Towards an institutional framework for tourism development: a case study of Pokhara, Nepal

Abstract

A Government's institutional arrangements - organisational structures and legal framework are important for the development and management of tourism. They serve several important functions including: tourism planning and development; coordination; marketing and promotion; and regulation and control.

The main aim of this study is to examine the existing institutional framework (organisational structure and legal framework) in relation to tourism development in Pokhara, Nepal. This area contains Nepal's second largest city and serves as the gateway to the Annapurna Region. In keeping with tourism development in many Third world destinations Pokhara's tourism development has been at the forefront of rapid infrastructure and urban development.

To achieve the above aim, an analysis has been made of: the existing legal and structural arrangements; current issues/problems in tourism planning and development; and potential ways to mitigate these. Primary research methods include the Nominal Group Technique (NGT), applied in combination with in-depth interviews of key actors. The main goals of the NGT in this study are first, to encourage local residents, political leaders, business people and planners to think systematically about current issues/problems associated with tourism development in Pokhara, and second to identify their possible solutions. To achieve these goals, five different nominal group sessions were conducted with different stakeholder groups, and interviews undertaken with a wide range of key people from both inside and outside the tourism industry to elaborate the 'issues' and explore their possible solutions.

Nine major issues associated with the tourism development of Pokhara have been identified. They are: conservation of natural areas; the development of additional attractions, events and activities; lack of professionalism; waste management; poor coordination in tourism planning and implementation; poor implementation of existing rules and regulations; haphazard urbanisation; lack of marketing and promotion; and inadequate infrastructure to develop rural areas. The contributing reasons have been identified as; limited roles of local tourist organisations; lack of coordination between local organisations; lack of 'technical back-up support'; overlapping legal frameworks; inadequate power of local tourist organisations to regulate the tourism industry; lack of legal frameworks to regulate tariff rates and to protect consumers (tourists). The main conclusion from this study is that the resolution of these issues clearly requires organisational strengthening and legal reforms at the local level in Pokhara, Nepal. A framework for a strengthened local tourism organisation is presented.