“Nepal! It is a Beautiful country, I would really love to go hiking there someday” – a young Austrian excitingly told us after taking our picture in front of a beautiful valley in Interlaken, Switzerland. This was the third person that we met in the interim of two hours upon entering Switzerland, who had expressed so much interest in visiting Nepal. Just in the airplane on our flight from Amsterdam to Zurich, we had also chatted with a lovely Norwegian couple who had lived in Nepal for almost 33 years. To top it all off, even the gentleman at the passport control in Zurich International Airport seemed to know about the current political situation of Nepal and hoped for Peace.
I should explain. By sheer good fortune, I happened to be in Europe for a brief tour with my husband. They say that travel broadens the mind and challenges our preconceptions. My husband and I were uniformly engaged and even enchanted by our travels. Switzerland is a beautiful country with Alps, lakes and valleys, so green and so much like Nepal. A very developed Nepal with more educated citizens, I would say. Driving in Bern felt like driving in Chitwan. Gallivanting around Europe was very exciting, but more importantly, I was very impressed by the Europeans goodwill for Nepal. Every time we would ask someone to take our picture, our friendly conversation would end with the cheerful statement - “I will definitely visit your country someday”.
I got my high school education at an International School in Tokyo. Interacting with students from various nationalities made me realize the uniqueness of Nepal. I thoroughly enjoyed learning and discussing the cultures of the world. However, I was a bit saddened when I started my college in the United States. It was quite a daunting experience. To my American friends, the meaning of traveling was flying to the far east or to the far west of the United States. My Nepali and Japanese experiences would leave them in total amazement.
Nepal’s name was often mistaken for Naples in Italy. When I attempted to explain by saying “Mount Everest”- I would get the oft-quoted remark - “Isn’t that in Denver, Colorado?” which no doubt induced cries of indignation. Pause a moment to consider what this means. There were times when I used to sympathize or get disappointed by such remarks. But soon, I started getting used to it. It is quite heartbreaking when you do your best to follow the Western world and find out that to many here, your country does not even exist.
In stark contrast to this, my experience in England, Switzerland, France, Spain and Italy was very positive. My first encounter with the Norwegian couple gave me good vibes about Europe. On the whole trip, I was neither mistaken for being an Indian/Pakistani nor confused for coming from Naples, Italy. I was recognized for my genuine identity. I could freely talk about Nepal without having to explain its geographical location. The recent political events in Nepal had brought her more attention then ever before. This political upheaval was making many Europeans concerned for Nepal. They hoped for the quick return of peace and prosperity to our country.
I was extremely delighted to see this positive opinion of Nepal amongst the Europeans. This is certainly a very good sign. We can harness on this good image to increase our tourism business substantially. Our tourist industry is going through a slump and it is the right time to aggressively market Nepal as a “safe and beautiful tourism destination”. Nepali entrepreneurs should realize that Europe is a good market with significant good will. A marketing campaign similar to “Visit Nepal” should be launched again. With such efforts, Nepal will once again regain its popularity as a premier tourist destination.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
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2 comments:
Namaste!
Your blog "The Goodwill for Nepal in Europe" made me even more proud of being Nepali. It's very interesting to read your experience in Europe and I am pretty optimistic that someday our country Nepal will also be like developed Switzerland.
I totally agree that it's high time our tourism industry should initiate some worldwide marketing campaign like "Visit Nepal 98" to promote tourism industry. And guess what I am referring your blog to those I know who are currently in Tourism entrepreneur.
Thank you for sharing and thank you for those positive vibe you spread. Have a nice day :)
That's great to hear of your experience in Europe. Living in Italy for many years, very few Italians knew or had heard of Italy. Same was true for most Western Europeans we met, although the Germans and Swiss seem to be quite familiar with Nepal most likely because they are very interested in mountaineering.
I find your comments on Americans reaction to Nepal to be different from my own experience. I went to a private liberal arts college that was very international, and where most of the American students had themselves lived abroad at some point- all these Americans definitely knew of Nepal. Now I live in New York City, and everyone has passing familiarity with Nepal as well. You meet the odd person who has been there, but otherwise most people have heard of it or have a friend's friend whose been there. I think it is unfair to generalise on the ignorance of Americans. It just depends on where in the US you are. Most likely the deep South or rural areas will be unfamiliar with the outside world, but that's true for any country. Go to the countryside of England and most people are as naive as those in rural America. Go to NYC or DC and people are far more cosmopolitan. Don't you agree?
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