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[pic] Marketing Strategy and Performance of Tourism Industries in Nepal 1. Concept Nepal is a small land-locked county, surrounded by the Tibetan region of China on the north and India on the rest, with a total population of 28. 6 million in 2009 (World Development Indicators Data Base, January 2010), but is one of the growing tourism destinations in Asia. The number of foreign tourists increased greatly from a mere 6179 in 1962 to 176, 634 in 1984, 491, 504 in 1999, 361, 237 in 2001, and 385, 297 in 2004 (NTS, 2004: p. 21). Although there was a starting of Maoist insurgency from the second half of 1990s and political instabilities the country nevertheless managed to receive 500, 277 foreign visitors in 2008 (NTS, 2008: p. 8). Until 1950, the concept of tourism was unknown to Nepal. Along pilgrimage routes ‘ dharam shalas’ were constructed by local people. As measure of the value set in providing services, ‘ dharma shalas’ are still built by villagers as projects on remote and lovely spots. The races, like Newars and Sakyas, developed the first kind of hotels (Wake, 1975: p. 20). The model for a village hotel is ‘ bhattis’. The tourism industry is growing very rapidly and Nepal has tremendous potential for tourism development because of its unique natural and cultural heritage. In this context, this tourism policy has been formulated with the aims of increasing national productivity and income; increasing foreign currency earnings; creating employment opportunities; improving regional imbalances and projecting the image of Nepal more assertively in the international arena; through the development and diversification of the travel and tourism industries Today tourism has become a major enterprise in Nepal. It is an economic backbone of the country and has been priority wise placed at the fourth position in the Ninth Five Year Development Plan (1997-2002) (Kakshapati, 2001: pp. 18-19). Thus, the promotion of tourism in the true sense started more or less only after 1950. Prior to 1950, we don’t find any plan, policy regarding tourism in Nepal. Nepal Tourism Marketing Strategy: (1976-81), is a study done by Joseph-Edward Susnik of Yugoslavia. Government of Nepal, Ministry of Tourism secured the services of Marketing Tourism advisor Joseph Susnik, Director Marketing, KOMPAS, Yugoslavia through bilateral agreement in 1976. He submitted his report ‘ Nepal Tourism Marketing Strategy 1976-81’ on 24 March 1977. His main suggestions were: “ without substantial increase in the number of international visitors, stay of tourists cannot be prolonged at present; Nepal should become the starting point of any Asian tourist as it is the cradle of a religion and culture that influenced the history and life of the major parts of Asia, built up good image of secondary destinations”. To elaborate the role of tourism in the changing perspectives of the Nepalese economy, M. K. Dahal (1999) argues, “ The agriculture sector instead of playing the role of leading sector remains eventually a lagging sector. Since more than twenty-five years we have invested huge amount of money in agriculture at least, 25 % of our national budget. When we look at the results, it is highly disappointing (Dahal et al., 1999: p. 9). As a result, there is a growing debate among the Nepalese economists about government’s top priority for agriculture sector. So, we have to look for an alternative sector. Tourism can be a perennial source to support to the Nepalese economy compared to agriculture. Ramesh Chandra Arya (1997) presented important study in Planning Models for Tourism Development with Reference to Nepal. This study has attempted to highlight that traditionally tourism development plans have focused on increasing the number of tourists. It is presented that it would result in increasing earning. However, it has not been so. Different sites have their own attractions. Due to certain advantages of selected sites, it is a natural tendency to develop these. Thus, Arya tries to suggest that it is not necessary that developments of tourism in all areas are equally rewarding (Arya, 1997). As William F. Theobald (1994) suggests that: “ the travel industry includes: hotels, motels and other types of accommodation; restaurants and other food services, transportation services and facilities; amusements, attractions and other leisure facilities; gift shops and a large number of other enterprises. Since many of these businesses also serve local residents, the impact of spending by visitors can easily be overlooked or underestimated in all nations, this problem has made it difficult for the industry to develop any type of reliable or credible tourism information base in order to estimate the contribution it makes to regional, national and global economies. However, the nature of this very diversity makes travel and tourism ideal vehicles for economic development in a wide variety of countries, regions or communities (William, 1994: p. 4). Indeed, the importance of tourism to Nepal can be seen from the fact that in 2006 the contribution of tourism industry accounted for 8. 2 % of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Nepal, a high share as compared to other countries such as India (5. 3 %), Bangladesh (3. 7 %) and Pakistan (6. 3 %). Even a country like Nepal, where the global tourist attraction-the Mount Everest is located, lags behind in tourism with only 8. 2 % contribution in GDP (World Tourism and Travel Council, Country Report, 2006). Globalization and the increased competition in tourism markets after the 1980s, have changed the perspective and competitive landscape of tourism, driving enterprises, communities, nations and governments to rethink their tourism strategies, policy, planning, management and to allow them restructures, operate and promote destinations successfully in a boundary less world. Globalization has required a continuous provident in marketing efforts to satisfy the needs and wants of the demand factors, international and domestic tourists and local people; the price/product—characteristics ratio; in sum, a constant striving towards quality and efficiency giving value to money. Countries, cities and towns are building their images to market what they stand for. The tourism industry has evolved into an arena of fierce competition in which marketing has become an important element of tourism management. The ever-increasing competitive nature of the tourism industry requires tourist destination to develop an effective marketing plan and strategy. Tourism is essentially a place-based phenomenon where marketing and promotional activities are served towards the production of a distinctive and competitive place identity. Traditional form of marketing focuses on increasing the number of tourist arrivals and treating tourist like any other commodities in a market and fails to take market dynamics into account. No doubt, tourism marketing and promotion plays an essential role for successful tourism development, particularly in developing countries, but is sometimes overlooked. Tourism is a complex phenomenon to describe. It is not an industry, but more like a system of different industries that together form a system that offers all the different products and services that comprise the tourism product that the traveler purchases (Mill & Morrison, 2009). It is a sector that is defined by where those who purchase and consume the product live rather than by those who produce the products (Auno & Sørensen, 2009). Mill and Morrison (2009) pointed out that during the last four decades a number of attempts have been made to define tourism. Still, there is no single definition that is universally accepted and there is a fuzzy link between leisure, recreation and tourism. Leisure is usually defined as the time available to an individual when work, sleep and other basic needs have been met (Page & Dowling, 2002). Recreation is activities that are preformed during leisure time (Mill & Morrison, 2009). World Tourism Organization (WTO) defines tourism based on the tourists that are people ” travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes” (1995: 1). It has been argued that there is a strong relationship between daily recreation and vacation activities and that tourism is just a special form of recreation activities (Brey & Lehto, 2007). In a post-industrial society, the division between work and leisure has become blurred for many groups. Therefore, it is increasingly difficult to totally separate the leisure and business markets from each other when analyzing tourism. Tourism products are defined as all products that are consumed in connection with travelling outside one’s usual environment for business or pleasure (Auno & Sørensen, 2009; Kamfjord, 2001; WTO, 1995). These products can be physical (e. g. food and shelter) as well as nonmaterial (e. g. knowledge transfer about a destination). Traditionally, tourism products have been conceptualized as having four parts: the provision of activities/experiences, eating/drinking, accommodation and transportation (e. g. in Mill & Morrison, 2009; Seaton & Bennett, 1996). A paradox within the tourism sector is that it is often the activity part of the tourism experience that motivates people to travel somewhere. However, regarding the economic behaviour of the tourist and value creation, the activity part of the tourism product often creates little or no income for local tourism businesses. Tourists usually pay for transportation, food and accommodation. The activity part of the tourism product is often available for free or for a low price. This phenomenon is sometime referred to as the “ paradox of tourism” (Kamfjord, 2001). One of the challenges for rural destinations is to increase the share of tourists that purchase commercial products so that the value creation from the sector is strengthened. The main focus of this thesis has been on the activity part of the tourism product. These products differ from other product categories regarding production since the tourists more actively participate in the production of the tourism experience (Boswijk, Thijssen, Peelen, & Johnston, 2007; Pine & Gilmore, 1999; Vespestad, 2010). Consequently, the tourists that participate in the same activity may have conflicting desires, needs, and tastes and dislikes which will influence the experience they co-produce. Tourism is the world’s most important and largest industry that regarded as one of the key sectors of national economies. It generates a major part of the national income as an important source of foreign currencies, necessary for local development. Tourism is also a major job generating industry characterized by its multiple effects on a number of other industries such as traditional and food industries, building infrastructure services such as hotels, restaurants, cafes, roads, airports and ports as well as other basic elements of tourism infrastructure. In fact, the main interest in international tourism started actually in the early sixties of the 20th century, especially in international organizations and constitutions. (The UN Conference on Travel and Tourism held in Russia in 1963 considered Tourism as an extremely desired human activity that deserves encouragement by people all over the world. The conference also urged all countries to give utmost and high priority to tourism industry through providing necessary technical assistance, due to its expected importance in consolidating economic development and earning hard currencies. Four years later, the United Nations declared 1967 as the International Year for Tourism. International tourism has flourished in the recent years. The growth rate of international tourism reached 12 per cent per year. This rate outpaced the growth rate of world trade movement, and made tourism a key economic element in the economical and social development process in modern societies. (Nour El-Deen, 1997, Aldahlawy, 1987). In addition, Tourism has recently become more important in people’s life after it was limited to the wealthy classes of societies. Accordingly, the number of tourists in the world has increased over the years from 14 million tourists in 1948 to 190 million in 1984 and rose to 340 million in 1986. In 1990, the number was 454. 9 million and was 691 million in the year 2000 (WTO, 2000). Where international tourism revenues amounted to us $ 118 billion as a direct income in 1985 apart from indirect income, and rose to us $ 455 billion in 1999 as a direct income, which means that tourism was no longer a social luxury, but has become an essential economical factor in the enhancing the GDP of any country. And According to World Tourism Organization (WTO), the number of world tourists would be (1. 006. 4 billion in 2010 and 1. 561. 1 in 2020). The revenues generated by tourism have grown at an average of (11. 2 %) a year since the 1950s, easily outpacing the general world economic growth (WTO, 2000). This upward growth of tourism has come despite fears of international terrorism, wars, natural disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes. Experts in the tourism industry expect the growth to continue at around (5%) for the foreseeable future. However, it is time now that the Nepal should take its share in the international tourism receipts and activate its tourism marketing actions, especially as it possesses a huge and great attractive tourism sites, some are natural and some are man-made in modern and ancient history. What is needed now is that all authorities concerned should exert utmost efforts to develop a plan or a strategy for tourism marketing in Nepal, taking into consideration all economic and social circumstances, as well as the possibility of getting advantage of all sources of tourism attractions it has got, according to the world recognized standards of marketing tools known world-wide. 2. The Research Problem Tourism now a day has been an essential activity all over the world the form of the tourism can be of various types. There are the activities, discipline, industry or professions depending upon the applications of different methods & criteria. Most of the people are familiar with the meaning of tourism though they are not well aware about its prospectus & consequences. The problem of the research study, is that despite the fact that the Nepal possesses varied touristic natural resources which form the necessary raw material for the Nepalese Touristic Product (such as remedial, ecological and mountaineering tourism), and a huge cultural heritage, panoramic views which makes up a large part of tourism industry and which should bring up benefits and welfare for the people of Nepal and contribute to enhance the economic development process. In spite of this, Nepal has not got its share of the worldwide receipts for international tourism, which, according to World Tourism Organization (WTO, 2000 Report), ranks first on top of other industries. But in fact a developing country like Nepal usually suffers from a number of problems, consisting of the difficulties in marketing the tourism product to the customer (tourist, traveler and many more others). This may be due to the lack of expertise and funds allocated for purpose of marketing, as well as inadequate distribution systems suitable for this purpose. However, research problem could be summarized as follows: 1. Lack of interest on the part of various tourism organizations (policy making agencies, local tour operators and travel agencies) in Nepal, to study (national and foreign) tourist needs, wants and demands, which could identify precisely the desired types of tourism. Such study would help develop a new tourism marketing strategy, which would satisfy the desired needs of the both the tourist and the tourism market locally or internationally in changeable business environment. 2. Inability to target the most important and relevant tourism market sectors, which could be achieved only by devising suitable characteristics for the evaluation of areas of investment and tourism attractions and determine their targeting priorities before positioning an effective marketing strategy in Nepal. 3. Lack of an effective tourism development plan or strategy due to misdirection of available physical, financial and human resources. This could be due to the fact that people or officials working at the various tourism sectors are lacking marketing knowledge, techniques or skills and are unaware of the importance of the use of the suitable marketing tools in order to effectively influence the tourism market and gain competitive edge in the region as a new tourism destination. 3. Research Objectives From the discussion above the present research will be concentrated on the evaluation and study of the current tourism marketing aspects, the tourism and hospitality industry in Nepal, the basic objective of the present research is to examine and explore the exiting marketing strategy of tourism industry in Nepal. To achieve the basic objective the following supportive objectives have been forwarded. 1. To Study and review the current tourism policy and legal provision relating to marketing of tourism products. 2. To evaluate and explore the existing marketing strategy of the leading organizations involved in tourism industry in Nepal. 3. To measure the impact of marketing strategy in the performance of tourism in Nepal. 4. To examine the problems and challenges in marketing of Tourism industry. 5. To find out the ways to improve the marketing of tourism. 4. Significance of the Research Tourism has been a part of human life for a variety of purposes such as health, education, trade, leisure, recreation, and for social gathering. Improvement in travel technology and high per capita disposable income, especially in the developed societies with increased interest to travel abroad have led to enormous growth in international tourism (Busby, 1993). This proves that in developed countries, tourism has assisted diversification of the economy and helped to combat regional imbalance, while in developing countries such as (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan), it has provided an export and better job opportunity, with greater price flexibility, self determination than their traditional practices or expertise (Wearing and Nail, 1999). Tourism is also an economical activity that gains great importance in countries that possess touristic and archaeological sites visited by individuals as tourists and those who are interested in tourism affairs and projects. Therefore the presence of purposeful strategies based on sound marketing standards represent the starting point in launching and the success of any tourism plan aimed at attracting tourists and revenues. Accordingly, not effort or activity whatsoever would succeed unless linked to suitable strategies especially in terms of marketing. Reliable planning for tourism marketing with all its elements is the true guarantee to ensure that tourism would succeed as a human activity on one hand and as an economical motivator on the other. Adopting a new strategy for tourism marketing symbolizes an important step towards determining the markets, which commodity and service corporations existing in continuously changing unpredictable environments are targeting. Such strategy should also be capable of meeting tourists’ needs & desires. To ensure success to such strategy, sufficient and accurate data on all aspects of the entire market should be available to tourism marketing planner, through conducting field studies on tourism destinations in a country like Nepal. This process aims at determining the features and value of each site separately and identifying the characteristics and nature of the users of the touristic market. The study derives its significance from two facts. First, this research focuses on the tourism industry that is one of the fastest growing and largest in the world. Second, this research concentrates on the marketing function, and its modern techniques, and the various marketing strategies, tools and techniques. 5. Research Limitations The study used a questionnaire survey to seek the opinion of international tourists visiting Nepal on different aspects surrounding the tourism sector. This method could have been further enhanced by conducting interviews with some tourism managers working at local tour operators or travel agencies. In return this would have produced a more reliable and robust test of the research hypothesis and provided additional validation for the instruments used to measure the marketing mix variables (product, price, place, and promotion). 1. Time constraint and busy schedule of key tourism administrators during the period of conducting (face —to- face) interviews survey considered as a hindering element may be sample. 2. Because the convenience sampling will be used in the quantitative phase of the study, it cannot be said with confidence the sample will be representative of the population (Creswell, 2002). 3. In the quantitative phase of the study there is a potential risk of a non-response error, i. e., problems caused by differences between those who respond and those who do not in the event of a low response rate (Dillman, 2000). 4. The results of discriminant analysis have limited generalizability. Usually they generalize only to those populations from which the sample was obtained (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2000). 5. Due to the nature of qualitative research, the data will obtain in the second phase of the study may be subject to different interpretations by different readers. 6. Because of the interpretative nature of the qualitative research, it may introduce bias into the analysis of the findings. 7. There is a potential for bias in the qualitative results interpretation. 6. Literature of Review Doctoral student persistence and attrition seldom results from the influence of one factor. The following review of selected studies in the field highlights findings most influential in doctoral students’ decisions to complete or drop out from a program of studies. Freitag, (1994) found that those tourists coming for a relatively short time on an ” all-inclusive” package tour had relatively little interaction with the host community. On the other hand, German tourists who stayed for an average of three weeks began to tire of the hotel’s dining facilities and would go into town for occasional meals and visit local shops for the sake of variety. Akama and Kieti (2007: 746 — 747) stated that some of the ways in which tourism can contribute to sustainable rural development in developing nations include: (1) creation of opportunities for self- and local employment; (2) encouraging collaboration amongst public and private sectors, non-governmental organisations, and local communities; (3) enhancing socio-cultural effects of tourism; (4) enabling local access to infrastructure and services which are provided for tourists; (5) supporting local communities‟ participation; and (6) fostering institutional capacity-building to enable locals‟ active participation. This paper follows Akama and Kieti’s opinion, however as the first, third and fourth points are desired outcomes, this study will rather build on the enablers to achieve the desired outcomes (see Akama and Kieti”s second, fifth and sixth points). We focus on a careful analysis of the internal and external environments of local communities involved in rural tourism development. In this paper, ‘ internal environment’ is defined as all factors that influence rural tourism development which local rural tourism stakeholders can control and/or influence. ‘ External environment’ is defined as all factors that influence rural tourism development which local rural tourism stakeholders cannot control and/or influence. The analysis of the internal and external environment of rural tourism in the Gambia was split into several steps: (1) local participation and local needs as regards rural tourism development; (2) aims and objectives of rural tourism development; (3) stakeholder analysis of present and future rural tourism development; (4) identifying unique attractions / attributes for further rural tourism development in The Gambia; (5) a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis of rural tourism in The Gambia; (6) rural tourism development’s internal and external environments; and (7) management implications for rural tourism offer. There are also apparent demographic, attitudinal, and behavioral differences between frequent & infrequent travelers (first time versus multiple time travelers) to a particular holiday destinations; these two traveler groups may have different inventory of activity packages during their vacations (Graham & Wall 1978). Types of travelers differ according to their expectations & to certain extend on how much they are willing & able to spend. A numbers of holiday traveler taxonomies have been suggested, some are based on the travelers interests (ethnic, cultural, historical, recreational) others in the frequency & style of travel; at others have tried to separate holiday travelers types according to a blend of their socio-economic backgrounds & holiday preferences. All topologies suffer from one or more of the failing of being tentative in nature overlapping & non-discrete (Cleverdon 1979: 10). If tourism is to be truly beneficial to all concerned…………. & sustainable in long term, it must be insured that resources are not over consumed, that natural & human environments are protected that tourism is integrated with other activities, that is provides real benefits to the local communities…….. That local people are involved included in tourism planning & implementation, & that cultures & people are respected (Eber, 1992: 2). If planned well the tourism can create demand for locally produces goods & services & raise the living standards of rural people by creating off-farm employment & income generating opportunities in remote areas, being community, natural & cultural resources based rural tourism provides an opportunity to harness indigenous knowledge for the socio economic benefits for the rural poor. But the main question is remains; How can be make tourism sustainable & more pro-poor (pandey, 2009 p 20). The tourism industry requires an element of planning & control to limit the overall supply & location of accommodation, in order to protect the attractiveness of Pokhara as a destination and to secure the profitability of the industry{Pagdin(Divine JA & MC Aleer 2009), 1995}. The majority of visitors were attracted by Nepal’s natural resources & exclusively, these visitors came to trek in the mountains & for some combination of trekking, jungle safaris, River Rafting or ethnic tourism (Zurick, 1992). Tourism is a composite bundle of goods and services geographically segmented across specific geographical areas. It includes accommodation, transport facilities (air transport and vehicles), activities (what tourists do during their stay), attractions and ancillary services (banking, telecommunications, hospitals). Factors such as the destination’s security level, confidence and trust between the main actors, and cultural identification are also important factors influencing the value of the tourist product. Of particular relevance in a Namibian context are wildlife and spectacular landscapes (Ashley, 1998; Brits and Wiig, 1998). Hermans (1981) argues that the fact that tourism has caused an increase in wages and attracted workers from other sectors, including agriculture, can also be explained by the fact that agricultural occupations not only pay lower wages but also have low prestige. This is supported by Weaver (1988) who analysed the situation in the Caribbean and states that the demise of agriculture can be ” attributed largely to the emergence of tourism as a viable alternative to a chronically unstable agricultural sector, promoting the lateral transfer of investment capital by local and expatriate plantation interests from agriculture to tourism” (Weaver 1988: 324). In a similar note, Bryden (1973) also contends that the demonstration effect further increases the amount of imported food – i. e. local residents wanting to consume similar food to that consumed by tourists. 7. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 7. 1 Introduction The research methodology dictates how the researcher conducts the study; however, according to Silverman (2006), all methodologies are never true or false but only more or less useful. Thus, some methodologies and methods are more appropriate than others for certain demands of a piece of research. This chapter presents and discusses the research methodology used in this study, justifies the chosen methods and places them in the context of research methodologies used in the field of tourism. Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. Once can also define research as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. In fact, research is an art of scientific investigation. The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English lays down the meaning of research as “ a careful investigation or inquiry especially through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge. ” Redman and Mory define research as a “ systematized effort to gain new knowledge”. Some people consider research as a movement, a movement from the known to the unknown. It is actually a voyage of discovery. We all possess the vital instinct of inquisitiveness or, when the unknown confronts us, we wonder and our inquisitiveness makes us probe and attain full and fuller understanding of the unknown. This inquisitiveness is the mother of all knowledge and the method, which man employs for obtaining the knowledge of whatever the unknown, can be termed as research. 2. Research Design The research design that will be adopted for the study is a combination of multi data collection techniques or methods. Empirical data from secondary survey questionnaires available from tourism planning and marketing literature will be used to validate externally the finding of this research study, and offer possible experiences, explanations and comparisons between numbers of well- known organisations, which have already implemented tourism-marketing strategies in the recent years. The literature review that the researcher has managed to cover so far has played a major role in supporting the analysis of the primary research and provides a grounding of the research and focus needed. Also establishing sound basis for developing the research instrument for its primary data collection. After that, the identified key marketing issues within the tourism industry’s literature helped in representing the structural elements that made up the practical part in this Study. 7. 3 The Survey Method A survey is a primary data collection based on communication with a sample of individuals, (Alreck and Settle, 1985). The approach can be done either at a fixed point in time (cross sectional) or at varying points in time (longitudinal study) for comparative purposes. The advantage of the survey method is that if correctly designed and administered it can provide a quick, inexpensive, efficient, and accurate means of assessing information about a population. According to Alreck and Settle (1985) a large sample of respondents can provide the basis for statistical analysis and help to determine the degree of association between the dependent variable and a range of independent variables, and the analysis enable firm conclusions to be drawn from the survey data, and the finding to be generalized. A large sample also helps to raise the level of reliability and validity of the research (Alreck and Settle, 1985). 7. 4. The Personal Interviews Personal interviews will conduct in this research with key tourism administrators in Nepal with various tourism bodies working in the sector. International Tourists coming and other concern bodied working in tourism sectors in Nepal. Furthermore, the interview will conduct with close co-ordination and in a confidential environment to achieve reliable information about the subject matter of the research study. Face-to-face interviews established better understanding and have been found to be appropriate for revealing information about feelings and emotion regarding different aspects of the tourism sector. This established a high degree of confidence between interviewees and interviewer, which enabled the author to examine the validity of the research questionnaires. 7. 5 Sample Selection and Size Frame The concept of sampling simply means taking part of the population to represent the whole population (Neuman, 1994). The main reason for sampling is economy in cost, time and personnel. Samples are required to be representative of the population, that is, they contain the same degree of variety of the population, if they are to provide useful estimates of the relevant characteristics of that population (Babbie, 1990). If sampling is carried out properly it lets the researcher collect data about the variables from a small set of cases, but generalise accurately to all cases, (Neuman, 1994). There are two approaches to sampling: probability and non-probability sampling. However, with probability sampling every element in the population has known non- zero probability of selection. The best-known form of probability sampling is the simple random form of sampling; with random sampling, each member of the population has an equal probability of being selected. Where, with non-probability sampling, the probability of any particular member of the population being chosen is unknown. The selection is arbitrary and depends largely on the personal judgment. It will be noted that there are no appropriate statistical techniques for measuring random sampling error for non-probability samples. Thus, projecting the data beyond the sample may be statistically inappropriate. For the researcher in this thesis on studying the effectiveness of tourism- marketing strategies in Nepal, the ideal is to go for a random sampling with relatively large sample size but simple. Where, the reality is that the researcher was faced with a number of constraints or problems namely financing, time and full administrative support. These constraints or problems make it very difficult and expensive to get a truly random sample. 7. 6. Data Analysis Approach After data obtaining through questionnaires and personal interviews, the need to be collected, one the data are ready for analysis, the researcher is ready to test the research hypotheses (Sekaran, 2000). The analysis of research data forms the major part of the study. In order to address the initial propositions of the study, different types of methods can be found including examining, categorizing, tabulating, or the otherwise recombining the evidence. The definition of analytical strategy determines the limits of data collection and dissemination of results. In this study on tourism marketing, the data obtained will both qualitative and quantitative in its methodological nature. Therefore, the Microsoft (Ms Excel) and SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) are used for data entry and analysis. The Ms Excel proved to be very useful in creating the indexes for the variables. The questionnaire consisted almost entirely of closed pre-coded questions and some attitude scales. Some demographic questions were not pre-coded like the gender, age, etc. For such questions, appropriate grouping will decide and given numerical values. All the categories will assign numerical values. 7. 7. Conclusion Different types of studies have been classified in terms of the purpose of the research; the process applied the logic behind, and the outcomes of the research. Where he outcome refers to whether the researcher is trying to solve a particular problem or make a general contribution to knowledge. This research through its various methods used, has provided a great deal of detailed information on the discipline of tourism marketing with especial focus on the Nepalese case. The research therefore, will provide a proposal for a strategic framework, which then will help in addressing the tourism issues and solutions for them in order to improve the Nepalese tourism sector. 8. Research Conclusions & Recommendations: Tourism is an interdependent sector. Tourism can provide benefits for both tourists and the host community. By developing an infrastructure and providing recreation facilities, both tourists and local people benefit. Tourism marketing strategies should be developed in a manner that is appropriate to the destination. It should take the culture, history and stage of economic development of the destination into account. Tourism marketing can be a tool to motivate governments to inject more funding in improving infrastructure, especially in the initial stage of tourism development. Many developing countries cannot afford to finance construction internally. Thus, the need for cooperation between public, private and foreign investment becomes essential However, the Nepalese government should play a leading role in the development of the tourism industry, since the private sector may be small. Government involvement should include the provision of resources for marketing research and development, training and an improved services standard; transportation systems and infrastructure development, land zoning and preservation of cultural and environmental assets. In addition, without government involvement in tourism planning and marketing, development of the sector lacks cohesion, direction, and long-term sustainability In the initial stages of tourism development, a great deal of finances is required for tourism infrastructure, facilities and other related services. Furthermore, Planning within tourism marketing is the only possible way to assist achieving organizational objectives and growth as well as improving performance in a fast and ongoing changing tourism market. The next section however, will recommend further policies to validate or succeed this new approach of tourism marketing in Nepal. 8. 1 Tourism Policy Recommendations: Nepal is among several countries, which have introduced tourism as an attractive development option to sustain the national economy which depends heavily on remittance in the last few years. At the national level, it is primarily government responsibility, to formulate a comprehensive tourism strategy based on many strategic elements such as tourism planning and tourism marketing frameworks. However, this strategy would be better implemented through the following recommended policies before transiting them into quantified targets and rates of tourism growth: Policy One: Government’s Commitment & Involvement Government’s commitment is a significant perspective of tourism development. Government usually provides the physical infrastructure necessary for tourism, such as roads, airports and communications. Adequate transportation infrastructure and access, to generating markets is one of the most important prerequisites for the development of any destination. In addition, it can attract both domestic and foreign investment, which will stimulate the economy, in other wards; this means that government involvement in developing countries including Nepal is a necessity especially in the initial stages of tourism development. The industry could not survive without them. Governments have the power to provide the political stability, security and the financial framework which tourism requires. In addition, an adequate budget for funding tourism projects and implementing tourism-marketing plans is an important factor for accomplishing successful tourism growth. Some tourism development plans were prepared to further tourism in the country. However, no implementation of these plans mainly due to insufficient budget, in addition to some other reasons, was a major drawback to accelerate tourism development. Therefore, in order to achieve tourism growth in the country the government’s involvement and commitment becomes essential to overcome any financial problems concerning the development of the tourism sector. Policy Two: Local Community Participation In order to provide the international tourism markets with a value-added touristic product that is economically, socially, environmentally, and culturally viable, the involvement of the community in tourism planning and marketing has become essential. Participation of all tourism stakeholders in tourism marketing, including local communities and indigenous people, during all phases of planning and management is essential, leading to the empowerment of locals, greater transparency and facilitating conflict management. Good tourism marketing plans should involve sharing of ideas between locals and planners. This kind of plan usually fits with communities’ needs and they do not feel that these plans were imposed on them. Local people must be informed about the economic benefits of tourism development through using different means, perhaps through internal marketing and through education and training programmes. Policy Three: Tourism Investment Projects Developing a new tourism-related products or services, require intensified efforts at the initial stages in order to gain an adequate proportion of the international tourism market share and then to maintain this position in the medium to long term. In Nepal, where tourism is viewed as an economic alternative for gaining economic growth, the government should make investment as easy as possible for prospective investors. Consequently, this could lead to an increase in the tourism market share and enable Nepal to compete more effectively. Moreover, sufficient funding and establishing an appropriate atmosphere for investors that might boost confidence among them, is required to encourage local and foreign investment to invest in tourism-related services. In addition, the development of more tourism accommodation such as small and medium-sized hotels, airports, road motels and guest houses to meet the demand of prospective international and domestic tourists at a competitive price and more ” value for-money” facilities could lead to sustainable tourism development and fast marketing promotion of the country as a new tourism destination known worldwide for its attractive sites Policy Four: Tourism Education & Training Education and training is required for enhancing the skills of those working at all levels in the tourism industry, which is critical to its future prosperity. Training should be performed in a wide range of skills, including management; marketing and information technology. The industry needs skilled managers and marketers who are capable of identifying and meeting the needs of international visitors. In addition, there is a need to stimulate the demand for training by both employers and employees in the Nepalese tourism sector. Tourism studying facilities should be provided at School and University levels to produce better educational programmes directed towards planning, developing, management and marketing of tourism in Nepal. Policy Five: Tourism Marketing Activities The need for marketing activities basted on well-designed framework or strategy, which Nepal is currently lacking, represents a core factor for achieving tourism growth in the country. In addition to awareness and knowledge about the Nepalese touristic product and improving the image of Nepal as an attractive tourism destination among international tourist markets, marketing plays a vital role in understanding the needs and desires of the actual and potential tourists It is essential to respond quickly to the continuous changing demand of the international tourists and other external environmental conditions. This could be achieved successfully by offering the country’s touristic products in a more attractive way than its competitors could as well as portraying the diversity of the Nepalese touristic products in terms of society and culture, history and heritage while targeting specific segments related to individual types of activity or pursuit. As a result, regular marketing research becomes essential, particularly in a strongly competitive and fickle tourism market. In a country like Nepal, which entered the international tourism market only a few years ago, there is a crucial need for marketing research, in order to capture adequate information about various tourism market segments. This helps in understanding the attitudes of actual and prospective tourists and keeping up-to-date with their personal needs, wants and desires. However, in order to increase the awareness and image of Nepal as an attractive tourism destination, the researcher proposes the establishment of representing tourism offices abroad in major tourism generating countries (India, China, Sri Lanka, Germany, France, Austria, USA, UK, etc). Policy Six: Tourism Product Diversification Further to policy six discussed above, diversification of the Nepalese tourism products becomes a necessity as modern tourism activity has shown a growing tendency towards it. Keeping pace with the rapidly changing and complex requirements of tourists in a highly competitive international tourism markets and allowing the emergence of new tourism destinations cannot be achieved without tourism product diversification combined with a high standard of tourism services and facilities In fact, the image of Nepal as a tourism destination is entirely based on historical places, mountain and culture. Therefore, the opportunity for diversifying the tourism product exists Nepal can become one of the best jungle safari, mountaineering, trekking and rafting destinations in the world, which requires heavy investment in resorts, hotels and transporting, communication facilities. Moreover, many other tourism resources such as business fairs tourism, treatment tourism, mountain trekking, marine-based activities, rafting, diving, etc, are not fully exploited due to the lack of tourism services which could play a significant role in diversifying the country’s tourism products. Those tourism resources might be helpful for Nepal both in the short and long-term and could create more leisure and construction activities for other cities apart from the capital that may create community well-being and encourage settlement of people in rural areas who would otherwise prefer the urban areas for job finding opportunities Moreover, referring to the international tourists visiting Nepal’s survey, the length of stay of these visitors is relatively short. Therefore, in order to encourage visitors to extent their length of stay, diversification of the tourism products has become a necessity. Other opportunities for visitors to consume can be encouraged by offering intensive tour programmes and preferential treatment for tourists. Since, practices such as; tax-free shopping, convenient payment systems (credit card machines etc), the provision of proper shopping facilities for incoming tourists, and the development of traditional souvenirs and gifts that are warmly received by visitors. Finally, Conferences or convention tourism is a major economic activity in most developed countries. Policy Seven: Sustainable Tourism Development To sustain and enhance to tourism industry in Nepal, continuous improvement is always needed, as the country may face increased demand on its tourism products in the future Whether the Nepalese tourism market will be able to meet and take advantage of this increased demand will depend on how various tourism organisations both public and private cope with the existing tourism problems and take the necessary steps to meet the challenges of the future. 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