Nepal’s Economy - Nepal - page 82

afford the luxury of international leisure activities. All tourism,
however, brings in much-needed foreign currency. Unfortu-
nately, Nepal's tourist sector still lacks the capacity to accom-
modate large-scale luxury tourism. Most tourists are limited to
climbing, hiking, visiting villages, and observing customs, all
with a minimum amount of traditional service offerings. Thus,
tourists do not have an opportunity to spend larger sums of
money as they no doubt would do elsewhere.
During the past decade, Nepal's attempts to increase its
visibility as a major tourist destination have been thwarted.
Political upheaval related to the Maoist uprising was par-
tially to blame. The lack of foreign investments designed to
promote the development of tourist facilities also hindered
growth in this sector of the economy. Following the end of
the conflict, conditions have begun to improve. Since 2006,
international arrivals, supported particularly from Europe
and East Asia, have increased by about 25 percent. Today,
the number of visitors is approaching a half million each
year. Tourism employs about 250,000 people and has become
Nepal's third-largest source of revenue.
LABOR AND TRADE
Economic accomplishments cannot occur without a skillful
and well-educated workforce. Nepal's economy is in desperate
need of a better-trained labor pool. This situation is common-
place within LDCsﾭthe transition from a “jack-of-all-trades,
master-of-none” folk culture and traditional economy to the
demands of a contemporary economy is huge. In the modern
world, one must be able to read and write to be successful, yet
fewer than half of all Nepalese are literate. New skills must be
learned, and new attitudes toward wealth and its accumulation
must be developed. Such changes often take many generations
to accomplish successfully.
Young people, in particular, are challenged by the transi-
tion from folk to contemporary popular culture. Today, they