Marketing Nepal in an uncertain climate: Confronting perceptions of risk and insecurity

Abstract

Tourism is a significant foreign currency earner for Nepal and during the 1990s its tourism industry enjoyed an unprecedented period of growth. During 2001-2002, however, international arrivals fell by over 20 per cent in the wake of a highly publicised airline hijacking in 1999, a series of internal political crises culminating in a declaration of a state of emergency in 2001 and the aftermath of 11th September. This paper discusses the damaging consequences of the resultant media coverage of Nepal as an unsafe destination and examines how the Nepal Tourism Board is currently addressing the image challenge.