Nepali entrepreneurs should realise that Europe is a good market with significant good will towards Nepal

By Deepti Bhattarai Dhungel

“Nepal! It is a Beautiful country, I would really love to go hiking there someday” – a young Austrian excitingly told us after taking our picture in front of a beautiful valley in Interlaken, Switzerland. This was the third person that we met in the interim of two hours upon entering Switzerland, who had expressed so much interest in visiting Nepal. Just in the airplane on our flight from Amsterdam to Zurich, we had also chatted with a lovely Norwegian couple who had lived in Nepal for almost 33 years. To top it all off, even the gentleman at the passport control in Zurich International Airport seemed to know about the current political situation of Nepal and hoped for Peace.

I should explain. By sheer good fortune, I happened to be in Europe for a brief tour with my husband. They say that travel broadens the mind and challenges our preconceptions. My husband and I were uniformly engaged and even enchanted by our travels. Switzerland is a beautiful country with Alps, lakes and valleys, so green and so much like Nepal. A very developed Nepal with more educated citizens, I would say. Driving in Bern felt like driving in Chitwan. Gallivanting around Europe was very exciting, but more importantly, I was very impressed by the Europeans goodwill for Nepal. Every time we would ask someone to take our picture, our friendly conversation would end with the cheerful statement – “I will definitely visit your country someday”.

Our tourist industry is going through a slump and it is the right time to aggressively market Nepal as a “safe and beautiful tourism destination”. A marketing campaign similar to “Visit Nepal” should be launched again. With such efforts, Nepal will once again regain its popularity as a premier tourist destination.

I got my high school education at an International School in Tokyo. Interacting with students from various nationalities made me realize the uniqueness of Nepal. I thoroughly enjoyed learning and discussing the cultures of the world. However, I was a bit saddened when I started my college in the United States. It was quite a daunting experience. To my American friends, the meaning of traveling was flying to the far east or to the far west of the United States. My Nepali and Japanese experiences would leave them in total amazement.

Nepal’s name was often mistaken for Naples in Italy. When I attempted to explain by saying “Mount Everest”- I would get the oft-quoted remark – “Isn’t that in Denver, Colorado?” which no doubt induced cries of indignation. Pause a moment to consider what this means. There were times when I used to sympathize or get disappointed by such remarks. But soon, I started getting used to it. It is quite heartbreaking when you do your best to follow the Western world and find out that to many here, your country does not even exist.

In stark contrast to this, my experience in England, Switzerland, France, Spain and Italy was very positive. My first encounter with the Norwegian couple gave me good vibes about Europe. On the whole trip, I was neither mistaken for being an Indian/Pakistani nor confused for coming from Naples, Italy. I was recognized for my genuine identity. I could freely talk about Nepal without having to explain its geographical location. The recent political events in Nepal had brought her more attention then ever before. This political upheaval was making many Europeans concerned for Nepal. They hoped for the quick return of peace and prosperity to our country.

I was extremely delighted to see this positive opinion of Nepal amongst the Europeans. This is certainly a very good sign. We can harness on this good image to increase our tourism business substantially. Our tourist industry is going through a slump and it is the right time to aggressively market Nepal as a “safe and beautiful tourism destination”. Nepali entrepreneurs should realize that Europe is a good market with significant good will. A marketing campaign similar to “Visit Nepal” should be launched again. With such efforts, Nepal will once again regain its popularity as a premier tourist destination.

(Deepti Bhattarai Dhungel is a business student interested in international business and marketing. She loves traveling, reading and writing and can be reached at [email protected])

(Editor’s Note: Nepalis, wherever they live, as well as friends of Nepal around the globe are requested to contribute their views/opinions/recollections etc. on issues concerning present day Nepal to the Guest Column of Nepalnews. Length of the article should not be more than 1,000 words and may be edited for the purpose of clarity and space. Relevant photos as well as photo of the author may also be sent along with the article. Please send your write-ups to [email protected])