50,000 tourist on special one-year visa Pilot
By: Sunil C. Sharma
Tags: Digitalnomad, Nepalnow, Digitalnomadvisa, Covid 19 Crisis, Nepal

A tourist walking over a suspension bridge in Pokhara

Alright, here is an Idea-

It needs a greater Nepali tourism fraternity consensus and debate, and if the idea is found worthy, then we need to push the agenda with Herculean effort to the Government of Nepal.

Yes, you guessed it right, as the title says, we would like the government of Nepal to kick start a campaign to allow 50,000 tourists up to a year to stay in Nepal and engage in knowledge-based activities, in another word “Digital Nomading.” If the program is successful, then the GON could extend the program to more comfortable numbers in the future.

Bunch of local women crossing a river

Who are Digital Nomads?

People who work independently not attached to any locations are considered Digital Nomads. All they need is a good internet connection and they will RocknRoll.

Is Nepal a good destination for Digital Nomads?

Nepal has all the ingredients to lure Digital nomads to live and work remotely on their project where ever they may be. There are many cities, and even the hill stations in Nepal offer good internet connection and adequate power supply. Locations such as Kathmandu, Pokhara, Nagarkot, Dhankuta, Ilam, Butwal, and Chitwan are among the towns which could attract and inspire Digital Nomads to make their temporary homes. We have very favourable weather conditions in our towns and cities with excellent food culture. Our towns have excellent broadband connections and 4G networks which tick the first box. During the current lockdown, about 2000 of stranded visitors petitioned to the Nepal government to extend their visas so that they could stay on in Nepal until the COVID-19 crisis subsides. They would rather stay in Nepal than get repatriated to their own countries. This shows that visitors are interested in coming to live in Nepal even during a pandemic like COVID-19. All we have to do is regulate this further with a thoroughly designed program which brings values to the local economy and boosts cultural ties between the people of the World. Our youths will get more opportunities collaborating with the Digital Nomads, and they could bring invaluable expertise and network.

Why this? Why now?

Every country in the world is facing a dilemma to whether to start inbound tourism or not. Potential travellers are also facing similar difficulties on how to choose a safer destination for their next travel trip. Every country has shut its borders for an indefinite time. Few of the very efficient and forward-looking countries have begun to open their borders for tourism. If we remain optimistic, the world could see the rebound of travel sometime in the second half of 2021, albeit not in the same level as pre-COVID days. So Nepal must develop a flagship program which lends immediate traction to the crumbled tourism industry and can differentiate itself from likely intense competition from other destinations flushed with marketing dollars for the same tourism pie when the situation normalizes.

Tourists exploring Thamel

How to do it?

The answer is in the air-

Create an all-online process to receive the application from interested visitors with details of their intention and purposes to stay in Nepal for up to a year. The government can collect all pertinent data regarding the applicant, including personal, financial, professional and educational. The magic is not to ask a ton of ridiculous questions but enough to justify their intention to come to Nepal to stay for a year. More importantly, we can ask them how they intend to contribute to the local economy. Their contributions will go directly to the local economy anyway. For example, they will be renting a room or a home; they will be buying local produce or service such as laundry, bicycle rental or eating at a local coffee shop in the neighbourhood. So the government can rest assured that there will be opportunities created for the locals. Imagine, the local population getting a continuous flow of income for a year. This will bring economic activities to the heartlands to benefit the local populations.

We could charge a small online processing fee of US$25 for application. A year’s special visa could be granted further at US$365. Proof of financial support to last a year could also be put in place as a pre-condition for granting the visa.

Local handicraft store in Thamel

How do we monitor them? How do we serve them?

Monitoring them is easier than you think. As the visitors will be entering with a particular visa category, all prerequisite technical monitoring infrastructure and processes can be associated with it. Such as having them report online periodically to update authorities on their whereabouts with a video call and online biometric check-ins. This should satisfy both parties of their comfort level and safety for contact tracing in the times of emergencies. Every visitor can be provided with a mandatory local SIM card for contact tracing and monitoring. This phone number becomes their TemporaryID while in Nepal. An App could be developed to serve the visitors with all e-government services and payments of visa, trekking permit and entrance fees to national parks and attractions. The App could be linked with the local payment gateways for carrying out e-purchases of groceries and other merchandises at the partnering outlets. They could apply for trekking permits, rafting permits, and other agency permits all through the App.

Locals walk the narrow street of Thahiti, Thamel

Orientation Program (This should create a ton of local job opportunities)

Pre-arrival

We provide them with industry contacts for rental of accommodations, businesses, and what to expect.

Upon arrival

Once they land in the country, we provide them with orientation on various topics such as culture, Nepali values, safety and code of conduct. Provide them liaison point contacts.

If they arrive during active COVID period, a mandatory PCR test and a hotel quarantine could be put in place.

Pre-departure

Collect feedback and take stock of their engagement details. Collect recommendations.

Marketing and publicity value

Imagine having 50000 foreign visitors living in Nepal post-COVID who are constantly chatting with the world how it is like living in Nepal under a unique visa program offered by the Government of Nepal. Priceless!