The Extravagant inauguration of Nepal Tourism Year (NTY)- 2011 on 14th January marked the beginning of a yearlong campaign aimed at attracting one million international tourists to Nepal. A well orchestrated mega event was surely a source of new hope for the Nepalis who for years were devoid of any optimistic gesture from our sullen political leadership.

But NTY is not politics, it is the pure business. This is the fact which our politicians put on the backburner once again. Millions of rupees were spent to choreograph the parades, paragliders and political speeches at the Dashrath Stadium of Kathmandu. But the link between the event held in the capital and sublime purpose of attracting one million  tourist was apparently missing, to say the least. According to the sources in Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, the inauguration ceremony alone cost about Rs 25 million to the state exchequer. But no one involved in the feast is probably able to establish how  a single Nepal bound international tourist would be influenced by this event.

Instead, had the visionaries of NTY  2011 spent the amount  Rs one million each for 25 potentially tourist originating countries for example for international promotion of Nepal as the most fascinating destination, the impact would have been certainly more productive. The flaw could be dismissed as all the public sector decisions are like that. But here, our private sector leaders are boasting to be the managers of the entire activities; in that case, it is also the failure of the private sector.

Not only the inauguration ceremony of NY  2011 was marred by Nepal's inward looking flaws, the campaign and promotion planning for the entire event appears ad-hoc. Hiccups like the government's failure to release the budget it committed were already there. But in more serious note, the steering committee did not bother to mobilise diplomatic channels to promote NTY. The greatest testimony to it was, the USA issued adverse travel advisory to its citizens not to visit Nepal, on the very eve of the inauguration.

The complaints of the sector like sports on their exclusion is also valid, as claimed, they could have developed products of sports and other sector tourism. Regardless of anything that went right or wrong, the NTY has already begun. Therefore, the remaining period of time and resources must be used purposefully, unlike the way it was done for the inauguration.