STLRP provided short-term employment to nearly 6,000 tourism workers and helped build and renovate 19 hiking routes, 15 kilometres of cycling tracks, 132 kilometres of foot trails, six tourist shelters and 18 wooden bridges. The project had been implemented in partnerships with 38 local levels of 23 districts.
With the motive of employing the tourism workers and also cleaning heritage sites and also in aim of promoting the different destinations, the Nepal Association of Tour & Travel Agents (NATTA) in collaboration with the Nepal Tourism Board and the United Nations Development Program initiated the short-term employment work for tourism worker’s associated in the chosen destinations where around 20-30 workers had been involved in the sites. NATTA had completed the Sustainable Tourism and Recovery Project in eight destinations. The project employed more than 300 tourism workers in different destinations for around 10 days in various infrastructure development, cleaning and maintenance programmes.
The Project had been a success due to the good efforts of workers, coordination of concerned local offices and NATTA’s coordination and the project has given some crucial outcomes and learnings to all the people who were directly and indirectly connected with this project. Because of this many people received short-term employment who are related to the tourism sector such as porters, tourist guides, mountain guides and hotel workers; whose source of income was affected due to the pandemic. On the other hand, the selected areas of the project have become cleaner, more accessible and more approachable than before.
The program started from Shobha Bhagwati on 11 November 2021 and ended with the destination Chandragiri with the enthusiastic performance of the workers.
NATTA had joined hands with the local organizations for the implementation of the project. Shobhagwati, Shantidham, Swoyambhu, Kathmandu Durbar Square, Doleshwor Mahadev, Panchudhara Mai Temple, Patan Durbar Square and Chandragiri were the destinations chosen for the cleaning of the sites.
The tourism sector had supported more than 1 million jobs directly and indirectly, and the numbers would have been increased, had not been the COVID pandemic situation, as currently, many hotels, resorts, airlines and travel and trekking companies have been forced to shut down.
As such, to assist in the rehabilitation of the tourism sector, Sustainable Tourism for Livelihood Recovery Project (STLRP) has been established, which is a joint collaborative project by the Nepal Tourism Board and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
NATTA signed an MOU with NTB and STRLP to involve more than 300 tourism workers associated with travel and tours for short term employment opportunities by involving them in construction and rehabilitation of tourism infrastructure, cultural heritage sites and cleaning, upgrading of trekking routes, hiking routes, installation of waste management bins, renovation of bridges and drainage, stone stairs renovation, signage installation/maintenance, clearing landslides/mudslides, plantation etc. NATTA has channelized its offices in all seven provinces to involve the most vulnerable tourism worker for short-term employment opportunities to address their immediate need for employment and support to enhance their livelihoods as tourism workers.
NATTA had sent a circular to its members to call the workers for the project. From the collected names, NATTA assigned them to the designated sites with the coordination of local communities and government bodies. The tourism workers work for 4 months with regular remuneration. On behalf of NATTA, the overall STLRP project is coordinated by Joint Treasurer Ms. Yubika Bhandari.
Representatives of the different sector along with NTB and UNDP has praised the work being done by NATTA for the tourism sector.