Introduction to policy

Tourism policy gives the detailed outline of various schemes for the investors along with the
terms and conditions. The objective of the ecotourism policy is to encourage for inclusive
development in the destination region. On the other hand planning helps the organization
achieve the objectives in an effective manner and it is the ecotourism policy which extends
support to the governments for formulation and successful implementation of the plan
objectives.
Planning provides a broad roadmap for future course of action. The objective of ecotourism
plan is to guide the government in executing them for balanced development. Tourism
planning intends to achieve specific or well-defined goals in a definite time period. Tourism
planning focuses on the demand of the tourism industry.
A tourism policy is a set of guidelines or a framework within which tourism development is
undertaken through collective and individual decisions. A tourism policy broadly explains the
procedures, stipulations (Conditions), and eligibility criteria needed for the development of
tourism in particular field.
The policy clarifies the procedures of:
 Land acquisition
 Types of taxation
 Sources and terms of finance
 Safety and security
 Communication facilities
 Environmental practices and
 Relationship with the local facilities
Any policy is required to be flexible in nature, but not comprising with the basic philosophical
and objectives. It is a social process linking wider section of people in a variety of different
activities. It sets a basic framework and course of actions for systematic implementation of the
guidelines of the policy.

The Aim of Tourism Policy

Tourism policy should aim to improve the quality of life of the local citizenry at any given
destination. A good tourism policy will assist in that process. This book will attempt to identify
some of the issues and concerns that tourism policy should address in order to insure a positive
sustainable future for the tourism industry. Local, state/provincial, regional and national
governments and other leveraging regional and global organizations such as the United Nations
World Tourism Organization and the World Travel and Tourism Council help determine tourism
policies that best represent the business environment, local community interests in tourism and
governmental structure. Numerous tourism associations and organizations seek to influence
tourism policy so that their interests are also included. This aspect of tourism is discussed later
in the book with some case study examples.

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Need of ecotourism policy

Ecotourism policy is significantly different in its approach and implementation. This is more
closed to the preservation of ecology and environment. The formulation and implementation of
ecotourism policy is carried out after comprehensive analysis of socio-economic, cultural,
demographic and ecological aspects.
Governments promote ecotourism for preservation of indigenous cultural heritage and
improvement of economic well-being. All those ecotourism activities are largely based on the
natural beauty and participation of local people in varied ecotourism activities. The natural
ecosystem in which ecotourism is linked to offer educative and interactive learning experience.
In addition, ecosystem is so vulnerable that even a small disturbance may cause harmful and
hazardous effects on the biodiversity. It is however necessary to have a careful and responsible
travel to protect the fragility of ecosystem and processes.
Impact is unavoidable and unstoppable as some alternations must take place in the process of
developing facilities and amenities. Once ecotourism is practiced even there could be some
small amount of impact which is sufficient to make permanent loss to the animal and plants.
Keeping this fragility and sensitiveness of ecosystem into consideration, a well-defined
ecotourism planning and policy document is required to be designed to make ecotourism
projects free from conflicts.

Objective of Tourism Policy

The ultimate objective of a tourism policy is to improve the progress of the nation (region or
locality) and the lives of its citizens’. For purposes of the approach taken in this book, tourism
policy will be more broadly defined to include marketing, planning and sustainability. In this
context, tourism policy is ‘a progressive course of actions, guidelines, directives, principles, and
procedures set in an ethical framework that is issues-focused and best represents the intent of
a community (or nation) to effectively meet its planning, development, product, service,
marketing, and sustainability goals and objectives for the future growth of tourism’. This
definition acknowledges the important role marketing, product development and hospitality
services play in tourism policy.
In addition, the tourism sustainability concept (discussed later) must support the long-term
goals in economic, environmental and social development. More importantly, this definition
recognizes that tourism policy is ‘dynamic’ and flexible enough to allow adjustments and
refinements as the occasion arises.

The Elements of Tourism Policy

The classic tourism-planning elements include a ‘vision’ and ‘mission statement’. The vision
should be a few words that describe where local or national tourism policy wants to be while
the mission statement explains how to get there. The vision and mission statement would be

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followed by a set of ‘goals, objectives, strategies, and tactics’, sometimes represented in the
form of a ‘tree diagram’. It consists of the following dimensions.
 Goal
 Objective
 Strategy
 Tactic

Challenges of Tourism Policy

The tourism industry will be faced with some difficult challenges over the next several years.
Technology, whether in communications information, new aerospace developments, or other
fields, will heavily affect the tourism industry. The industry will need to develop effective
policies and plans to deal with terrorism and other disruptions to the tourism market’.
Goeldner and Ritchie (2006) said, ‘Tourism policy seeks to ensure that visitors are hosted in a
way that maximizes the benefits to stakeholders while minimizing the negative effects, costs,
and impacts associated with ensuring the success of the destination.
In effect, tourism policy seeks to provide high-quality visitor experiences that are profitable to
destination stakeholders while ensuring that the destination is not compromised in terms of its
environmental, social and cultural integrity’. The tourism industry is composed of private,
public and not-for-profit components interested in tourism development, new products,
destination marketing, economic benefits and future sustainability. These tourism interests have
broad ramifications on community life and need parameters and guidelines to help define and plan
the future direction of tourism policy, ultimately providing quality tourism products and services.

Who sets the tourism policy?

The tourism policy formulation is unique to each state. Tourism policy should set the
regulations, rules, guidelines, directives and development/ promotion objectives and strategies
for long-term tourism development. Usually, the governor’s office and administration, working
together with the state legislature, serve as the architects, budgeters and planners for initiating,
implementing and supporting a state’s tourism program.
But there are many other stakeholders: private citizens, local governments, private businesses,
economic, as well as environmental, social, and other groups that must all be involved in the
process. Ultimately and ideally, a framework for public/private discussions is created that
addresses the important tourism policy questions of taxation, financing, transportation, regulatory
practices, environmental practices, human resources, community relationships, technology,
marketing practices and the many other aspects of the tourism industry.

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WTO Guidelines for Tourism Planning
It is now recognized that tourism must be developed and managed in a controlled, integrated
and sustainable manner, based on sound planning. With this approach, tourism can generate
substantial economic benefits to an area, without creating any serious environmental or social
problems. Tourism’s resources will be conserved for continuous use in the future. There are
numerous examples in the world where tourism has not been well planned and managed.
These uncontrolled developments may have brought some short-term economic benefits. Over
the longer term, however, they have resulted in environmental and social problems and poor
quality tourist destinations. This has been detrimental to the area’s residents, and tourist
markets have been lost to better planned destinations elsewhere. National and regional
planning lays the foundation for tourism development of a country and its regions. It
establishes the policies, physical and institutional structures and standards for development to
proceed in a logical manner. It also provides the basis for the continuous and effective
management of tourism which is so essential for the long-term success of tourism.

System of Planning
WTO approaches are widely used in international tourism planning at national and regional
levels. In some countries a national tourism plan is prepared and implemented by central
authority - very much a “top-down” approach, but with a strong focus on sustainable
development. A more “bottom-up” approach can also be used where early public involvement
determines what the community would like to see developed. Local objectives are then fitted
together in the national or regional plans. A combination of both ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’
approaches can be used.
Different models of tourism planning can be used at the more detailed local level plans and can
be directed by a policy approach at national and regional level. For example:
 Planning Tourism as an Integrated System - balance of ‘demand’ and supply’ factors
 Planning for Sustainable Development - balance of economic and environmental
systems, conservation emphasized in natural areas; host community considered
 Environmental Regional Planning approach - addresses all environmental elements and
key focus on community-based tourism and maximizing benefits to local community
 Quality Tourism Approach - related to sustainable development - achieves benefits to
both marketing perspective and community
 Long Range and Strategic Planning.
The general processes for tourism planning under the WTO approach do not differ greatly from
those used in non-statutory strategic planning in New Zealand, including phases of Terms of
Reference and objective setting, steering or reference group formation, survey, analysis and
synthesis, policy and plan formulation, institutional recommendations and implementation and
monitoring. As a top-down approach, however, driven by national or regional government,
implementation mechanisms not part of New Zealand system may be available to agencies

4
implementing plans. National and regional objectives generally prevail over local or sectorial
concerns. Monitoring is considered an integral part of plan implementation and management
under the WTO approach.

Application
Typically a plan prepared under a WTO model would include the following elements:
 Spatial - should cover most natural areas - generally concentrates tourism activities into
zones (zoning) to maintain environmental protection, and adopts techniques of reducing
impacts of tourism. Site-specific details are not usually covered at regional or national
levels.
 Conservation - provides a focus on conservation in terms of providing capacity in an area
that otherwise without tourism may not be conserved well. Considers that tourism is
always a critical component to consider in the establishment and management of
protected areas: if well planned it helps justify and pay for conservation of important
natural areas, archaeological and historic sites, helps improve environmental quality,
and increases local environment awareness.
 The WTO has published an influential set of guidelines that provide a theoretical
structure and practical guidelines for natural area tourism managers. The underlying aim
is to ensure that tourism contributes to the purposes of protected areas and does not
undermine them.
 Environmental Protection - is often an integral part of the planning process - seen as
application of environmental planning and sustainable development approach including
establishing carrying capacities of tourism areas. At national and regional levels,
biophysical carrying capacities must be considered more generally.
 Economic - planning is driven by a view that tourism ‘fuels’ economy, conservation,
protection, heritage and cultural values of an area. Economic benefit is recognised as
the primary reason for developing tourism but the approach acknowledges that
economic, environmental and socio-economic costs and benefits must all be weighed
together to achieve a balanced development.
 Social - Host communities considered as something to address as opposed to direct
involvement in plan and policy development. Host community not generally considered
except where bottom-up tourism plans used at more detailed level, nothing about
indigenous peoples.
 Institutional/legal - planning generally carried out under a framework where central
government assumes control and implementation of national and regional plans.
Sometimes this makes an erroneous assumption that local communities have capacity
and desire to work effectively within a national or regional framework.

5
Local Authority Role in Tourism
It is crucial to understand how pivotal the role of the local authority is in the wider picture of
the local tourism product. Tourism is all about destinations and the totality of the experience.
The tourism industry in most areas is in reality thousands of small businesses competing with
one another, with relatively few big players in any one destination. Those businesses look to the
local authority to act as a coordinator, creating and marketing a product in a way that they are
unable to as individual units. They recognize the breadth of an authority’s involvement from
the services and facilities it provides, namely:
 Beaches, museums, country parks, pools, information centers
 Car and coach parks, signposting, litter bins, toilets
 Waste management, street cleaning, beach cleaning
 The regulation of standards in planning, catering, health and safety
The overall nurturing of the all-important ‘sense of place’, the essential ambience of a local
area, be it the attractive rural settings, the well cared for historic town or the exciting seaside
resort. All of these services and facilities have a major impact on the quality of the visitor’s
experience. If we get significant elements of our job wrong, that may be the abiding memory of
our destination and the deciding factor in precluding repeat business.

Developing tourism partnerships: The most effective way for destination managers to achieve
sustainable tourism management is through a genuine partnership involving all stakeholders,
including the private and commercial sector. Effective tourism partnerships can deliver
significant benefits such as:
 Collective stakeholder working towards shared strategic objectives, improving the
likelihood that they will be achieved
 Better working between organizations and departments, reducing the strain on
resources
 Shared and more effective market intelligence
 Co-ordination of development and marketing budgets and activities
 Improved communication and understanding, and mutual respect between local
authority and industry
 Devolved responsibility locally and greater visitor, industry and community involvement.
All of these will contribute to any project in terms of ideas, resources and, above all,
commitment.
Basic partnership structure and principles: There are many tourism partnerships in England.
Local authority tourism departments have established most of these partnerships to co-
ordinate public- and private-sector marketing. While most focus on planning and promotion,
some also handle issues such as quality, training, environment and joint purchasing
agreements. Existing tourism partnerships take various forms, including:
 Formal or informal
 Ad hoc or continuing

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  Action-based or for generating awareness and ideas.
To plan and implement a sustainable tourism initiative, partnerships must involve all
stakeholders and follow a few general principles:
 Working in partnership means listening to, and understanding, partners’ needs and
aspirations.
 There will be some benefit to all partners, though not all will be looking for financial
benefit.
 They will share overall key objectives.
 Engagement and feedback needs to be tailored to different audiences within the
partnership.
Stakeholders: The stakeholders will be determined by the nature of the issues that the
partnership plans to address, and the number of stakeholders will be determined by the size
and complexity of the destination. Stakeholders could include:
 The local authority – often the catalyst and enablers of the process
 The host community, represented by residents, businesses and interest groups
 The environment; represented by organizations such as National Parks, conservation
NGOs, landowners
 Visitors.

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Historical Perspective of Tourism Policy of Nepal
Nepal has been an underdeveloped country for years. No serious attempts were made until
1930 to initiate economic development on a systematic basis. It was only in 1935 that a
development agency was established by the name of Development Board (NPC, 2006). Its
primary functions were to help agricultural, industrial and commercial activities in Nepal.
Some specialized agencies like Agricultural Board were also established. But the works done
by these agencies were in haphazard manner that it was not adequate to remove
backwardness of the country. During the same period, a 20 year plan was also announced
but nothing was heard of what was done (NPC, 2006).
A revolutionary political change came in 1951, which brought democracy in Nepal.
However, the government was not stable after 1951 also. In 1956, a five year development
plan was started to develop Nepal in planned approach. Nine plans have been implemented
and the tenth plan (2002-2007) is under implementation now.
The first four plans emphasized the development of infrastructure, especially roads, and
electricity. However achievements of plan targets were poor. Under the fifth and sixth
plans emphasis shifted towards agriculture and industry sectors. Poverty reduction has been
stated as a development objective since the sixth plan (1980-1985).
Poverty alleviation was one of the major objectives of the eighth development plan
(1992-1997) of Nepal. This was the first plan after Multiparty Democracy restored in 1991.
The tenth plan has one single goal of poverty alleviation since more than 30% people of
Nepal are living below poverty line. Very limited resource has been the main problem for
development. So, one particular feature of Nepalese development plans is that they are
over dependent on foreign aid and loans.

Introduction and analytical review of tourism policy Tourism Policy 1995

Nepal has not brought formal tourism policy until 1995. Successive national development
plans and other relevant public policy have placed great emphasis on the development of the
tourism in Nepal. The government of Nepal introduced first tourism policy of Nepal in 1995.
Objectives
Following were the objectives of policy
1. To develop tourism as an important sector of the national economy by developing
linkages between tourism and other sectors.
2. To diversify tourism down to rural areas so as to improve employment
opportunities, foreign currency earnings, growth of national income and regional
imbalances.

8
 3. To improve natural, cultural and human environments of the nation in order to
develop and expand the tourism industry.
4. To maintain a good image of the nation in the international community by
providing quality service and a sense of security.
5. To develop and promote Nepal as an attractive tourism destination.
Policy
1. The participation of the private sector will be sought to the maximum extent for
development and diversification of tourism products. The involvement of
government will be primarily directed towards infrastructure development. Apart from
this, HMG will maintain its role as coordinator and motivate for the growth of the
travel and tourism industries.
2. Participation of the Nepalese people in the integrated manner will be carried out
for environmental conservation programs which contribute to sustainable tourism
development.
3. Existing tourism infrastructure and facilities will be upgraded. Priority will be given
to developing new tourist destinations, particularly in rural areas.
4. Popular religious tourism sites will be improved and promoted in order to develop
religious tourism.
5. Nepal will be developed as a center for adventure tourism.
6. Tourist service and facilities in the kingdom will be encouraged to upgrade in quality.
7. Special efforts will be made to make Nepal a secure place for tourists.
8. Due attention will be paid to improving regional imbalances while developing tourism.
9. Competitive tourism promotion and marketing will be launched in tourist
originating markets to establish Nepal as a major tourist destination.
10. Linkages will be established between tourism and agro-based as well as cottage
industries. Emphasis will be placed on developing these related sectors simultaneously.
11. Local investment will be encouraged in service-oriented, travel and trekking
agency businesses in which local investors have proven capability. Foreign investment,
including joint ventures, will be promoted in areas, which transfers skills and
technology, or in capital-intensive industries like hotels and resorts.
12. The National Civil Aviation Policy will be implemented as an integral part of Tourism
Policy.

4.4 Intuitional Arrangement in Tourism Council

This is a high level organization, which brings coordination among various tourism related
bodies to develop tourism as main economic activities. Prime minister will head the Council
and it will guide policy related matter and review plans related to tourism.

9
Minister for Culture Tourism and Civil Aviation
The ministry is responsible for policy, planning, licensing, regulations and overall monitoring
of tourism activities in Nepal.
Nepal Tourism Board
Nepal Tourism Board undertakes planning and product development, international and
domestic promotions and tourism research and advisory functions for Ministry of Culture,
Tourism and Civil Aviation. The policy focused on developing pilgrimage tourism, adventure
tourism, creating regional balance, rural tourism, wild life tourism, linking tourism and other
sectors etc. The working policy states that Trekking areas will be classified into three
categories as follows:
 General Trekking Area: Areas with a network of good trails and which offer basic
services and facilities to tourists will be categorized as general trekking areas. Guided
Trekking Area: Area already open for trekking but not meeting minimum infrastructure
requirements such as trails, and basic services and facilities such as hotels and lodges,
will be categorized as guided trekking areas. Only group trekkers handled by trekking
agencies will be allowed to visit such areas under fixed annual quotas.
 Controlled Trekking Area: Areas in the high-Himalayan region, which are out of modern
civilization and have very sensitive natural environments, and ancient indigenous
cultures, will be categorized as controlled trekking areas. Only group trekkers handled
by trekking agencies and accompanied by a government deputed liaison officer will be
permitted to visit such areas.
Introduction and analytical review of tourism policy 2065 (2009)
In 2007, the Government of Nepal declared tourism to be a priority sector in the country and
decided to formulate a new policy to replace the Tourism Policy 1995.

Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) has, after some amendments, brought the
Tourism Policy 2065. The government has endorsed the eagerly-awaited Tourism Policy 2065.
The ministry is planning to include tourism industry in Special Economic Zones (SEZ). The policy
has addressed pertinent issues like rural tourism, eco-tourism, agro-based tourism, adventure
tourism, education tourism and health tourism and has prioritized the insurance of tourism
entrepreneurs.

The long-term Vision for tourism expressed in the resulting Tourism Policy 2065 (2008) is:
“to develop Nepal as an attractive, pleasing, safe and unique destination in the global tourism
map through conservation and promotion of the natural, cultural, biological and human-made
heritage of Nepal,”
While the policy’s Mission is:

10
“To improve the living standards of the people through tourism activities with a substantial
contribution towards the national income by sustainable use of the national heritage”.
The four main Objectives to achieve the Vision and Mission are:
a. To develop the industry and create jobs in order to improve the living standard
of the Nepalese people, especially poverty alleviation through ecotourism and
rural tourism.
b. To develop Nepal as a major tourism destination and promote and conserve its
natural and cultural heritage.
c. To expand and spread tourism through safe, reliable and regular air and land
transport.
d. To ensure that the environment is protected and that the development of
tourism infrastructure uses natural resources sustainably.
A total of 26 Policy Areas are identified in the policy document. Under these policy areas as a
whole, a total of 152 Policy Actions are given, these effectively being individual strategies to
implement policy statements. With there being no Strategy or Action Plan per se included in the
policy, the policy actions are presented as the key mechanism for implementing the policy as a
whole.
During the formulation process for the NTSP in 2013, the Tourism Policy 2065 (2008) was
assessed according to the degree of implementation by policy area. It was concluded that,
although the Policy is comprehensive and describes in detail the intent, wishes and aspirations
of the Government, there are certain areas that can be improved with a more targeted focus.
There needs to be, for instance, a clear mechanism to ensure that actions are taken to
implement the policy areas identified with responsibilities and a schedule allocated to both
public and private sector stakeholders. In addition, an evaluation and monitoring mechanism
must be put in place to ensure that the actions have been completed successfully of to
introduce remedial actions where required. Furthermore, the Policy needs to link in better with
other government policies, especially the Ministry of Environment’s policy on climate change.
Although the Tourism Policy 2065 (2008) is still in effect today, it is clear that it does need to be
reviewed, especially in light of the recent advent of the NTSP and socio-economic and political
developments that have taken place in the last few years.
At the same time as the Tourism Policy 2065 (2008) was being drafted, a parallel process
worked on the development of a Tourism Master Plan 2008 for Nepal. This plan, however, was
never endorsed by the Government largely because it did not adequately reflect the views of
the private sector. Also, although the Master Plan featured an action plan (unlike the Policy), it
was considered to be incomplete and inadequate.

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A brief overview of Homestay Work procedure 2066 (2010) tourism Guidelines
Homestay tourism program in Nepal
However after introducing the Himalayas of Nepal in 1950s to the outer world, international
tourists started to visit in Nepal and tourist are attracted by those beautiful Mountains through
the many historic and beautiful untouched villages of Nepal. Gradually the tourism industry
took a step forward but the major issue remains dissatisfactory that the tourism income is not
distributed equally in all part of the Nepal. Industry centralized within the central region of the
Nepal. Therefore to address those issues and for the poverty alleviation from the rural area,
government introduced the village tourism for the first time in 1997. Sirubari (Syangja District,
west Nepal) and Ghalegaon (Lamjung District, north central Nepal) were the first two villages to
implement the concept of community homestay which was a first effort to develop village
tourism by the government of Nepal (Thapa, 2010).
During the decade long Maoist insurgency period (1996-2006) tourism industry sharply
dropped in Nepal. Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Maoists and the government
in November 2006. Government started to formulate the new tourism policy. This decline
recovered only after the implementation of the new Tourism Policy in 2008. The government of
Nepal then realized to amend the then tourism policy to provide provisions for poverty
alleviation and improved quality of life. The government brought new tourism policy in 2008
accordingly. And also has formulated the 'Tourism vision 2020' Policy for the sustainable
development of tourism. Towards achieving the goal finally the government has conceptualized
the working procedure of homestay program in 2010 which addresses the area of sustainable
tourism development in Nepal as well as eco- tourism.
The government's program ‘Nepal Tourism Year 2011’ is another major reason to boost up
homestay tourism in Nepal. The government's target was to bring one million tourists during
the ‘Nepal Tourism Year 2011’ and according to the official figures, there were 669 hotels
including all types of hotels with a total capacity of 26,063 beds in Nepal at that time. If During
'Nepal tourism Year 2011' one million tourist had visited Nepal as expected then it would have
meant that there are 822 beds shortage in a daily base. This was the reason why the homestay
program has once again stepped into the spotlight. And even though Nepal Tourism Year was
not fully successful it did give motivation to many enterprises, one of them being the
development of homestays in various parts of the country including newly developed tourist
destinations. The aim was not only to increase the accommodation capacity but the major aim
was to make involve the local's participations in tourism activities and improve their income.
(Royal Mountain Travel Nepal, December 18, 2011.) With the objectives to share tourism
benefits with the rural community, deliver tourism service with rural participation, improve
living standard of rural community through income generation, use self-employment as a tool
for rural and local development, inform the tourists about rural traditions, arts, cultures and
livelihoods and give them opportunities to experience them, and make arrangement of simple

12
and easy stay for tourists, the Government of Nepal (GoN) issued Homestay Operating
Guidelines, 2011 on August 2011 to be effective from September 2011.

National policy for home stay in Nepal

According to ‘homestay working procedure 2067’ Nepal’s government has defined homestay as
an accommodation where host provides foods, accommodation and other related services to
their guest and operates it individually or in community groups. Under the provisions made in
the Regulation 1981, Internal Working Procedure 2064, Government’s notification published on
Ashadh 4, 2055, and Homestay Operating Procedure 2010, following procedure should be
followed to register any accommodation enterprise as tourist standard accommodation
enterprise.
The Homestay Operating Procedure 2067(2010) prepared as per the aspiration of Tourism
Policy 2009, provides bases for the registration and operation of homestay.

Classification of homestay
The procedure has classified homestay in two patterns; as a private homestay to run on
individual basis, and the next as community homestay program which will be owned and run by
community. As per the guidelines for community homestay and private homestay, the
community homestay program should include at least 5 household units owned by separate
families. The homestay privately also could be run in urban areas also called private homestay.

Registration procedure for running homestay Program

For the registration process, both the community homestay as well as individual homestay can
be registered at the department of Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation, Government of
Nepal or Ministry related to any tourism offices on the local level. For community homestay, an
agreement paper signed by at least five homestay members, operating on a community basis,
National identity cards, the legal paper of property and the recommendations letter from the
local authorities should be enclosed with the application. Whereas for the individual homestay
property ownership certificate, national identity certificate along with the recommendation
letter from the local authorities should be enclosed with the application. Individual Homestay
and community homestay also can be registered at the Tourism Industry Division (TID) or
tourism offices. If all the requirements are not fulfilled, more time will be given to the related
group or person for the improvement and a field visit will be done from the authorized office
(MoCTCA, 2010).
For the community homestay program 'homestay committee board' is mandatory for the
proper management of the homestay in the community. The role of the homestay committee
board is very important. They are assigned to manage the community tourism program and first
hospitality activities during guests arrival; equal distribution of homes (host) to the visitors,
maintain well a record of the guest and very important is to keep transparent economic

13
account, manage the standard of every homes, conserve the local heritage site and the
cultures, organize the cultural program for the tourist, take care about safety and health of the
tourist and many more (MoCTCA, 2010).

Institutional support
The guideline has set a provision for formation of District Homestay Coordination Committee
(DHCC) in each District Development Committee (DDC) with member of DDC that looks after
tourism sector of the district as a coordinator and representatives from government offices
related to infrastructure development, health, education, communication, security, drinking
water, electricity as members. The functions, duties and authorities of this committee have also
been specified. Further, Nepal Tourism Board and Taragaon Development Committee (TDC)
have been discharged with the duties of promoting and marketing of homestay. Homestay
trainings are made available in Nepal Tourism & Hotel Management Training Institute. The
guideline has also required Homestay Association to cooperate GoN in policy formation,
management, promotion and formulation of uniform operating standards relating to homestay.

Regulation criteria
Urban homestay program are normally operated by individual hosts and they can
accommodate only four guests per day so that there will be not much negative business impact
on the regular hotel business of the nation. Regarding the village community homestay
program, it can be operated by different individual in the group where member should be at
least 5 host families to operate home stay in particular community (MoCTCA, 2010).
After regulating Homestay Tourism Procedure 2010, the government and the Nepal Tourism
Board (NTB) have been promoting it to the whole nation. The Homestay Management
Committee (HMC) has been established to manage, monitor and guide the Homestay
stakeholders. On the community level the Nepal Tourism Board mobilized the Village
Development Committees (VDCs), District Development Committees (DDCs) and local
stakeholders such as Women’s Group, community level Non-Governmental Organizations
(NGOs), Community Forest Groups to manage homestay facilities and homestay training to
ensure the quality of homestay arrangements in rural areas (MoCTCA 2010).

Touristic activities
The guidelines of the government direct that the host family should offer the local cultural
experience to their guest and serve the local products of foods whatever the host family
themselves eat. Homestay operating houses have to ensure a hygienic, clean, safe, peaceful
and secure environment with adequate bathroom and toilet facilities. Beside the
accommodations facility the community are suggested to welcome the tourist with the full
traditional arrangement, entertain the visitors through the local cultural performance, make
participation in traditional functions and conserve and develop the other tourism product for

14
the tourist such as com- munity forest for jungle safari, sightseeing, ethnic museum, visit local
handicraft center etc. (MoCTCA, 2010)
In the code of conduct, the guests are also requested to dress in an appropriate environment
manner and to participate actively in any community cultural functions or other rituals
programs. They are not allowed to give pressure to owner for food, beverage and facilities that
are not available. Guests have to eat whatever host Family offered the food in a respectful
manner. They are also asked to beware of doing any unusual behavior (such as sexual
activities), which is offensive to the local socio-cultural values. Similarly they are asked to enter
and leave homes only within the prescribed routine of the host family and any forms of
psychotropic drug use is totally forbidden at home or outside home (MoCTCA 2010).
In Nepal commonly accepted homestays are ethically and traditionally made where the host
families reside in traditionally built houses and involves in homestay tourism. The Nepalese
homestay gives a family atmosphere to the visitors and visitors can get an opportunity to
observe or participate in the local social culture environment with having delicious Nepalese
cuisine which is totally based on local skill and products.

Basic requirements for facilities and services

The guideline has permitted each household to arrange maximum 4 separate rooms and
maximum 2 beds in each room for homestay. Additionally, this guideline has clearly specified
how to manage room, toilet, bathroom and kitchen. It has also determined the minimum
measures to be taken for guests' safety.
Formation of committee: The guideline has suggested five-member a homestay operation
management committee for its running or for it daily operation. With this it has also allowed to
add up to 6 members (maximum) for inclusive participation of all the households in the
committee.
Responsibilities of the committee: Homestay operation has specified the key duties and
responsibilities for the committee. The committee has to be responsible for arranging proper
stay of guests, maintaining records of guests and income received, monitoring the households,
arranging cultural programs, preparing location map, preparing menu and price list, undertake
Tourism and hospitality
The word ‘hospitality’ is used by different people in different ways. Many people have tried to
describe hospitality in relation with other industry in many ways. Some tried to summarize the
scope of the industry and its characteristics of involving both tangible and intangible features in
the service delivery process. According to the online dictionary.com the meaning of hospitality
is the friendly reception and treatment of guests and strangers. This is the simple meaning of
hospitality but it is important to understand the meaning of hospitality from tourism
perspective. Tourism industry is understood as hospitality industry. When we talk about the
“Hospitality Industry”, we are referring to the companies or organizations which provide food
and/or drink and/or accommodation to people who are “away from home” (Mackenze and

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Chan, 2009).
Generally in tourism hospitality can be understood as both tangible and intangible services
which are created to satisfy the customer or guest, Brotherton, 1999; in Lashley and Morrison,
2000 (as cited in Kunwar & Joshi, 2015, p. 28). 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.
Hospitality if found occurring among gods, men, and demons within Hindu cosmology to
release a whole array of moral and social message for the participants. The Nepalese
hospitality as a moral obligation translates into traditional forms on one hand, and into
customary social duties, “civility”, etiquette, and courtesy, on the other (Kunwar, 2012). In the
context of homestay tourism, hospitality is one of the most important pillars for its
sustainability. Every village in Nepal has unique identity created by hospitality and it is a part of
culture. It is important to understand the importance of hospitality in homestay tourism and its
relationship with tourism in promoting peace.

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