew of corn flour and the green vegetables), Nisswase (rice flour pancake), Seel (deep fried rice flour roundles), Paleu (vegetable curry with whey), Phando (puree of lentils and maize) , Titaudo (dumplings and the puree of lentlis), Bhaddukosikar(mutton curry), Hirankosukuti (dried dear meat) are the famous dishes from this part of Nepal. Since the most of the people are in agriculture, the products at these places are of organic nature because of the organic fertilizer produced form the cattle. According to the


data, the numbers of cattle are generally equal to the number of people living in this region.

The far western region is inhabited by the Brahmins, Chhetris, Thakuris, untouchable groups and some other ethnic groups like Tharus. The Brahmins, Chhetris, Thakuris, untouchable groups are known as the pahadis who live in the hill region. Though they belong to the Hindu caste groups, they look quite primitive, simple in life style and rich in cultural heritage. The Tharus are one of the indigenous communities of Tarai region. They have also their own identity,life style, and different cultural markers. Basically those Tharus who live in the Far Western Tarai Region are culturally known as the Rana Tharus, Kathariya Tharus, Gandarva Tharus and Dangaura Tharus. In course of spending their days and nights, the pahadis (hill community) observe number of festivals such as gora, chaitol, Jaat, sankranti, rishi panchami and bispati (new year eve) and the Tharus at the other side in Terai region observe number of festivals such as hori, charai and maghi which are very popular in their habitat. Hori and charai is very popular among the Rana Tharus and Maghi is very popular throughout Dang district to the Kanchanpur ( see in dtails: Kunwar, 1997, 1998a,1998b,1998c,2000)

Far western region of Nepal keeps its enormous importance because of having a great combination of its unique culture, history, tradition and religious believe. This is considered as a sacred landscape which has a great connotation with the history of Mahabharat (Epic period), Ramayana (Epic Period) and other Vedic epistemology. Pandustamvas in Nauhat village of Baitadi, Ghatal baba in Dadeldhura, ,Kailash mansarobar in Dharchula are few to name with this combination. It is observed that this land is also blessed with most of the power centers of goddess Durga in different forms and names like: Tripurasundari Bhagawati, Shaileswari, Ningalashaini, Melauli and Malikadevi.

Demographic status of the tourism in Far Western NepalAmargadhi, the district headquarters of Dadeldhura district is named after

General AmarshingThapa (a famous Gorkha General) who formed a fort to expand Gorkha Empire capturing Kumaoun state after had defeated in previous war with Kumaoun during 1790 A.D. Seti is divided into five districts. These districts of Seti zone includes Achham, Bajhang,Kailali,Doti and Bajura. There are eight domestic airlines operating scheduled flights to most of the districts of Nepal. Sanfebagar, a town of Achcham district of Seti zone in Nepal homes a domestic airport. Moreover, transportation in and around Seti is also not a problem. Bus and car rental services are available here. The major city of this zone is Dhangadhi in Terai. The headquarter is in Dipayal-Silgadhi. All the cities are picturesque and endowed with beautiful rivers, hills, snow capped mountains. The quality wood found in this region also gives the


place a mystic beauty. Seti in Nepal is an ideal tourist destination for those who want to enjoy the beauty of the rivers. People, who like adventure sports like river rafting, would love this place. During monsoons, the rapids intensify giving great pleasure to rafters. People, who like bird watching in the tranquil atmosphere in Nepal, will also like this place.

Mahakali zone of the far-western region, Nepal, which is one of the famous sites for tourist attraction, is connected to the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh to the south. It is not only well known for its Shahi Suklaphanta national park but also is highly blessed by its natural beauty ranging from several rivers and ponds to religious and historical places having its unique language and culture. Few to name, some important tourist destination are Sahi- Sukhla Fata National Park, Rani taal, Jhilmila taal, Betkot Taal, ShovaTaal, Banda Taal, Shankharpur, the social and native place of people belonging to Dekhatbhuli RanaTharu, Jholunge Pool (the hanging bridge) and the important Pilgrimage sites of this zone are Ninglasaini Bhagwati, Sidhababa, Sakethdham, Ghatalbaba and Baijanath. Similarly Dadeldhura destrict which is also well known for its incredible natural beauty covers other hill stations such as Chure Pahad, Mahabharat Parwat Shrinkhala, Madeshterai and dense forests. Dadeldhura incorporates Aalitaal (lake) and other historical places like Ajaimerukot, AmarghadiKilla and Dewaldivyapur. some of the important pilgrimage sites of this district are Ugratara, Bhageshwor, Dageshwori, Samaiji, Sahashralinga, Jagannath and Ghatal baba temple.

Baitadi district of this zone has its own natural and religious importance. It is well known for its traditional and cultural life. It consists of various eye-catching tourist attraction places such as: Lakes, Pilgrimage sites and religious places such as Patal Bhumeshwor, Ishworigangadhan, Gwalekh Chetra, Shaileshwor Dharmiksthal, Tripura Sundari Mata temple, Sigasadhura and Melauli Bhagwati temple and Sharmali Ghadi are the important pilgrimage sites of this district. Besides the common festival called Gaura, there are several local festivals observed by the people of this district. Kartik Jaat of Mata Tripura Sundari, which is the devine procession of Tripurasundari Bhagawati is one of the important festival observed by the people residing boarding Jhulaghat of India. Similarly, the Dehimandu jaat, Asadi jaat, and different Chaitols of gods and goddesses are observed enornously in this area.

Darchula district of this zone is the last and fartherest district of far western region which is in northern part and this district is passed through Baitadi, having gokhuleshwor temple on its way. One could reach this place through bus transportation. However, it is estimated that within few years, government will be able to establish better road facilities connecting to its headquarters making it easier to travel. It is a mountainous region. There is also a short way to reach the famous Hindu temple, Kailash and Mansarowar through places covered in this area such as


Byaschnagra and tinkher which also marks it a tourist destination. Some important mountains of this district are ApiHimal, Nampa Himal, ByasHimal and Lipulekh. The lakes and caves of this district are also the must seen places like:Surma Sarowar, Dharmi cave (Khandeshwor V.D.C.). Similarly Uku Darbar of Uku VDC, Malikarjun temple of Pasti, Dude temple, and Tatopani are some of the important pilgrimage sites. Byas VDC is the nearest tourist attraction spot of this district.

VDC Chane to Village DevelopmentSeti Zone is the second Zone of far-western region which consists of Kailali, Doti,

Accham, Bajang and Bajura districts. There is a facility of air way to Dhanghadi which is the headquarter of this place. It is through Danghadi that people can travel through road ways to various other hilly districts of Seti zone such as Bajang, Bajura, Doti and Accham and also from here, people can have a visit to other destinations nearby.

The tourist attractions of Kailai district as one of the important district of the Seti zone could be categorized as Lakes, famous destination, pilgrimage sites and the local interesting spot. Ghodaghodi taal of this district is connected to east-west highway and Mahendra highway. There are 14 lakes having about 258 kilometers. The lake covers three V.D.C’s of Kailali district. The physical surrounding of this lake adds beauty to its places nearby as Khaptad national park which is situated in its northern part, Bardiya National park in its eastern part and Sahisukhlafata national park in its southern part and Duduwa national park is situated in India. Similarly the Tikapur Park, Rafting from Karnali to Tikapur are the famous destination of this region. Dagaura caste having people reside in the local communities nearby are the local communities nearby and are the point of tourist attraction.

The Khaptad national park which is situated in far western region was established in 1984. It is connected to Accham, Bajang, Bajura and certain places of Doti. It is well known for its natural beauty having dense forest and extinct flora and fauna. Nepal consists of total 850 species of birds among which about 260 species of birds are found spread in 225 kilometers of this place. It is also known for its various species of butterflies, wild animals, birds and various herbal plants. The major tourism attractions destinations are: Matthilotridevi, Naghdhunga, Khaptaddaha, Khaparmandu, Ganesh Mandir, Sahashralinga and Dafekot, Khaptad baba’s ashram

According to the Hindu mythology, the Ramaroshan lake was the holy place of god and goddess, this place is situated to periphery of places of Accham. This place consists of 12 lakes and temples of Parwati and Ganesh. Ramaroshan Lake carries its own historical importance and mysterious legends. The various species of birds adds beauty to its scenario. Badimalika known as Devi mandir is located in 13,500 feats above the sea level. According to Hindu mythology, this temple was built by


the god of wealth “Khuwer”. It is situated in high hill and the month from Baisakh to Ashwin(Apr/May-Sep/Oct) in Nepali Calendar is said to be appropriate time to visit this temple. The beautiful and high scenery of Himalayas can be observed through this temple.

Surmadevi and Surmasarowor is a beautiful and holy pond. It is situated in it’s headquarter “Chainpur” and towards the northern part of Khaptad region, where it takes 3 days of travelling by bare feet. Surmadevi temple is situated in this place. According to Hindu mythology, this place is said to be the youngest sister of the god “Dare mastoki” who is also believed to be a prodigy of Lord Shiva. On the way to khaptad region, there is a temple known as Dilipeshwor which is situated in Dipayal and Bhagwati Shaileshwori temple is situated in Silghadi, Doti. There is also the ganesh and Masta teple.

Silghadi is the business centre to other districts such as Bajang, Bajura and Accham This is a far and remote region of myths and adventures to be explored where someone can experience ancient culture, traditions, wilderness and flora & fauna. Most of the areas of this region are isolated from the outer world and only a few trekkers have ventured here so far. Compared to Nepal’s other more popular trekking regions, this region offer the feeling of real Nepal with its rural traditions. Trekking into this region offers an opportunity to explore the country’s long preserved secrets: snow-covered glaciers, hidden valleys, mediaeval villages, spectacular lakes, Buddhist Monasteries, flora and fauna and cultural diversities. Only fully supported camping treks provide access to this remote region and requires a special permit. The acclaimed movie “Himalaya” is a poignant portrayal of this wonderful region. Most of the parts of this region remain in the rain shadow and the best time for trekking is from late August to September. Deep in the heart of the remote area of Western Nepal, nestled between the sweltering Indian subcontinent and the frozen plains of the Tibetan plateau, Api Himal trek offers lovely forests, high passes, remote villages and varied cultures. This trekking trail is named after Api Himal (7132 m) and lies off the beaten track. Very few number of tourist visits this area. The natives are both Hindus and Buddhists and have still followed their lifestyle of the local people.

Pilgrimage destinations of the far western region of NepalReligious tourism also commonly referred to as faith tourism, is a type of tourism,

where people travel individually or in groups for pilgrimage, missionary, or leisure (fellowship) purposes. The world’s largest form of mass religious tourism takes place at the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. North American religious tourists comprise an estimated $10 billion of the industry. (www. wikipedia.com)

Far West Nepal contains many predominantly Hindu holy sites and temples visited by the devout followers. Each temple is attached to a legend or belief that glorifies


the miraculous powers of its deity. One of the legends tells us about seven sisters – seven temples. Each temple represents the Goddess Durga (Goddess of Power) in the different form of her reincarnation. It is believed that one can fulfill his/her wishes by visiting these seven sisters.

Moreover Far West Nepal has many other ancient small and big temples of other Hindu Gods and Goddess. The temple of Siddababa (devoted to God Shiva) in Mahendranagar, Malikarjun temple in Darchula on the way to Kailash as well as the temple of Beheda baba in Kailali district are most visited by the thousands of devotees every year.

Ugratara Temple As the legend goes, goddess Ugratara is one of the seven divine sisters residing in the Far-West. It is believed that the goddess grants any wish her devotees make by worshiping her. Pilgrims from India also come here in large numbers.

Baijnath Temple Baijnath is one of the four main religious places (Char Dham) in Nepal associated with lord Shiva. For any Hindu, this is a sacred place with a huge religious significance. Even for those who are interested in history, the temple has something to offer. During the time of unification of Nepal, in the later part of the eighteenth century, Bahadur Shah attacked the small kingdom of Achham, but he had to retreat in defeat. In the process, he left his weapons at Baijnath temple.

Badi Malika Temple Situated at the altitude of 4,267 m in Bajura district, Badi Malika temple is the main religious site in the region. This is an epitome of Hindu religion and the worshippers flock here in large numbers from various places of the country as well as from India which has a large Hindu population. The nature here also attracts visitors. The area has around 200 species of flora and more than 100 species of herbs. There are over 22 grass plateaus. They are a big attraction of the region.

Even the human beings who have committed the crimes like killing of Brahmanas, (Brhamhatya), drinking liquor (surapana) etc, can also be purged of sins if they visit the temple .The knowledge, which cannot be possible through the knowledge of Sankhyayoga; the first explanation of earth ,can be achieved through this pilgrimage. This goddess is more famous than in other temples.

To the south of the Briddaganga lies Khaptad Mountain (Achham) which is extended in the area of 56 x 22 miles. In the middle of the area are 5 images of Lord Shiva, carved by a famous craftsman in Hindu mythology, Vishwokarma. In located a sacred stone of Lord Shiva Shankara Sheela, surrounded by thousand personified columns, lingas, to be worshipped by gods and gandarvas (heavenly singers).Thus, Sahashreshwor Mahadeva is enshrined in the middle. Sahashreshwor is worshipped by gods in Khechar/ Khaptad area as widely as Bishweshwor in Kashi, Varanashi.


Criminals and lepers also get deliverance from sins if they visit this place and worship gods.

The value of this place has been further enhanced due to a great sage enlightened with knowledge of medicines, philosophy and religion, Khaptad Swami who stayed there for a long time until his death.

Tripurasundari This is a temple of goddess Kali, one of the seven divine sisters believed to be residing in the Far-West region. Legend has it that these sisters were all made to stay in the region by lord Shiva. And being one of the more important of the sisters, Tripurasundari inspires more devotion from people. It is visited by thousands of believers throughout the year, both from within the country and from India.

Melauli Bhagwati Temple Melauli Bhagwati,located in Baitadi district, is a famous temple of the region. This temple is also associated with the Deuki tradition, now extinct. Deukis were girls in their early age, offered to Melauli Bhagwati. This was a form of slavery and it was practiced for many centuries. This tradition has since long been abolished.

Ninglasaini Temple This temple in Baitadi district is one of the seven sister temples in the region. It has its own history and importance. This temple is the epitome of sacrifice to goddess Niglasaini. Every year, on two different occasions, hundreds of bulls and thousands of goats are sacrificed to the goddess as offering, in order to seek her protection and blessing

Saileshwori Temple Saileshwori temple located at the heart of Silgadhi. It is believed that the temple was founded 1400 years ago. Behind the establishment of this temple there is a local myth. It says that many years ago a shepherd saw a herd of cows giving milk to a white stone (SHILA in Nepal). At the same night the shepherd had a dream of the Goddess Durga who ordered him to bring the stone to the holy place where the temple is situated now. Every year during the Navaratri festival many followers visit this temple.

Siddha Nath Baba The temple of Siddha Nath Baba is located at the central part of Mahendranagar city of far- western region of the country. It is believed that desires get fulfilled when one pays homage to Siddha Nath Baba after worshipping Goddess Purnagiri at Tanakpur, a nearly Indian border city. The Purnagiri temple is a famous pilgrimage site in North India. The tradition of offering bell to the Siddha Nath Baba temple after one’s wish is fulfilled is maintained to this day. Religious gathering takes place at this temple especially during the festivals like Navaratri. Holi Purnima, Teej, Panchami and Gaura etc. Devotees from India also come to pay homage to Siddha Nath Baba. Just like in India, the four Dhams of Nepal denoted as Kshetras form a complete pilgrimage. Besides the above mentioned major pilgrimage sites, there are numerous other holy places which bear mythical and cultural significance. Among


many places, Kathmandu alone harbors hundreds of temples and gombas. Therefore, it is rightly called the city of temples. In addition, innumerable images and symbols of gods and goddesses from antique times have enriched our religious treasury. The temples and images are important both for religious and aesthetic purposes because they have beautiful decorations, designs, carvings and symmetry in addition to their strong religious significance.

Khaptad National Park, a Pilgrimage siteModern religious tourists are more able to visit holy cities and holy sites around

the world. The most famous holy cities are Mecca, Madinah, Karbala, Jerusalem and Varanasi. The most famous holy sites are the Kaaba, Rauza of Imam Husain at Kar-bala, Church of the Nativity, The Western Wall and the Brahma Temple at Pushkar. Religious tourism has existed since antiquity. A study in 2011 found that 2.5 million people visited Karbala on the day of Arbaeen, pilgrims visited Jerusalem for a few reasons: to understand and appreciate their religion through a tangible experience, to feel secure about their religious beliefs, and to connect personally to the divine world.

Khaptad National Park, one of the natural historical plateaus located in the Far-western region of Nepal was gazetted in 1984 covering an area of 225 sq. km. The area of buffer zone is 216 sq. km. The park is the only mid-mountain national park in western Nepal, representing a unique and important ecosystem. The late Khaptad Swami moved to the area in 1940’s to meditate and worship. He spent about 50 years as a hermit and became a renowned spiritual saint. The park offers a challenging yet rewarding experience unlike any other protected area in Nepal. The Khaptad Baba Ashram (The residual place of Saint Khaptad Baba) is located near the park’s headquarter. The Tribeni confluence made by three rivers and a Shiva temple are on the way to Park Headquarter. Ganga Dashahara is celebrated here during Jestha Purnima and many pilgrims visit the park during the festival. Sahashra Linga is another religious site situated at 3,200 m above sea level which is the highest point in the park. Other religious places include Ganesh temple, Nagdhunga and Kedardhunga. These areas are considered as places for meditation peace and tranquillity. Tobacco products, alcohol, and sacrificing of animals are prohibited in these areas. There is a small museum and a view tower at the park headquarters. To the north, one can see the Saipal Himalayan Ranges- In the other direction the vast green mid-hills of Nepal can be seen clearly. There are 22 open patches of Patans (pastureland) mix together with the forests inside park. The local people graze their livestock in the Patans during the summer season. In the north-eastern part of the park, there is a lake called Khaptad Daha. During the full moon of August - September a festival called Purnima is celebrated here.


The seasons of spring (March-May) and autumn (October-November) are the best times to visit the park. The temperature ranges from 10°c to 20°c offering pleasant trekking weather. The monsoon begins in June and last until September during this time paths become muddy and slippery. From December to February winter brings snow and chilling winds. The flora of the park can be divided into three basic vegetation zones’s-subtropical, and temperate. In the lower altitudes (1000 - 2000 m), subtropical vegetation dominates the landscape; Forest mainly consists of Montane Sal, Pines and Alder species. From 1800 - 3000 m temperate type dominates the landscape. The forest in this region are comprised of lower temperate mixed broad-leaved species (Lindera nacusua, Cmnamomum tamca. etc), temperate mixed evergreen species (Spruce, fir, hemlock, oak. etc), and upper temperate broad-leaved species (Aesculus indica, maple, etc.) Fir oak, birch, and rhododendron arc the major species are found there. Intertwined into the landscape of the Khaptad plateau are the Patans (pastureland) with beautiful flowers (about 135 species) that bloom in the summer and late spring. The grassland flowers consist of primulas, buttercups, and wild berries. A wide variety of medicinal herbs (about 224 species) are occurr inside the park The Park is reported to have 266 birds’ species with migratory birds joining the residential ones. It supports about 175 breeding birds’ species. Some of the common ones are the Impeyan, Pheasant (Dhanphe), Nepal’s national bird, and many types of partridges, flycatchers, bulbuls, cuckoos, and eagles. A wide variety of butterflies, moths, and insects are also forming a part of the Khaptad ecosystem. The park provides habitat for some 20 different, species of mamals. Common ones include barking deer, wild boar, goral, Himalayan black bear, Yellow-throated Marten, Rhesus and Langur monkey. Other includes leopard, wild dogs, jackal and musk deer.

Currently there are no lodges or hotels in the park. Trekkers must be self- sufficient in tents, food, fuel and all other supplies. Make sure to bring a first-aid kit because there are no medical facilities available within the park. The best way to reach the park area is to fly from Nepalgunj to Dipayal and the local buses are available for Silgadhi, Doti. From Silgadhi Bazzar one has to hike 6 hours to the park entrance and another 7-8 hours to the Park Headquarters. Other options are-flight to Dipayal followed by a three-day walk, or flight to Achham or Bajhang followed by a two-day walk, or flight to Bajura followed by a four-day walk. However, Dipayal and Accham airport are rarely open. The importance of Khaptad region is connected with the advent relationship of Khaptad Baba who meditated in this region and made it famous as a destination of religious importance.

Khaptad Swami, died on May 9, 1996, allegedly at the age of 130. As a hermit, the Himalaya attracted him. He traveled throughout, from Kashmir to Meghalaya but Khaptad Plateau of Far-Western Nepal attracted him most and he was pulled


by the magical charm of this land of pre-historic Yakshyas and Haptalite Sakas and Khashas. Very soon, after establishing his hermitage over a small cave, he realized that Khaptad Plateau was the centre of past civilization (of the Mahabharata period ) and an unfathomable storehouse of magical herbs. Khaptad Swami believed that Khaptad was the most suitable place in the earth to practice Yoga and Meditation. He said that if one is tired of processed food and allopathy, he should try to know his body, mind and soul and also get acquainted with Yoga and nature’s curative properties. Khaptad Baba spent much of his life in meditation and contemplation and he describes some jewels of knowledge within this book while residing in this plateau.

Khaptad Baba’s vedantic philosophy puts forth with a great connotation with the Hindu Philosophy which states that before the beginning of creation, the unconditioned causal state of universe contained potential Prana. Vedanta does not make the absurd statement that life has come from non-profit. It does not admit that vital energy is the result of mechanical forces. But the modern scientists are puzzling on this issue. On the contrary, tells us that it is the force, which operates simultaneously with physics chemical forces. They are all in fact expressions of the one living energy of Prana. Ordinarily it is translated into English by the word “Breath”, but Prana is not simple breath. It is defined as the cause of all motion and life in both organic and inorganic world. Wherever there is the slightest expression of motion, life or mind, from the smallest atom or animalcule or blioplasm upto the largest solar system and the highest man, it is the manifestation of all pervading force called as Prana. Modern scientists are dreaming to prove that life is the product of some kind of motion of death matter. While, Vedanta teaches that all the phenomena of the universe have evolved out of the one eternal substance, which possesses Prana or cosmic vital-force, cosmic mind, cosmic intelligence and consciousness. Yoga claims that this Prana is the final cause of all the manifested forces of nature. Why does an atom move and vibrate? A scientist does not know, but a yogi says because of Prana. The force, which produces vibration in an atom, is one of the expressions of the energy of Prana or the cosmic life principle. The same Prana appears as that power, by which a germ of life works on the physical plane arouses motion in the molecules of its cells, builds up a suitable structure, repairs injuries, and reproduces its kind. It causes activity in protoplasm, in a bio-plasm or an amoeba well as in the highest man. It is closely related to the mind, which includes all the psychic activities and intelligence, displayed by that germ in the different grades of its evolution. Vital powers of mind are indeed, two aspects of one Prana.

Mind is composed of two separate and distinct parts- the normal consciousness and the sub-normal consciousness. The line of demarcation in between the two compartments is very clearly defined. Each is capable of independent action.


The normal consciousness is that which only takes cognizance of the physical world. It observes by means of the five physical senses. It is purely physical and not psychic. But not so with the sub-consciousness as it acts independent without the help of the physical senses. It is the seat of the emotions and storehouse of memory. It performs its highest functions when the physical senses are in abeyance as in sleep. It is highly and constantly amenable to hypnotism and suggestion. In hypnotism the normal consciousness of the operator is allowed to exercise itself on the sub-consciousness of the subject. Suggestion is the means by which hypnosis is induced. Auto-suggestion is to impart suggestions to one’s own sub consciousness without the intermediary of any operator.

A thing does not exist, in the beginning and at the end, which does not exist in the middle also. There is no pot in the beginning, when it is broken there is no pot again, it is all clay. Even when you see a pot, you should strongly think that it has only a relative existence; in fact there is no pot. This is the strong determination of a Viveki.

Similarly, there is no body in the beginning, it is all Swarupa. In the end when you become a Dehamukta; there is no body. So even when you see this body, you must think, it does not exist at all. It is all illusion or Bhranti. Thus through Yukti you can prove the Abhaba (non-existence) of the world. Sruti and Smritis support the above statement

‘Ma’ means not and ‘Ya’ means that. Maya as such is ‘not that’. Maya is an illusory power of Brahman. It is sat-Asat Vilakshana Anadi Bhavarupa Anirvachineeya Maya. It is neither Sat as Brahman not Asat as the horns of a rabbit because you sense the objects ‘not Asat’. It is Avarna Shakti means indescribable. It has got two Shaktis- Avaran and Vishepa Shakti. Avarna Shakti means veiling power, which does not allow you to realize your divine Sat-Chit-Anand nature. Viskshapa Shakti means projecting power, which projects the universe and the body and causes Abhimana. It is just as heat is inseparable from fire and coldness from ice. Maya is inseparable from Brahman. It is Atmashraya or dependent on Brahman.

Practice of the presence of God always is the easiest, nearest and surest way of reaching God-Consciousness. Feel his presence always, and everywhere. Feel his in-dwelling presence in everything. Feel your oneness with everything. He never talks or smiles, but his presence is sufficient for me. I am always in joy, bliss in knowledge and in immortality in His presence. This kind of Sadhana is very important for as aspirant, eventually it leads to resting in Nirguna Brahman. All forms vanish. You are sad and depressed because you have failed or forget to feel his presence.

Every effect has a cause; this phenomenal world must therefore have a cause. It is an effect of Brahman, the original causeless cause, Param Karanam. ‘Aham’ means “I”


in Sanskrit. ‘Edam’ means ‘this’. When I refer to myself, I say Aham and when I refer to you, I say ‘Edam’. When you talk to me these words are reversed. My ‘Aham’, becomes your ‘Edam’ and your ‘Edam’ becomes my ‘Aham’ and so on. Tables are turned over. There is only ‘Aham’ everywhere, the one common consciousness. ‘Edam’ is a mental creation or false attribution, Adhyaropa means super-imposition. It’s just as a snake is superimposed on a rope. The snake is a Vivarta, false attribute of the rope. Similarly “Idam” is a Vivartra of Aham.

Carefully analyze this little “I”, the lower self-arrogating false personality which is the cause for all miseries, troubles and tribulations.

The physical body is not the “I”. Even if the leg or hand is amputated, still the “I” remains. It is made up of five elements. It is the resultant product of Annam or food. Hence, it is styled as Annamaya Kosha. It has a beginning and an end. It is Vinashi or perishable. It is Jada, non-sentient, or non-intelligent.

The Indriya is not the “I”. It is Jada. It has a beginning and an end. It is the effect of Rajo Guna and Sattwa Guna. It is made up of Tanmatras.

Mind is not the “I”. There is no mind in sleep. Yet there is the feeling of continuity of consciousness. Mind is Jada. It has a beginning and an end. It is a bundle of changing ideas. It gropes in darkness. It sinks down in grief. It becomes like a block of wood in extreme fear. Prana also is not the “I”. It is an effect of Rajoguna. It is Jada. It has a beginning and an end. You can suspend the breath and yet continuity of consciousness remains.

The Anandmaya Kosha or the Karan Saris, which constitute the Mool Agyana and which is made up of Vasanas and Sanskaras is not the little “I”. It is Jada. It has a beginning and an end. When I say “I”, I really feel “I am” or I exist, Sat aspect. I understand or comprehend that “I am”, this is the Chit aspect. On careful analysis by introspection this little “I” dwindles into an airy nothing. Just as an onion is reduced to nothing when the different layers are pealed off. But we get at the core or “essence” of the big infinite “I”, -Sat-Chit-Anand Brahman, the substratum or background for all these appearances, little many “I”s. In the phenomenal world also, all things are composed of five things - Nam, Rupam Asti, Bhati and Priya. Names and forms may change, but the Sat-Chit-Anand, (Asti-Bhati-Priya), remains forever. That is the truth. Every form has its own Sat-Chit-Anand. The form is different (Vyatireka) but the essence that is at the back is the same in all forms (Anvaya).

Because of the connotation of the vedantic philosophy of Baba explored in this region, Khaptad National park has also kept its imporatnce as an important pilgrimage site which must be seen and travelled by anyone who aspires to see the relationship of the nature and the god.


ConclusionThe current condition of the non stability of the government had gradually

degraded the inbound flow of the tourists in Nepal. The situation in which the major touristic destinations are not functioning well, we couldn’t have presumed the flow of tourism in the areas like far western region where there are lots of things to be done in terms of developing accessibility, attraction and amenities. Lake of proper infrastructure: roads, bridges, electricity, air ways, communication and health facilities always have high impact in tourism industry because with out having the basic standards for tourists, the destination can not prosper.

This has always been sought that the awareness among the locals on tourism and the long term strategies and policies are also needed for the commercialization of this industry in far western region. National planning commission should keep in mind the regional balance and making the NGOs and INGOs more active on bilateral cooperation. Like ACAP, the Khaptad National Park which is connecting to Bajhang, Bajura, Doti and Achham district of this region needs a good working committee for the promotion of sustainable tourism. Road agreement with India for transportation and trekking route from Darchula to Sera to Mansorabar needs full attention the accessibility criteria.

Similarly the emphasize on developing airports for quick access to these regions is another importance. There must be an agreement with the government of Uttaranchal for extension of market. Master plan for Ghoda Ghodital and its surrounding needs to be worked out with immediate effects. Special attractions inside Suklaphata National Park, Khapad national park and other religious sites need special attention and renovations. Development of Hotels will only take place once the locals need and understand the importance of tourism and the support from the government in developing the basic infrastructure. Though the regional trael agents/agencies located in Nepalgunj and hotels in the district headquarters of Banke to Mahendra Naar have provided with lots of services, but still they are in lack of operational as well as the functional know hows in the northern hilly region in order to goster tourism, transportation, attractiion, accomodation, souvenier ships and infracture development is must (see details : Kunwar, 2012). People concerned with far western region need to work together for the declaration of Visit Sudurpachhim year 2020 so as to inspire the locals to build hotels, restaurants and lodges. Hospitals and ambulance services need to be acquired with an urgent need. Similarly, training and development of the locals in terms of vocational areas need to beworked out and need based employability to be worked out in coordination with CTEVT and other organizations like TVT, Swiss fund, etc.


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Corporate Social Responsibility Practices in Five-star Hotels in Kathmandu

Chanakya P. Rijal*

Susmita Karanjit**

AbstractThe main purpose of this study was to acquire a firm understanding of CSR practices and their impact in selected five-star hotels of Kathmandu with specific focus on exploring how such initiatives could be made more effective to provide with more tangible social benefits. For this, the overall work was more linked with the four elements of Carroll’s Pyramid of CSR. The research was conducted using key informant interviews (KII) with the managers having involvement in CSR related functions in the selected five-star hotels in Kathmandu. The international chain hotels were observed to have in place the standardized policies and regular budget for carrying out CSR initiatives, while the non-chain, family-run hotels were yet to institutionalize such initiatives though they too were reported to be involved in carrying out numerous CSR related activities initiated from different functional departments of the hotels. As family-run entities, in the non-chain hotels, the decisions on devising policies for CSR were made mainly by the owners and powerful stakeholders in a more random manner. In the chain hotels, such decisions were mainly taken by the headquarters as part of their systems planning and implementation, though they too did not have separate structural set up to oversee this job. In common, the benefits from CSR initiatives came mostly in intangible forms and the expense was made without any hope of receiving material benefits. The participants of depth interviews shared that the institutions

* Dr. Chanakya P. Rijal works as the Head of Department, Research and Development at Nepal College of Management, affiliated to Kathmandu University, School of Management. Dr. Rijal holds extensive experience of conducting large scale applied and academic research, teaching management sciences in universities, and providing with discourses on professional and institutional development.

** Susmita Karanjit holds a masters degree in Hospitality Management from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. She works for Hotel Shangri-la, Kathmandu as a Sales and Marketing Executive. This article is an outcome of her honest work as part of her masters degree thesis research.


may continue receiving the returns of CSR contributions for long-run and in many folds, sometimes returns beyond management expectations. It was also commonly shared that the macro environmental influence was one of the major challenge affecting making CSR initiatives a more beneficiary-focused. Key words: Corporate social responsibilities (CSR), elements of CSR, theories of CSR, approaches to CSR, circles of CSR.

Background of the StudyThere are diverse views regarding the exact timing of emergence of the concept

of corporate social responsibility (CSR). A scholar has mentioned that the concept of CSR came into existence only from the 1960s (Barnett, 2007), whereas Bowen (1953) defined this concept even before indicating that it might have been in place prior to 1950s. Most of the scholars are of the opinion that originally it emerged as a means of ‘doing good to be perceived to have done good’ and later it grew with diverse returns crossing the boundary of benefitting beyond the organization -- the society and rest of stakeholders (Kotler, & Lee, 2005) and contributed significantly in the process of image of the institution. In fact, the concept of CSR might have emerged along the evolution of early industrial revolution. For example, Carroll (2008) has stated that in the 1800s, due to the growing industrialization, businesses started emerging in no time, with the prime concern towards the employees and on how to make them more productive workers.

Though most of the five-star hotels like any other entities in many developed societies have been placing considerable interest on CSR in the recent years, very little has been done in the context of Nepal. The best practices in the developed societies reveal that the core interest is not only on increasing the income, but also to contribute responsively for social welfare. Carroll (1999) has recognized 1990s as the modern era of CSR whereby formal writings on CSR were largely considered. This scholar has further pointed out that in later phase of the decade, most of the organizations commenced addressing social and environmental issues as their institutional steps to counteract the negative remarks placed on them and it resulted with CSR gaining new height in the corporate world. Researches on why and how businesses engaged in CSR and what might have encouraged them for taking such initiatives have revealed that it was regarded as a voluntary institutional initiative without expecting any material returns.

The hotel industry, being one of the highest revenue earning sources serving millions of people globally, still has the potential of growing even better and has been reaping most of the benefits of globalization. The industry has been continuously gaining control over the world’s tourism sector. Hence, this industry should serve

135Rijal/ Karanjit: Corporate Social Responsibility...

the society more by engaging in CSR initiatives. Undoubtedly, it is a truth that institutional involvement in CSR activities will create cost for them in short-run, but in the long-run, it will help them generate continued monetary and non-monetary returns. Thus, the five-star hotels in Nepal should keep it into consideration that the expenses made on CSR initiatives is not the cost but it is a responsible investment made for a better future of the industry establishments and the society. This article aims to help further understanding the concept of CSR and its practices among the five-star hotels, especially the Kathmandu-based ones, as Kathmandu is a popular tourist destination.

A number of international studies have been undertaken regarding CSR practices in hotel business. However, in Nepal, this research would probably be the first of its kind. Like other institutions, the five-star hotels are always in need to deal with CSR challenges to achieve consistent level of performance, social acceptance and recognition by satisfying the customers, being responsive towards need of social development and welfare, being attractive to investors and making profits. CSR involvement may serve as a genuine solution to accomplish all these expectations. For example, Carroll (2008) has recognized the multiple dimensions of stress of CSR as an effective tool to deal in-just to the employees, suppliers, customers, and more importantly, a greater effort may be required to support the local communities, help charities and promote environmental sustainability.

Study RationaleThese days, the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has received greater

heights globally in all sectors and the end results is the attainment of institutional image and sustainable development. In the present study of Nepal, the hotel industry was chosen, more specifically the five-star hotels located in the Kathmandu Valley, only due to two main reasons – first, the fellow researcher wanted to better understand the workings of the hotel industry to personally transform as a successful hotel professional, and second, most of the five-star hotels of Nepal being located within Kathmandu Valley. There are many well-developed theoretical concepts to support the idea of CSR as a value-adding proposition in the competition-laden world (Porter, & Kramer, 2006). With this consideration, five hotels based in Kathmandu Valley were chosen for the study. Through this discourse, the present study also was intended to make the five-star hotel management in Nepal realize the importance of taking up CSR initiatives in a serious, institutionalized and sustainable manner as a more responsive, voluntary institutional standing.

Problem of InquiryIt was revealed through the preliminary exploration on problem formulation that

most of the five-star hotels in Kathmandu were implementing CSR as part of their


business strategy, however the nature and extent of such initiatives differed across the institutions which created a confusion whether these institutions were placing adequate emphasis on all important aspects of CSR consideration. In this respect, this work aimed to explore the extent of implementation of CSR initiatives in the Nepalese five-star hotels and due emphasis was given to four elements of CSR consideration as suggested in Carroll (1991) – economic responsibilities, legal responsibilities, ethical responsibilities, and philanthropic responsibilities.

To make it a more objective and simple journey, a single statement of the problem was formulated -- How is the overall level of execution of CSR in selected five-star hotels in the Kathmandu Valley? Keeping into consideration the key elements of CSR focus, a set of four research questions was developed to guide the overall study more systematically. Such research questions included –

To what extent do the five-star hotels have their policies on CSR? 1. How is the extent of implementation of CSR initiatives in the selected five-star 2. hotels of Nepal? What are the perceived costs and benefits of CSR initiatives in the case of five-3. star hotels of Nepal? What are the main challenges and problems facing CSR initiatives in the five-4. star hotels of Nepal?

Working Premises, Limitations and SignificanceIn reference with a number of theoretical and conceptual insights, the present

study was crafted on Carroll’s Pyramid of CSR that including above-stated four elements of observation. Ethnographic discourse on multiple realities which were observed by means of key informant interviews made it possible to make the study grounding within the premise of the selected elements. The inquiry was conducted in fully qualitative research paradigms. In terms of location and institutions covered, the study was limited to the Kathmandu Valley based five hotels of the five-star category.

This work has served instrumental to generate valuable knowledge to various parties. It has established a firm understanding of the significance of CSR practices in the five-star hotels and how it would benefit the organizations and the society, at large. Effective implications on CSR practices in various five-star hotels in Kathmandu could be established which would finally serve as a basis for rest of sectors. More importantly, it may provide with right insights to the hotel industry entrepreneurs and government agencies in devising relevant guidelines on CSR implementation more effectively.


Conceptual Perspectives and Approaches to CSRProviding an exact and universally acceptable definition of CSR is a challenging

task, as it is quite a vague issue. Moreover, the scholars have defined it differently. For example, Carroll (1979) has stated that the social responsibility of a business comprises of economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that the society has from an organization at a given point in time. The European Commission ([EC], 2001) has defined CSR as the responsibility of institutions for their impacts on the society and a concept in which the institutions integrate social and environmental concerns in their functional operations on a voluntary basis. In a similar way, Bowen (1953) has defined it as an obligation of institutions and individuals to pursue certain policies, to make decisions, or to follow the lines of action which are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of the society.

The formal definition exhibited in World Business Council for Sustainable Development ([WBCSD], 1998) states that CSR is the continuing commitment of the institutions to perform ethically to contribute in economic development, and at the same time, to improve workforce and quality of social life. Davis (1960) has proposed social responsibility as the institutional decision on actions to be taken at least partially beyond the firm’s direct economic interests. Similarly, Kotler and Lee (2005) have defined it as a way of doing the most good for the company and its causes affecting to the society as it refers to the commitment to community progress and welfare through discretionary corporate practices and contributions.

According to Porter and Kramer (2006), CSR has appeared to be an unavoidable priority for businesses in every country. Other scholars have claimed that more than cost, CSR initiatives are the primary business choices to build foundation of opportunity, innovation, and competitive advantages (Porter, & Kramer, 2006). One scholar has produced the relevance of CSR as a partnership approach to create or develop new markets (Visser, 2008). According to Carroll (1983), CSR involves conduct of a business so that it is economically profitable, law abiding, ethical, and socially supportive as it is grounded on economic, legal, ethical and voluntary or philanthropic initiatives of a firm towards its people, environment, stakeholders and society.

The exploration of literature also confirmed that CSR bears a deeper historical footage. Carroll (2008) has stated that though the concept of CSR might have evolved in the 1800s, it was not much in practice those days despite the evidence of socially responsible business behavior in those days. Carroll (1999) has stated that the phase prior to 1950 was dominated by the concern on making employees more productive. Further, this scholar has claimed that 1950s marked the modern era of CSR. The concept of CSR was first defined by Bowen (1953) by stating that the several hundred


largest businesses are vital centers of power and decision making. Hence, actions of these institutions affect lives of society at many phases. That is, in the 1950s the businesses were very powerful and they were later realized by the society had cynical views regarding it, which was later deducted as these powerful businesses took steps in addressing society’s issues. Carroll explains that the 1950s was a time of more talk than action even though there was a growing understanding of CSR among the businesses.

As claimed in Barnett (2007), CSR came in wide use since the 1960s when CSR was inspired by social considerations. Businesses engaged in CSR practices with various motives which served with huge benefits to the firms and the society to a large extent (Carroll, & Shabana, 2011) in long-runs. Earlier, Lantos (2001) claimed that in the 1960s, business practices were immoral and thus the world raised the need for consideration on moral obligations. In those times, neither the society, nor the employees were satisfied and the environment was also adversely affected. Following the social movement in the United States in 1960s, the institutions were pressurized to create social environment. Hence, the foundation for CSR was developed (Carroll, & Shabana, 2010).

As stated in Carroll (2008), the 1960s exhibited a tremendous progress in terms of efforts to formalize the meaning of CSR. The world of academia also brought CSR into limelight. One of the prominent writers of that era, Davis (1960) wrote about CSR as the decisions of the institution and its actions for motivating direct economic or technical interests. According to this scholar, the society cannot be ignored while doing business, therefore social aspects other than mere economic gains needed consideration to survive in the long run. Thus, it becomes clear that if a business has the vision to sustain in the adverse competition. The insights of this era stressed CSR as an obvious indicator of institutional success (Carroll, 2008). Another scholar, Frederick (1960) made a huge contribution in the literature of CSR. This scholar suggested institutions to focus on their economic sector while also fulfilling the society’s expectations on welfare. Therefore, to accomplish societal responsibility of the institution, adequate CSR efforts should be made in a step wise manner, said Davis (1960), who penned that irrespective of the fact that CSR is a vague idea, it needs to be viewed in a managerial context.

Society came to a phase of consciousness due to hyped moral issues in the 1970s, and since then expectations from corporate sector have been heightened. Mere profit is not the indicator for the overall progress of the institution from ethical perceptive; rather considering how the society is being affected by the act of the institution is a must (Lantos, 2001). In 1970s, several scholars recommended the managerial approach to CSR with ample emphasis that the firms must make plans and organize CSR, measure social activities, and operationalize corporate social policy. During


1970s, the law instructed that firms develop organized system for obeying the laws that deal with the environment, product and worker safety. Number of definitions grew during 1970. Environmental concerns were highly taken into account in the early 1970s (WBCSD, 1998; & Carroll, 2008; 1999; & 1977).

As per the definition of Committee for Economic Development (CED), CSR refers to the way of operating business through society’s consent, with the objective to satisfy the society by catering their needs which is undoubtedly the foremost reasons behind the business’s existence ([CED], 1971). The survival of the business rests on how wisely the management responds to the ever-changing social expectations. CED has defined social responsibility through three concentric circles, where the inner circle exhibits basic responsibilities for the successful implementation of the economic function. The mid circle constitutes the economic functions to be implemented with alertness of fluctuating social values considering environmental conservation; employees and customer’s issues, and safety against injury. The outer circle exhibits those vague responsibilities that firm needs to fulfill in enhancing social environment.

Another scholar has recognized that CSR is the focus of the business on various issues other than the economic, technical, and legal criteria (Davis, 1973). The firm should make decisions in a way that it will help achieving social benefits in line with firm’s desired financial targets and the social responsibility arises where the law ends. The firm is not being socially responsible but doing what a common firm does if it simply operates under the codes of law. In 1970s corporate social performance (CSP) and CSR were the popular topics (Carroll, 1977). The consideration was shifted from social responsibility to social responsiveness by several writers and argued that the stress on responsibility focused more on the business responsibility and motivation and performance were being ignored. The social responsiveness movement focused on corporate action and implementation of a social role.

Previous definitions indicate that the responsibility of the business is to make profit, obey the law, and “go beyond” these activities. For a clear picture regarding the, ‘going beyond’ mere profit making and obeying the rules, put forward a four-part definition, which described CSR of the business as being comprised of not just economic and legal obligations, but ethical and discretionary responsibilities (philanthropic responsibilities) as well. Earning profit is a prime reason behind starting a business and along comes fulfilling society’s need. Earning profit should be within the set boundary of social criteria (Carroll, 1979; & Davis, 1973).

The economic factor exhibits that the society expects business to cater their needs and accomplish its economic targets within the legal criteria (Carroll, 1979). This scholar has further added that the ethical responsibility characterizes those behavioral


and ethical aspects that the society expects the business to follow which are beyond legal mandate. The discretionary responsibilities are voluntary where there is no specific expectation of the society and are practiced not because it is obliged by law but depends on the willingness of the firm to engage in social activities for the society (Carroll, 1999).

Frederick (1998; 1994; & 1960) became quite famous for the contribution to define the social responsibility by pinpointing the significance of ethical concerns in making managerial decisions. Another scholar emphasized that amid 1980s the society’s attention was drawn against the firm’s wrong ethical considerations (Carroll, 2008) as a result, the firms started incorporating ethical culture (Schwartz, & Carroll, 2008). Due to less favorable political and economic situations, the attention was diverted to economic rather than social matters, which resulted in heavy disapproval of control measures and management standards. Therefore, Carroll (1977) highly recommended the managerial approach to the analysis of CSR.

Freeman (1984), in stakeholder theory, served CSR as a basis for making corporate decisions. The theory articulates the significance of stakeholders in CSR promotion and states that the socially responsible activities assist the firm to strengthen its connections with the stakeholders and helps develop strategies for enduring success. As it benefits the firm, its people and the society, this theory has been highly appreciated. Carroll (1983; & 1987) claimed that the core of CSR involves the advocacy about ethical conducts of a business so that it is economically profitable, law abiding, ethical, and socially supportive and states that the concept of CSR comprises of four elements -- economic, legal, ethical and voluntary or philanthropic initiatives for its people and society as a whole.

Though a little contribution was visible on CSR in the 1990s, still several themes took a lead role. The concepts like stakeholder theory and environmental concept are a few of them (Carroll, 1994) with closer linkage to the present theme of the study. Carroll (2008) has stated that the concept of CSR serves as the base for other complementary concepts. Since 1992, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) came in the lead position of the business response to sustainable development challenges with continuing commitment of the institutions to perform ethically and to contribute to the economy and at the same time, improve workforce and quality of social life (WBCSD, 1998). As stated earlier, Carroll (1991) came up with CSR model that comprised of economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities and has been extensively used in the academic literature since the past twenty-five years. The concept is best regarded for the approaches to manage the organizational stakeholders. Further, in Carroll (1999), it has been highlighted that the progression of CSR will have long-term sustainability as it concentrates to promote effective connections between the firm and the society. Later, Carroll (1999)


highlighted that the formal writings on CSR were largely an outcome of the 20th century efforts. Whereas, The European Commission ([EC], 2001) presented CSR as the responsibility of institutions for their impacts on the society and stressed that the firms integrate social and environmental activities into their functional operations.

Afterwards, Schwartz and Carroll (2003) suggested the three-domain approach to CSR -- economic, legal and ethical responsibility. Porter and Kramer (2006) stated that CSR can add value to the competitive advantage of the firm and lead towards the firm’s success. These scholars further added that CSR appears to be an unavoidable priority for businesses in every country. Another scholar highlighted that CSR mainly stresses on dealing justly with all its stakeholders and more importantly to supporting local communities and maintaining environmental sustainability (Carroll, 2008). In the 2000s, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ([OECD], 2008) outlined policies for the firms on areas such as information disclosure, employment, providing training, industrial relations, human rights, environment, combating bribery, consumer interests, science and technology, taxation for attaining sustainable development.

Today, many reputed firms have inclined CSR activities into their business operations (Carroll, & Shabana, 2010; & Rahman, 2011) in the 2000s. The firms became more excited in letting the world know about their CSR performance, specially the large firms, as it was clear that public was more interested to know about those firms engaging in CSR practices than the ones who were not. The UN Global Compact (2011) provided guidelines for the institutions in order to maintain human rights, labor, environmental and anti-corruption issues.

Several practitioners have provided with different approaches on CSR creating confusion among the firms how to select the most appropriate one (Porter, & Kramer, 2006). While the concept in general encompasses firm’s obligation to operate in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner, while also considering stakeholder’s interests in a way that results overall positive impact on society’s part.

Schwartz and Carroll (2003) exhibited the three-domain approach to CSR where, in Carroll (1991; & 1979) four-domain form the base, as it deducts the four domains into three (economic, legal and ethical). This approach was created to amend Carroll’s Model with the exception that the philanthropic responsibility are put under the ethical and or economic responsibility to refine the ethical domain by incorporating few ethical standards and philanthropic domain. The domains are put in a venn model which shows the overlapping nature of these domains by which CSR can be analyzed. It exhibits scenarios that the firm might face while making ethical decision. It sketches the interrelation between the domains and clarifies the connection between the


business and society. As it might be confusing to differentiate between philanthropic and ethical activities, the approach suggests that philanthropic practices are result of ethically motivated practices. Each portion of the Venn Model represented a set of organizational features that assist in analyzing firms.

The three concentric circles approach was articulated by Committee of Economic Development ([CED], 1971) and takes up social responsibility through three concentric circles, where the inner circle exhibits basic responsibilities for the successful implementation of the economic function. The mid circle indicates that the economic functions should be implemented with alertness of fluctuating social values considering environmental conservation; employees and customer’s issues, and safety against injury. The outer circle shows the vague responsibilities that the firm needs to fulfill in enhancing social environment. The concept holds that the business should operate through society’s consent, with the objective to satisfy the society by catering their needs and contributing to their quality of life, whereas the survival of the business rests on how wisely the management responds to the society’s changing needs.

The strategic approach to CSR pursues to attain goals for the society and the firm itself and focuses not just society’s legitimate needs, but also on matters concerned with the firm’s overall strategy. Through strategic CSR, the firm will make significant social impact and reap paramount business advantages. Therefore, this approach focuses on social issues and suggests entailing philanthropic activities to the firm’s strategy. According to this approach, firms must keep their corporate initiatives with their objectives for double positive benefit on the beneficiaries of the philanthropy and the firm’s strategies (Porter, & Kramer, 2006).

A stakeholder approach to CSR recognizes that stakeholders are those parties having interest in the firm’s operation and decision making. Friedman (1970) has stated that a firm is accountable to all its stakeholders who considerably affect the firm’s welfare. As per Freeman (1984), this approach encourages active control of the firm’s environment and maintaining good relation with all its stakeholders for developing firm’s strategies. This approach assists the firms to even more strengthen the stakeholder relationships for enduring success.

Carroll’s pyramid of CSR (Carroll, 1979) is a model based on four categories of social responsibility -- economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic – to provide with a framework for understanding how the responsibilities of a firm move from economical and legal to more society-oriented, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities.

The entire series of business responsibilities should be incorporated while accepting CSR as an integral part of a firm’s responsibilities, as the major purpose of doing business is to be reasonably profitable which covers the economic responsibility


and builds the foundation of this pyramid. It is because, as suggested in Davis (1960), the financial target of the firm should be considered first. Meanwhile, complying with the legal criteria lies above the base which is essential for a firm to operate and covers the legal responsibilities. As suggested in Carroll (1991), legal responsibility means codified ethics that represent basic concepts of fair operations. Shum and Yam (2011) have stated that the ethical responsibility will be strengthened only when the legal responsibility is taken seriously. Looking over the evolution of CSR, it is apparent that it has not been long that the other two components were given equal priority, i.e., ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. Ethical responsibilities require businesses to fulfill the social expectations by fairly supporting the society.

The Benefits of CSRCSR has become an indispensable priority for the firms in every nation as it serves

as a foundation of opportunity, innovation and competitive advantage to succeed in the fierce business competition by strengthening its image and value. It can aid as a source of remarkable social welfare entailing its benefits. In the fear of losing their stakeholders, firms are pressurized to make their best contributions toward society and environment (Porter, & Kramer, 2006). Other scholars equally recognize that the focus on CSR attracts and encourages the probable stakeholders to join hands with the firm. Even the employees, present clients, stockholders feel a sense of pride being connected with the firm. It strengthens brand reputation and benefits the community and environment. Firms incorporating well managed CSR practices survive in the long-run as it helps gaining higher sales and revenues and decreasing operating costs. Customers pay attention to the brands that support social matters (Kotler, & Lee, 2005).

The CSR initiatives serve as the driving force for the firm’s success and stakeholder’s value. It serves as a factor of motivating the employee and attracting potential ones. With the positive word of mouth and access to new markets, the relationship with the stakeholders will strengthen (Barton, 2010). CSR benefits all the aspects directly or indirectly connected to the business. Either it is the firm’s own financial progress or the society and the environmental welfare or the employee development.

Policy Advocacies on CSRFor the purpose of establishing policy-level linkage of CSR in the local and

international context, a select collection of related policy documents was reviewed. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ([OECD, 2008)] guidelines for multinational corporations are developed to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalization and provide a setting where governments can compare policy understandings, find solution to problems, pinpoint best practice and work to co-ordinate national and international policies. Areas such as information disclosure, employment, providing training, industrial relations,


human rights, environment, combating bribery, consumer interests, science and technology, taxation are covered by the guidelines. According to OECD (2008), the firm should consider stakeholder opinions while making efforts to attain sustainable development through economic, social and environmental growth and the firm should also promote and maintain good corporate governance principles along with creating and encouraging corporate governance practices by creating and applying effective self-regulatory practices and management systems that build assurance and belief between the firm and society.

United Nations ([UN], 2013) initiated the principles of United Nations Global Compact ([UNGC], 2011) for the purpose of bringing companies together and encouraging them to adopt environmentally sustainable and socially responsible policies. The policy is to encourage the firms to embrace, support and enact, within their sphere of influence, a set of core values in the areas of human rights, labor standards, environment, and anti-corruption. The policy provides with advocacy that the businesses must support, maintain and protect human rights and should avoid human rights abuses. Equally important is to support freedom of association and effective recognition of right to collective bargaining. It must eliminate forced labor, child labor and all sort of discriminations. It must be responsible and supportive towards environmental sustainability approaches and adopt environmental friendly activities. It must also support anti-corruption and eliminate corruption, pressure, bribery, etc.

International Labor Organization ([ILO], 2006) has major objectives of protecting employee rights, promoting employment opportunities and enhancing social justice. The overall focus of the declaration concerning multinational firm and social policy is to encourage the firms to contribute to the economic and social progress. It provides with guideline to accelerate employment for economic growth and development, strengthen living standards and overcome employment issues in line with national and international codes, local practices, social policies and development priorities. Equally, it advocates that the employees should be provided with the best possible wages, benefits and work conditions as per the government policies, training to its employees to encourage skill and career development. ILO has further stated as freedom of association, right to organize, collective bargaining, settling grievances, abolition of child labor, adequate safety, health standards and protection against any acts of interference, promote equal and fair employment opportunity and considering industrial relations standards.

Related Studies on CSRWuncharoen (2013) has shown positive relationship between CSR practices and

performance of the hotels involved in CSR activities. This study has identified that the


environmental conservation became one of the most focused areas as a strategy for operating business in a successful manner as the CSR practices could add on social image and influence the customers to make choice for selection of hotels and their services. Knop (2010) has studied the importance of implementing internationally accredited guidelines to fill the gaps and set benchmarks. This scholar has stressed the need for fulfilling legal obligations, fair treatment and protection of the employee rights, client issues, ecology, and involving and uplifting the community to confirm that the hotels operate being responsible towards the economical, ethical, legal, and societal aspects, and international standards.

Mendelson (2013) has confirmed the significance of engaging in philanthropic activities for the hotels by strengthening relations with the key the clients, employees, business, and the society by means of embracing a broad range of social, economic and ecological initiatives. The study has stressed that each employee of the hotel must make contribution towards the welfare of the society and ecology. By involving in resolving social issues, the hotel will gain an advantage of being highly exposed, finally resulting in appeal to more customers. Mutimbi (2010) has suggested that the hotels should entail CSR motives to prove the commitment towards the society. The area where the researched hotels located had a high rate of child labor and unemployment issues. Therefore, the hotel’s CSR practices were focused on educating and training the vulnerable groups of the society for a sustainable economic and livelihood development.

N H Hoteles (2010) have highlighted that the employees were the most valued possessions as they contributed towards the sustainable development. Therefore, due attention was diverted towards their development activities addressing fair treatment issues with no discrimination on the grounds of culture, gender to enhance their efficiency and strengthen their commitment. The employees were provided training on sustainable development to strengthen the strategy of the business with an aim to significant reduction in energy consumption thereby fulfilling the expectations of the stakeholders, societies and legal body. In another study, Trang (2011) has highlighted the CSR practices and their impact on the behavior of the customers in the restaurant context. The study revealed that the consumer behavior was influenced by CSR practices in the restaurant business. It was also observed that the customers were supportive and loyal to those restaurants which practiced socially responsible activities as compared to those not doing so.

Conceptual Framework of the StudyIn reflection from above discussed constructs, a consolidated conceptual framework

of study was prepared to govern the overall research more systematically.


Figure: Conceptual Framework of the Study

As presented in above figure, the present research holds the assumption that the extent of effectiveness of the CSR implementation in an organization, a five-star hotel, may be partly dependent on the overall efforts of the organization to compose the mix of CSR initiatives and compliance with the governing standards. For this, the CSR elements should consist of the practices related to ethical initiatives towards the environment and the firm’s stakeholders which consist of community, employee, clients, government, investors, suppliers etc and complying with the legal code of conducts and international accredited standards. A firm should also be made responsible for sustainable development of the environment where it operates, and thus, it should make efforts to minimize negative impacts to the environment and should be liable to bring solution to any adverse impact caused. Environment-friendly practices, such as, lowering energy and water consumption, waste and emission control, reuse and recycling of products should be considered.

A hotel can fulfill its responsibility towards the government by contributing towards the economic growth of the area where it operates. For this, the hotel should be fair to provide employment opportunities to the local community and contribute for educating the underprivileged groups of the society. Employee needs should be

Analyses of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices in Five-star Hotels in the Kathmandu Valley

CSR Elements

vbv

Standards Governing CSR

Exploration of the extent of CSR application (CSR operating indicators)

1. Charitable contributions 2. Community development 3. Environmental friendly practices/ resource efficiency 4. Employee development/ Training 5. Stakeholder’s involvement 6. Collaboration with experts 7. CSR Management system 8. Ethical behavior 9. Labor issue 10. Consumer issues 11. Complying to international standards and Legal conducts 12. Organizing campaign for relief of natural hazard victims

1. Environment protection 2. Reducing environmental impact 3. Community involvement 4. Local Empowerment 5. Continuous commitment 6. CSR reporting 7. Adequate safety/ health standards 8. Best possible wages and benefits 9. Employees skill & career development 10. Employee rights 11. abolition of child labor 12. Fair employment opportunity 13. Human rights 14. Economic growth and poverty reduction

1. Charitable contribution for underprivileged children’s education 2. Community development through local empowerment 3. Environmental awareness for a sustainable environment development 4. Environmental friendly practices for minimum impact on environment 5. Ethical treatment towards labor (human rights, health and safety etc) 6. Ethical treatment towards consumer rights 7. Economic development through fair employment opportunity


catered well to ensure a smooth operation. A firm should have a proper development and career plan for each employee. The firm should highlight its attention towards labor issues such as human rights, pay rates approved by the governing bodies, abolishing under age labor, abuses and discrimination, fair treatment, and health and safety standards. The firm should involve its stakeholders in major decision making and be transparent regarding all its initiatives.

Methodological Perspectives of the StudyAn exploratory approach was applied to meet the objectives of the present research

through qualitative methodology as there were only a few five-star category hotels in the study location. Therefore, for the best solutions to the research question set by the researcher regarding the CSR practices in the selected five-star hotels in Kathmandu, the Relationship Manager, or Human Resource (HR) Manager was personally interviewed. The observation based exploratory research design focused on extensive review of literature which served instrumental in understanding in depth the conceptual grounds of the study. The key informant interview (KII) schedules were prepared by considering the key areas of observation in reflection with Carroll’s model.

In a nutshell, the present work is as similar as a multi-case, exploration of realities in an ethnographic dialectical approach (Rijal, 2012). The research constituted of a total of 5 in-depth interviews with one manager each from five selected institutions. It took 4-5 seatings of 2-3 hours each to complete each interview, having a 2-3 hour seating in a day. The hotels considered for the study included Hotel Radisson Kathmandu, Hotel Annapurna, Hotel Soaltee Crowne Plaza, Shangri-la Hotel and Hotel Yak & Yeti for this study using personal convenience. For the purpose of conducting this research with minimum errors, the fellow researcher personally conducted the overall field works. For this, the researcher first obtained the consent for facilitating KII in selected hotels and personally facilitated the interviews in prior agreed time and venues. The content of the interview proceedings were recorded using a pre-designed framework crafted in a form of recording diary following the pattern of open-ended questions as presented in the KII schedule. Section-by-section display of the KII schedule has been presented as follows:

Section A: Inquiry onto the prevalence of defined policies on CSRAs a responsible member looking after CSR initiatives of this hotel, can you tell 1. me if your hotel has authorized some policies on CSR? If yes, what are the key areas of focus of such policies? Can you please elaborate it with examples?In case the hotel does not have authorized CSR policies in place, is there any 2. plan to have such policies in near future? What particular policies? Can you please elaborate it?


Normally how do you make CSR related policy decisions? Can you please 3. elaborate the extent of employee and other stakeholder participation while devising the CSR guiding policy interventions?Does the hotel collaborate with any expert organizations regarding 4. CSR practices (NGOs, environmental consultants, charity organization, international standards)? What about the evidence of any benchmarking of CSR policy interventions as 5. worldclass best practices? If yes? Please specify.

Section B: Exploration of CSR implementation statusDo you have in place any plan of action, separately made for CSR or adjunct, 6. specifying CSR initiatives? Please elaborate it with examples. Can you please categorically explain to me various activities initiated by 7. this hotel having CSR inclination? How does your hotel initiate CSR related activities? Is it through a separate CSR department, or is it twined up with different departments’ functional coverage? Please specify. While undertaking any initiative related to the promotion of CSR 8. implementation, your hotel might have been following a defined procedure of program selection, development, packaging, delivery and impact assessment. Can you please elaborate to me, if such a system is in practice in your hotel, so far as you may be informed about it?

Section C: Disclosure of perceived benefits of CSR in actionAs you have been regularly working in the area of CSR implementation in 9. this hotel, how do you find the benefits of such initiatives? For example, benefits for the institution, benefits for the people involved in it, and finally, the benefits for the target group to whom such activities are offered to? Please elaborate taking your time.Don’t you think it is a cost adding proposition? How do you analyze it? 10. In your opinion, how is the relationship between cost of CSR and its benefits 11. at your esteemed hotel? Which one do you think is bigger? You may refer it with some specific cases where cost of CSR is bigger and a few cases where the benefit is bigger.Generally speaking, how do you think about the cost of ‘not having’ CSR 12. initiatives by many hospitality institutions? Please elaborate your opinion. Also please mention if your hotel too has been facing such losses for not having particular CSR initiatives in place.


Section D: Understanding the challenges and problems of CSR implementationWhat, if you have been facing with any external environmental challenges 13. against your institutional mission to implement CSR initiatives for your employees, society and any other institutions? Please elaborate it with crucial cases of such challenges.Similarly, you may be facing different problems from within the organization 14. (management, union, promoters, or any level opposition) while designing and implementing different initiatives on CSR. If yes, please elaborate such problems as categorically as possible.

Using the sequence of questions placed in the Key Informant Interview (KII) schedule, each interview participant was interviewed as per prior agreed time and venue. As the KII was divided into four sections, it was decided to complete one section in one meeting with the participating manager. Therefore, the participating manager was requested to provide the researcher for about 2-3 hours of depth discussion per meet. In fact, initially, it consumed five seating instead of earlier planned four. Each selected hotel was given a unique code for the purpose of hiding their real names and protect the anonymity of the participants and their respective institutions. Laliguransh, Danfe, Munal, Machhapuchhre, and Khalanga were the pre-determined codes to represent the selected hotels for this study. A separate case was developed for each participating hotel and finally, by integrating the overall study inputs gained from these five cases, comprehensive findings on CSR initiatives in these hotels were deducted. This article presents the genesis of such comprehensive findings only in the subsequent section.

Summary of FindingsOn the basis of overall experiential learning through multiple case studies, the

following findings were outlined:Prevalence of Defined Policies on CSR:1. The international chain hotels had a separate budget for carrying out CSR initiatives, whereas the ownership based hotels did not have a separate budget for CSR initiatives. Non-chain hotels did not have an authorized policy, particularly on CSR initiatives. However, CSR policies were merged within the hotel’s core policies. Chain hotels had authorized policies on CSR which had to be strictly obeyed by the hotel and communicated among all the stakeholders. The key areas of focus of such policies were economic growth, health care, society, environment, heritage monuments, stakeholder’s participation, consumers, fair employment oppor-tunities, contributions, legal codes, international standards and human rights, and training and development, etc.


Status of Participation in Devising the Policies on CSR: 2. Decisions on devis-ing CSR guiding policies in the non-chain hotels relied mainly on the top management, while stakeholders were also involved depending on the na-ture of CSR initiatives. In the chain hotels, CSR guiding policies were devised from the respective hotel’s head office. As per the current problems and nature of CSR initiatives, some policies were modified by the employees and other stakeholders with the consent of the head chain.Collaboration with Specialists on CSR Practices:3. Covering all the vague areas of CSR by one particular hotel is not possible. CSR can never be one sided, there-fore, collaborating with specialist was considered more effective. Local family business based hotels collaborated with information technology firms, legal consultants, charity, national, international organizations, external training experts and institutions on particular fields. Whereas, such decisions of the international chain hotels relied on their respective parent office instructions. While in some cases, they collaborated with external trainers, and charitable organizations, they had their own pool of specialists for undertaking CSR ini-tiatives and they considered international quality standards as guiding docu-ments for taking up CSR initiatives.Benchmarking of CSR Practices: 4. The non-chain hotels could not reveal the evidence of having benchmarking on CSR policy as world class best prac-tices but had interlinked policies which were confined to much ordinary CSR practices. The chain hotel’s policies on CSR initiatives were considered as the world class best practices and set as the benchmarking which emphasized on environment conservation, societal welfare, employee training and devel-opment, international quality standards, legal and ethical codes, preserving and promoting consumer, employee and human rights, empowering people through employment prospect, economic responsibility towards nation’s rev-enue generation, etc.Further Exploration of CSR Implementation Status: 5. The chain hotels had sepa-rate plans on CSR initiatives, whereby some plans were modified as per the situation of the host market and the management was more conscious in maintaining international quality standards for the guest’s satisfaction. The non-chain hotels did not have a separate plan for CSR, but were implemented as inbuilt features of their functioning and recognized society as a core reason of their existence, therefore focused highly on contributing towards societal welfare.Institutionalizing the Culture of CSR Initiatives: 6. Although CSR initiatives were given due priority, none of the selected hotels had a specific department for


undertaking CSR initiatives, however, they reported that each key department of the hotel fulfilled its CSR related jobs as and when required. In the cases of international chain hotels the Human Resource Department (HRD) was con-sidered more responsible in executing the hotel’s CSR initiatives. Four of the selected hotels had a defined procedure for undertaking initiative related to the promotion of CSR implementation whereas one of the family-run hotels did not have it.Perceived Benefits of CSR: 7. The benefits from CSR initiatives always came in intangible forms which were made without any hope of receiving mate-rial benefits. CSR initiatives were considered to be instrumental in creating awareness among the hotels, people involved and the target groups. The hotel management in family run institutions was yet to recognize fully the fact that CSR creates a sense of healthy competition and brings in positive changes, whereas the international chain-based management firmly understood that practicing CSR initiatives would result in positive institutional impression in the society. Perceived Cost of CSR: 8. The non-chain hotels were observed to be more depen-dent over the society. CSR was perceived to be a responsive investment and a cost control mechanism for preventing future losses rather than a cost. CSR initiatives in these hotels were small contributions without any expectation; yet benefits from such initiatives were bigger, positive and intangible. Initially, CSR initiatives involved cost but later the profit overcame such costs. Adapt-ing CSR initiatives indirectly covered the unethical activities performed by the hotel which helped in cutting down such impact. In developed nations, Governments fix policies on CSR and huge percent of profit needs to be con-tributed but no such policies were prevalent in developing nations. A hotel gains profit from the society, and if it fails to fulfill CSR initiatives, it might not gain any further, even resulting in the hotel’s collapse. In the case of Nepalese five-star hotels, not much of cost was reported to be involved while undertak-ing CSR initiatives in developing nation and moreover these hotels may also donate things those are not in use for the hotel.Challenges and Problems Facing CSR Implementation 9.

External environmental challenges facing CSR implementation:a. Financial constraints in meeting higher expectation of parties seeking for benefit from CSR initiatives and demands of clients for hotels practicing were ob-served to be aggressive. Difficulty in attracting parties for participation on CSR initiatives was observed, as majority of the people lacked a proper un-derstanding of CSR. Difficultly in differentiating was explored, if the par-


ties seeking for contribution came with a real cause. Unwanted obstacles, loss of time and investment due to unfavorable political situations and cli-matic change also affected adversely on hotels’ mission to implement CSR initiatives. Pressure from the legal sector was another challenge perceived thoroughly. These hotels were forced to cope with the technological ad-vancements, no matter, if such changes were financially viable for them.Internal problems hindering CSR initiatives: b. Mostly, the hotels on their preliminary stage in adopting all the areas of CSR initiatives could not make superfluous priorities on CSR for the time being, due to its vast area coverage. Investors were reported to be omitting cost involving CSR ini-tiatives due to lack of knowledge regarding CSR. Time limitation, hectic schedule and hesitation of the employee in participating in various CSR initiatives of the hotel were other obstacles reported as a result of their lack of awareness regarding CSR. Non-chain hotels operating as per their directors’ intuitions caused severe obstacle on the way to implement CSR initiatives and also was perceived to be quite difficult to convince them regarding the importance of CSR and meeting their higher expectations. Lack of timely and adequately understanding of the employee behavior also caused difficulty in selecting suitable training programs as per the requirement of each employee. The need for fulfilling ever-increasing ex-pectations of various internal stakeholders of the hotels was also perceived to be another daunting task ahead.

DiscussionsThe present research shares a number of similarities with different works

conducted earlier. For example, Carroll (1979) has suggested at least four elements to be considered as the pillars of corporate social responsibility of a business. In this study, the present researcher has considered economic, ethical, and philanthropic contributions as the CSR initiatives, whereas legal expectations could not be assessed in this study. Though the hotels were not asked mandatorily to have focus on these elements, they were complying with such requirements as their moral obligations.

Several practitioners have provided different approaches to CSR implementation. For example, Porter and Kramer (2006) have suggested that the concept in general, encompasses the firm’s obligation to operate in economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner, placing the stakeholder’s interests in a way that results in positive impact from the society’s perspective, whereas the present study revealed that these aspects need be considered from the industry’s perspectives too as most of the hotels reported to have implemented numerous initiatives considering them as their institution’s moral obligations.


ILO (2006) has come up with a number of policy directives on CSR initiatives of the institutions, which include compliance with national and international codes, local practices, social policies, development priorities, and also the employees should be provided the best possible wages, benefits and conditions of work, within the framework of organization’s ongoing policies. However, the present research revealed that the Nepalese five-star hotels hardly considered such initiatives as the obligatory initiative.

The principles recommended in UN Global Compact (2001) for encouraging companies to adopt environmentally and socially responsible policies and to embrace, support and endorse a set of core values in the areas of human rights, labor rights, environment, and anti-corruption. In this study, the present researcher did not compulsorily question these hotels to concentrate on all those components. However, various areas of CSR initiatives covered these components by submerging them into the core functional activities of the hotels.

The present study also can be directly compared and contrasted with the work of Knop (2010), which highlights the importance of following the guidelines provided by internationally accredited standards for firms on executing CSR practices, filling the gaps and setting a benchmark for hotels already practicing CSR activities. Whereas, for those hotels not practicing CSR activities, it guides on developing the base for CSR practices. It exhibits a clear picture of CSR, its characteristics, principles, practices, and most importantly, steps in implementing and promoting CSR practices in the organization. It also assists the firms to know who their stakeholders are and stresses the importance of their involvement. It provides guidelines regarding the core areas to focus on. Such as legal bodies, fair treatment and rights of employees, client issues, ecology, and involving and uplifting the community, etc. The standards enumerate the principles of CSR, so that the hotels know where to start from. It stresses that the hotel should operate being responsible towards the economical, ethical, legal, and societal aspects, international standards, its stakeholders and human right issues. The work of the present researcher also revealed such initiatives to be taken into account by the industry.

In general, CSR might just be understood as giving away charity or just another philanthropic activity or just concerned with the personal relation department of an organization. But the fact is that management should show interest in adapting and executing CSR strategies in the organizations. Hotels should have a separate CSR management committee so that each committee’s CSR objectives are met.

Suggestions for Managerial ImplicationsCSR initiatives have become essential etiquettes in every corporate sector.

Whereas, relating to this research study, the five-star hotels, as the key hospitality


institutions in the country too should be aware regarding CSR initiatives. It has become clear through a systematic research that carrying out CSR initiatives yields numerous benefits to the entire business and also the environment, stakeholders and the society at large. Therefore, the hospitality institutions should incorporate CSR initiatives in the major policies of the institution.

CSR initiatives are taken seriously in the developed economies as compared to the developing ones, may be, as a result of having poor policies in place regarding CSR initiatives from the public sector in most of the developing nations. Moreover, the corporate houses may not yet be fully aware of the CSR initiatives. While in developed nations, strict policies on CSR initiatives are brought to implementation. Moreover, the corporate houses are well aware of the CSR initiatives. In this respect, more appealing policies should be brought in action by the concerned authorities and the respective corporate sector.

Suggestions for Further ResearchAdditional academic research should be conducted with wider variety of

institutional coverage, geographic locations, national boundaries, and making it a blend of qualitative and quantitative approaches of the investigation.

ConclusionsOn the basis of overall present study, it may be concluded that the ownership

status of the hotels -- international chain or non-chain -- affected the overall extent of CSR practices in the Nepalese five-star hotels meaning that international standardization positively influenced management decision to go for CSR initiatives of the hotel, and CSR implementation exceeded institutionalization of this initiatives as the hotels have been heavily launching numerous initiatives even without having separate departments overseeing the job of CSR. It confirms the fact that rather than being a separate function, CSR should be considered as an integral element of overall institutional functions.

The global rise of CSR in more recent years suggests that the institutions, specifically the profitable business institutions like five-star hotels, can achieve sustainability by becoming more accountable towards their internal and external stakeholders and minimizing their environmental impact which is confirmed by the fact that almost all international companies have CSR policies in place. Being amongst the fastest growing sectors and given that the corporate social responsibility is a vital factor for the success, the Nepalese hotel industry, especially the five-star hotels, cannot afford to stay away from this global reality.

In principle, the hotels may have many viable opportunities to engage in CSR. The main drivers in adopting CSR include having in place transparent business


practices, focus on ethical values, supporting for environmental conservation, and considering social equity, empowerment and inclusion on treating with employment and employee development as well as welfare related issues. On becoming able to address the growing stakeholders’ demands on these issues, the hotels can multiply their benefits in long-run with decreased operating costs, differentiation of their services and the enhancement of the brand equity.

Due to higher-than-normal consumption of resources and negative impact upon the environment, hotels have to think with strong economic incentives to employ strategies on CSR and to communicate their responsibility in action to satisfy the stakeholders. Such initiatives will definitely contribute to generate healthier national economy. In addition, the environment and the heritage monuments would be protected and conserved.

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IMI University Centre Switzerland

IMI University Centre Switzerland is a prestigious institution in Switzerland has educational partnership with hotel schools, business schools and other educational institutes around the globe. It is one of the Switzerland’s leading providers of higher education in tourism, hospitality and events management with third rank holder in providing the quality of education in this region.

IMI has the expression of a philosophy which is based on the holistic development of students. It brings many facets of the human lives together in a single brotherhood that is precisely the reason why it has become a magnet for students from very different continents. In July 29, 2010, IMI established partnership with Asian Institutes of Technology and Management (AITM) in Nepal (Former WhiteHouse School of Hotel Management). The new memorandum of understanding (MOA) between IMI University Switzerland, and Asian Institution of Technology and Management (AITM) signed on 25th of February 2013, for another six years to offer higher diploma in international Hotel and Tourism management (HDHM) in Nepal.

AITM School of Hotel Management, Kathmandu

Established in 2006, with the name WhiteHouse School of Hotel Management, AITM Hotel Management is committed to creating Global Hospitality Leaders through empirical coaching research and industrial collaboration for customer delight. AITM School of Hotel Management equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and outstanding faculty members is well poised to transform the dream of young school graduates into the realities of becoming tomorrow’s leaders in the global hospitality industry. AITM-SHM does not just train but literally carve out and transform the young learners into the latter’s desired form of future.

We teach the would-be hoteliers to walk their talk by equipping and empowering them with the cutting-edge-skill and knowledge of new trends in hospitality management so that they can positively channelize the every emerging new challenge into innovative experiences and rewarding careers.

AITM School of Hotel ManagementTel: 5541179/55487729

Email: [email protected]: www.aitm.edu.np

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