David Simmons is Professor of Tourism at Lincoln University in New Zealand where many of Nepal's foremost conservationists were trained since the 1970s. He is delivering a keynote address to the Special Interest Tourism and Destination Management Conference on Friday in Kathmandu. Nepali Times caught up with him to assess Nepal's tourism challenges.

Nepali Times: As a professor of tourism who knows Nepal well, how do you assess efforts that have gone into Nepal Tourism Year?
David Simmons: Nepal Tourism Year is a wonderful innovation and such opportunities are keenly sought after on the international tourism agenda.

So far Nepal's promotions,(and the conference we are attending, appear to be proceeding very well. Such broad, image raising opportunities are best located within long term programs and hopefully this year will be part of
a long term promotion strategy. Political stability is significant in providing a secure platform for tourism development, and the remarkable resilience of visitor numbers in the recent past. Strikes like the one on Wednesday don't help.

Nepal's achievements in promoting eco-tourism in the Himalaya is seen as a model, but our mountain regions are being transformed by road-building and development. How can projects like ACAP, Sagarmatha and Makalu-Barun meet these new challenges?
Tourism is one of many paths to development, and it certainly not a reason to 'hold back' other modes of development. And of course, in all places, but mountain areas in particular, the protection and enhancement of the
environmental resources is the foundation for all that follows. A tourism destination and its attractions need constant innovation in product development as developments occur. For example in the case of the Jomson road which I last visited in 2009, the long walk across Throng La can now be augmented by mountain bike opportunities along the road, so villages are still visited and able to offer hospitality to the passing visitor.

New visitors will arrive by jeep and other transport while being less adventurous than past visitors they might enjoy cultural opportunities and farm /village visits such as to the apple growing areas around Jomsom.

There are also new niche markets such as bird-watching which is already a significant global market. What the locals think of as ordinary often has high appeal to the outsider. It is a perennial tussle between the need protect nature areas and the need to raise living standards, isn't it? The poorest regions in Nepal are also the most scenic, what kind of policy priorities will help the two go hand-in-hand?

AVIA NEPAL

Nepal has a great deal to offer in tourism, bio-diversity and a variety of ways to raise living standards. There are two or three key principles of tourism that underscore successful long term development. The first of these, as stated above, is that protection of the key resource the environment and local cultures. The second is to actively explore the ways
in which local goods and services, and value added activities can be added into the 'supply chain'. For example many trekking routes follow major valleys, but do they support adjacent villages with purchases of regular supplies for the tourism sector? This is a key step to balancing the local and regional effects of tourism. The wonderful apple treats around Marpha and Jomsom are a great example of this. A third key principle is to invest in training and education. Tourism is labour hungry, and even if local capital is insufficient to meet all development requirements a direct path into the economy is via local wages. After all, local employees are more likely purchase traditional goods and services and directly assist the local economy.

You have studied the energy implications of international tourism, what are ways that tourists visiting Nepal can make sure that the carbon they burn getting from, let's say, London to Lukla doesn't contribute to further melting the Imja Glacier?
My conference paper is highlighting the relative competitive advantage that Nepal currently has in trekking tourism. Compared with other major trekking locations, such as New Zealand, it is closer to markets, and has a lower per day, in-country energy profile. Thus Nepal can promote such attributes to the increasingly carbon sensitive tourism market.

Globally there is now considerable focus on the energy/ carbon content of all that we do, and tourism is no exception. Unfortunately the more tourism (including travel to and from far clung destinations) is examined the more energy intensive tourism has been revealed to be. While the aviation industry is well engaged with this challenge there are few ground breaking solutions on the horizon. This in turn is most problematic for the least developed countries, far from source countries, which only receive 1.2 percent of global international arrivals. Nepal will need to be active in the political debate around reconciling aviation and tourism within the Millennium Development Goals, maintain its position as a low energy destination, seek value added opportunities at every point, and possibly develop carbon offsetting opportunities that allow tourists to travel guilt free. These would also generate great benefits for local
conservation projects.

New Zealand, and especially Lincoln University, have been helping build Nepali expertise in tourism and conservation since the seventies. Are there plans to extend this cooperation in coming years?
We have enjoyed a wonderful relationship with many young Nepali men and women; and the University takes considerable pride in the numerous roles they now fulfil in Nepali society. Our graduates hold many senior
positions in the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, numerous protected areas, WWF, Bird Conservation Nepal, the Department of Home Affairs and others. In more recent times we have been able to broaden our
focus to include agriculture, community forestry and tourism. Today the University is a strong supporter of the Mingma Norbu Sherpa Memorial Scholarship which pays the University fees for one young Nepali each year
to undertake postgraduate studies at the University. Part of our current visit is to explore research partnerships with international donors and local organisations to understand better the climate change impacts on Protected Areas and their communities.

What are some elements of New Zealand's own tourism promotion that Nepal could learn from?
New Zealand has been hailed as a world leader in tourism promotion. Many years ago they formed the idea of "100%Pure" as the brand line, which has served the product very well. The challenge has been to ensure that this is delivered at every aspect in the supply chain. Our government has been a heavy investor in information systems (i-sites), national parks and protected areas, research and monitoring which are all important in delivering quality for the tourist at each step of the visitor experience.