The aim of this paper is to explore and illuminate the preliminary impacts of novel coronavirus disease (COVID- 19) in tourism industry of Nepal. The spillover impact of pandemic has been seen in almost every sector globally. Many scholars and practitioners have already started rethinking and researching in different disciplines based on issues regarding COVID-19. Some of the disciplines are International tourism, health sector, international economy, global politics, human civilization, sustainability and so on. The United Nation World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and World Health Organization (WHO) are closely cooperating for understanding the severe impact of escalation of coronavirus on the human health and damage in the world economy as well as tourism sector (UNWTO, 2020). There are uncountable job losses recorded in tourism industry due to stranded traveller’s mobility after many nations including Nepal declared lockdown as a strategy to control the spread of virus Therefore, devastating Airlines, shuttered borders, halt of transportation means and cancellation of rooms in hotels have a vigorous impact on tourism industry than the COVID-19 outbreak itself. It is obvious to experience changes in tourism industry; tourist’s behavior and their reluctance to travel for few years. However, travel of humans for any motives will provide spectrum to tourism mobility. The epidemic has drastically turned into pandemic as the virus has transferred to almost all the nations of the globe without visa so far.

The article aims to measure the impact of novel corona virus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on tourism industry in Nepal. The pause of tourism mobility for months due to an abrupt halt of transportation means; shuttered borders; and stay-at-home orders by government has brought adverse effects on Nepal’s tourism industry and its stakeholders. Likewise, airlines, accommodation, transport operators and other sub-sectors of Nepal are suffering due to international travel bans. There are spillover impacts of the pandemic on the socio-cultural structure, human psychology and global economic system where tourism industry is no exception. The impacts are gradually unfolding. Hence, the study also focuses on the preparedness and response strategy of stakeholders for combating this pandemic which has brought crisis and fear to Nepal’s tourism industry. The research is qualitative in its nature and followed basic/fundamental research type to expand knowledge on this topic which will shed light on the significant impact on the tourism industry in Nepal. The study is based on both primary data collected through interviews with intended stakeholders and the review of several relevant secondary sources.

Natural Calamities are unavoidable events that lead to chaos, crisis and disaster. Nepal faced a disastrous earthquake: 7.8 Richter scale. Being repeatedly analyzed about the vulnerability of earthquake in Nepal, the country seems not prepared enough for the event. The unpreparedness had taken many lives including tangible and intangible values of society and cultural aesthetics. The earthquake has hindered the overall economic, social and environmental aspect. Tourism was one of the major economic backbones for the nation which with the event has barred at least for sometimes. According to the survey conducted on the Tourism Employment by Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) indicates that approximately 138,148 persons were engaged in the tourism sector (National Planning Commission, 2015b: 118). The pre-earthquake data, indicates that 487,500 jobs which would be 3.5 percent of the total employment in Nepal. The number of jobs was expected to rise by 4 percent in 2015 and 3 percent per annum to 681,000 jobs (World Travel and Trade Council, 2015). According to World Health Organization, the epicenter of the earthquake was Barpakh, Gorkha and the magniturde of the earthquake has catastrophic effect on 14 district of Nepal, including Gorkha, Dhading, Rasuwa, Sndhupalchok, Kavre, Nuwakot, Dolakha, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Khaktapur, Ramechap, Sindhuli, Okhaldhunga and Makwanpur districts out of which Dolakha and Sindhupalchok are the most severely affected districts by the second earthquake on 13 May, World Health Organization (WHO, 2015).The Gaze: Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Vol.7 2015 pp.58-86

This paper tries to find out the prospect of pilgrimage tourism at Namo Buddha, Kavre, Nepal. There is found limited academic work on pilgrimage tourism in Nepal; however, no evidence of study could be traced on Namo Buddha that is based on pilgrimage tourism perspective. A pilgrimage is an ancient form of religious travel where people make a journey to the place of their belief for experiencing spirituality. Namo Buddha is one of the sacred Buddhist shrines and important pilgrimage sites for Buddhists as they believe the relics of the previous life of Lord Buddha are kept at Namo Buddha Stūpa. Namo Buddha stūpa is also considered to be one of the holiest stūpas in Nepal including Svayambhu Stūpa (Svayambhu Mahachaitya) and the Bodhnath Stūpa (Khasti Mahachaitya). This stūpa commemorates the Buddha Śakyamuni’s sacrifice of his body to a starving tigress and her cubs in his previous life. Nepali people call this site Namo Buddha, Newars call Namo Buddha as Namura and Tibetans call it as Takmo Lu Jin. The place has a huge potential to attract both Buddhist and Hindu pilgrims including international tourists from all over the world. This place offers other attractions and activities besides pilgrimage-based elements such as sightseeing of heritage town; spectacular Himalayan ranges; paddy field terrains; hilly forests; soft adventures experience; and so on. Religious tourism and pilgrimage tourism are interchangeably used in this study and the paper is based on both the primary and secondary data. Exploratory research has been carried out to examine the religious and economic benefits of pilgrims at this site. It also tried to investigate locals’ perspectives on pilgrimage tourism development. Meanwhile, this paper not only studied prospects of pilgrimage tourism in Namo Buddha but also attempted to find out and highlight how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the destination.

This paper is a preliminary study of the Triple Helix (TH) Model that focuses on understanding the model from different perspectives following secondary research. The methodology used in this study is exploratory and descriptive in nature. Narrative review of previous literatures has been followed to understand the Triple Helix Model. Henry Etzkowitz and Loet Leydesdorff propounded a theory known as Triple Helix in connection with industry, university and government which has become a research hub. The Triple Helix is a spiral model of innovation that captures multiple reciprocal relationships at different points in the process of knowledge capitalization. Therefore, this is going to be popular not only in developed countries but also gradually becoming popular in developing countries. The question comes what is Triple Helix Model? What does the model reflects in the academia? The objective of this study is to understand Triple Helix Model on one side and the evolution of this model including its features on the other. This study examines how the Triple Helix Model has been popularized in the field of academia, industry, and government by focusing on knowledge, innovation, and entrepreneurship through education. This paper includes introduction, methodology, evolution of the Triple Helix Model, routes of the Triple Helix, knowledge production, knowledge and technology transfer, knowledge industries, capitalization of knowledge and innovation, the network society, collaboration, Triple Helix and academia, teaching, learning, and future universities. The Triple Helix Model is a neo-evolutionary model of possible synergies between functions such as wealth creation, knowledge production and government regulations, which are the three helixes.