The Tourism and Economic Status:

A Case Study of Gurung Community

Ghandruk, Kaski, Nepal

The mini research report submitted to the faculty of Sociology as

partial fulfillment of the requirements for BBA 5th Semester

course.

Submitted by

Mamata K.C.

Rabina Maharjan

Roshna Singh

Shristi Pradhan

Sophia Pandey

Thealey Tsetan Gurung

Kathmadu, Nepal

February 11, 2016

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We, the student of BBA 5th Sem. (Sec-A) would like to acknowledge enlightening

experience of Mr.Anup Rai, Teacher of Sociology for providing such an opportunities

to know about the tourism and economic status of Ghandruk in Nepal.

This report has been prepared under the subject Sociology regarding the information

collected from the “Ghandruk Village” that is and has been famous as tourism area.

This report is based on the data collected and from the field visit and the websites. This

report is the combined effort of all group members.

We also want to thank respected principal of the college, Mr. Naresh Prasad Shrestha

for allowing visiting the village. Also, we want to thank respected Program Director,

Mr. Satya Bahadur Shrestha for supporting us. Not only that we would like to thank

the management team of Prime College specially Program Coordinator,Mr. Niyam

Raj Shrestha for their contribution to carry out the practical visit in the market to know

about the economic and social status of Ghandruk Village. We want to thank Lecturer,

Tara Sir for his contribution to carry out the practical visit in the village to know about

the tourism and economic status of Ghandruk. Not only that, we would also like to thank

our guide for the tour Mr. Dil Gurung for guiding us throughout the journey. We would

also like to thank all other members for their contribution while preparing this report.

Finally we ourselves greatly obliged to bring the project to its final destination and bring

the best fact to the readers. So we hope this project will get the due valuation and will be

able to satisfy the queries of the readers.

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Prime College

Khusibu, Nayabazar, Kathmandu

Date: 2/11/2016

LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION

The research entitled “Tourism and Economic Status: A Case Study of Gurung

Community, Ghandruk, Kaski, Nepal” has been conducted under my guidance and

supervision. The research team has successfully completed this work as per the standard

provided. Therefore, I recommend this report for acceptance and final approval.

Mr. Anup Rai

Faculty Member

Prime College

Khusibu, Kathmandu

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Prime College

Khusibu, Nayabazar, Kathmandu

Date: 11th February, 2016

APPROVAL SHEET

This report entitled “Tourism and Economic Status: A Case Study of Gurung

Community, Ghandruk, Kaski, Nepal” has been prepared and presented to the

department of the Prime College.

It has been approved and accepted for the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the

course Sociology, 5th Semester.

Approved on: 2/11/2016

Mr. Satya Bahadur ShresthaProgram Director

Mr. Niyam Raj ShresthaProgram Coordinator

Mr. Anup RaiFaculty Member

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Table of Content

sCHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................1-4

1.1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................1

1.2. RESEARCH PROBLEM......................................................................................2

1.3. OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH...........................................................................2

1.4. METHODS........................................................................................................2-3

1.5. RATIONAL JUSTIFICATION............................................................................4

1.6. ORGANIZATION OF REPORT..........................................................................4

CHAPTER II: DATA INTERPRETATION AND PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS..5-8

2.1. FINDINGS ABOUT GHANDRUK.........................................................................5

2.2. TOURISM IMPACTS...........................................................................................6-7

2.2.1. Impact on Economy.......................................................................................6

2.2.1. Impact on Society.......................................................................................7-8

2.3. ECONOMIC IMPACTS......................................................................................9-13

CHAPTER III: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION.........14-16

3.1. SUMMARY.......................................................................................................................14

3.2. CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................15

3.3. RECOMMENDATION.....................................................................................................16

BIBLOGRAPHY...............................................................................................................17

APPENDICES..............................................................................................................18-20

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Information about Ghandruk.................................................................................5

Table 2: Ethnic Group of Ghandruk, VCD..........................................................................6

Table 3: Occupation of People in Ghandruk Village.........................................................10

Table 4: Caste/Ethnicity and Occupation of the Respondents...........................................10

Table 5: Education Level of Ghandruk People..................................................................11

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Map of Ghandruk

Figure 2: Distribution of Respondents by Caste/Ethnicity

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CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1.1. INTRODUCTION

Ghandruk is a small and well-established village in central Nepal. It is located in the

Annapurna region and is the major village in the Kaski district. It is 45km northwest of

the major town of Pokhara. It is situated at 2,012 meters above sea level. Ghandruk

village has 1142+ households with a population of 5800+ individuals. Electricity in

Ghandruk is supplied by an off-grid micro hydropower plant. This allows the health

centre to sterilize its clinical equipment and the laboratory to handle blood testing and

pathology services.

Ghandruk is a popular tourist destination attracting both local and foreign tourists. In

additional to tourism, the main sources of income are in agriculture and the military.

Ghandruk is located in the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) and was the pioneering

village where the concept of promoting the concept of a conservation area managed

through an integrated conservation and development program was trialed by National

Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC). The concept was a success and the community of

Ghandruk was and continues to be, involved in decision-making in the ACA. Launched

in 1986, Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) is the largest undertaking of

NTNC and also the first conservation area and largest protected area in Nepal. It covers

an area of 7,629 sq km and is home to over 100,000 residents. ACAP practices a multiple

land use method of resource management, combining environmental protection with

sustainable community development and tourism management. ACAP was developed to

manage the pressure being placed on ACA to maintain a balance between economic

development and environmental conservation.

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1.2. RESEARCH PROBLEM

Ghandruk is one of the most favored touristic spots in Nepal. And the impacts of tourism

industry will definitely be huge. Tourism is one of the major sources of income in the

area generating large number of employment opportunities and bringing change in the

living standard of the people. Thus, this research intends to study the very impacts of

tourism in the area and on the lives of local residents of Ghandruk specifically the social

and economic impacts.The questions this research intends to find out are:

What is economic status of Ghandruk?

What are the impacts of tourism in Ghandruk?

What are major sources of income of people?

What are the economic challenges after earthquake and embargo?

What is the role of women towards contribution in economic activities and

tourism?

1.3. OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH

To study socio-economic impacts of tourism in Ghandruk

To know about economic challenges of Ghandruk

1.4. DATA COLLECTION METHODS

1. Sampling

Total Population: Above 5800Total Villages: 13Total No. of Hotels: 33Sample Size: 2 Hotels, 2 Villages and 7 Families

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2. Interview

An interview is a conversation between two or more people where questions are

asked by the interviewer to elicit facts or statements from the interviewee.

Interview with villagers and hotel owners provided us opportunity to get the first

hand data and qualitative information.

3. Observation

We conducted Naturalistic (or nonparticipant) observation which is simply

studying behaviors that occur naturally in natural contexts, unlike the artificial

environment of a controlled laboratory setting.

4. Internet

We browsed various relevant sites and collected all required information. The

links of various sites are provided in References, last page.

1.5. RATIONAL JUSTIFICATION

Doing anything their might arise different problem so as in this research we have got

different problems. Likewise we cannot cover all the fields and get all the information

regarding tourism and economy in Ghandruk. Some of the problem that was been faced

are:

1. They weren't so openly to share the information about the economy of their

family

2. We couldn't collect more information on tourism due to time constraints people

were busy in their daily routine

3. Due to the limited time been spend in Ghandruk we weren't able to retrieve and

know more about their economic conditions

1.6. ORGANIZATION OF REPORT

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CHAPTER II: DATA INTERPRETATION AND

PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS

2.1. FINDINGS ABOUT GHANDRUK

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Ghandruk is a town and Village Development Committee in Kaski District in the

Gandaki Zone of northern-central Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a

population of 4,748 persons living in 1,013 individual households.

Some information about GHANDRUK:

Table 1: Information about Ghandruk ,VCD

Mix. altitude 1,940m.

Weather 11°C, Wind N at 2 km/h, 61% Humidity

Latitude 28.377

Longitude 83.807

Source: Wikipedia

Map of Ghandruk

Figure 1: Map of Ghandruk

Source: Google Map

Table 2: Ethnic Group of Ghandruk ,VCD

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Ethnic Group Percentage

GURUNG 61.95%

KAMI 12.80%

MAGAR 5.71%

SARKI 5.70%

DAMAI 4.71%

BHRAMAN 4.68%

CHHETRI 4.99%

OTHER 0.36%

Source: Hotel Peaceful, Ghandruk

2.2. TOURISM IMPACTSBecause of diverse natural scenery, spectacular snow caped mountains, beautiful forest,

hills and wildlife, Ghandruk has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in

Nepal. The village of Ghandruk is also famous for its interesting culture and tradition that

has also helped Ghandruk to draw a large number of tourists. About 40,000 thousand

tourists visit Ghandruk annually boosting its local economy.

As the number of tourists increased every year, large number of lodges, hotels, campsites

and teashops were built in and around the Ghandruk in order to meet the growing needs

of tourists for fooding and accommodation. There are now fifteen well equipped hotels

including several tea houses and campsites in Ghandruk.

However, there are both positive and negative socio-economic impacts of tourism in

Ghandruk.

First, let’s analyze positive impacts which are:

2.2.1. Impact on Economy The emergence of tourism industry has played a huge role in the upliftment of

economy in Ghandruk.

There are employment opportunities in hotels, as tourist guides, porters, bringing

in foreign remittances, growth in investments in various tourism activities, etc.

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There has been swift change in the occupation of many people from simply

engaging in farming and animal husbandry to running lodge, restaurants, hotels,

working as tourist guides, porters, etc.

Tourism activities are usually limited only during the peak season of the year in

the months of September, October and November which creates economic

problems for destinations that are heavily dependent on it

Tourism has not been a boon for everybody in that village, especially for the local

residents who are not engaged in any tourism activities.

There is economic inequality in the area where rich hoteliers are becoming richer

and poor locals poorer which is clearly visible and evidential when one visits the

area.

2.2.2. Impact on Society With the tourism, although not majorly, but people’s occupation has shifted to

tourism activities from traditional farming, animal husbandry, poultry farming,

etc.

The globalization facilitated by tourism has brought in the facilities of Wi-Fi

internet although only in the hotels and lodges

Tourists have brought hygienic and sanitation improvement among the locals.

There are museums for tourists where the local people have been able to preserve

their traditional dresses, ornaments, household items and pictures of their

ancestors.

However, other than most of positive impacts, there are some negative impacts too. Due

to economic disparity among the rich and poor in the area caused significantly due to

tourism, it has as a direct result, caused social partition between these two groups too.

Although still unaltered, there is a threat on local culture with the flow of tourists from all

over the world, bringing their own culture and life style into the area.

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The flow of tourists in village caused problem of rubbish like toilet paper, tin, bottles and

plastic were commonly found along the trekking trails and campsites that made

environment of Ghandruk more polluted.

Because of worsening situation of Ghandruk, an ecologically sustainable tourism was

introduced in Ghandruk in 1986 with joint effort of Annapurna Conservation Area

Project and people of Ghandruk with an aim to protect nature and improve the local

standards of living through the well managed tourism development.

Today tourism has been second major source of income that supports the half economy of

Ghandruk, with the assistance from ACAP and Ghandruk conservation and lodge

committee a community health center has been established in Ghandruk that provide

medical service to both tourists and Ghandruk people. Except hotel business, the lodge

management committee of Ghandruk in an income generating activities like production

of local crafts which is made from wood and bamboo carpet and woolen blanket poultry

farming and vegetable production to get more and more benefits from tourists.

2.3. ECONOMIC IMPACTS

2.3.1. The Economy of GhandrukEconomic characteristics includes main source of income, property and occupation.

a. Caste/Ethnicity of the Study Population

The study area is one of the famous Gurung community and Gurung culture and tradition

in Nepal. It has been one of the attractions for tourists as well. So, one can easily say that

the dominant population of Ghandruk is Gurung.

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Figure 2: Distribution of Respondents by Caste/Ethnicity

75%

9%

12%4%

gurungbrahmin / chettridalitothers

Source:

Fig. showed that the highest percent of respondents were Gurung i.e. 75 percent and the

least were others which includes Rai, Magar, and Tamang.

b. Occupation

The occupational status of the people determines their living standard because it is

integral part of economic structure. Tourism causes to make various occupations and

economic resources. More specially it leads to job opportunities for those who are not

skilled for better occupations and reduces the village's dependence to agriculture by

enhancing village economic in different aspects.

Table 3: Occupation of People in Ghandruk Village

Occupation Percent

Agriculture 48

Business 15

Government service 5

Hotel service 21

Pension 2

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Provision shop 3

Tea shop 6

Total 100

Source:

The above table showed that most of the respondents' occupation was agriculture i.e. 48

percent and hotel service was 21 percent, business was 15 percent. It was also found that

2 percent of respondents were found that they are retired army and do not do any

occupation. They are only depending on their pension for their livelihood.

c. Caste/Ethnicity and Occupation of the Respondents

Nowadays, the recruitment of young Gurung boys from Ghandruk in the British and the

Indian army declines, the growing tourism activities in Ghandruk have help boost the

village economy and changed the profession. With the increase in the number of trekkers

to the Annapurna Base Camp, the number of lodges/resorts in Ghandruk VDC has gone

up. More Gurung boys are finding employment as hotel owners. Jobs like pottering and

guides are mainly performed by low caste people who live in the village.

Table 4: Caste/Ethnicity and Occupation of the Respondents

Caste of the

Respondents

Profession of the Respondents (%)

Agriculture Business Government Service

Gurung 31 38 6

Bhrahmin/ Chhetri 1 8 -

Dalit 10 2 1

Others 2 - -

Table presented that the highest number of caste were Gurung, among them 31 percent

respondents occupation was agriculture, 38 percent engaged in business. Similarly, Dalits

were following caste after Gurung. In the research, 13 percent respondents' occupation

was agriculture, government service, hotel service, provision shop, tea shop occupation

were only 1 percent each

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d. Education Level

The development of nation depends on the development of education because it can help

attain high social and economic status. The qualified manpower can be enhanced owing

to educational development. The educational status of the study area is presented in the

following table.

Table 5: Education Level of Ghandruk People

Education Level Percent

Illiterate 7

Primary Level 39

Lower Secondary Level 12

Secondary Level 32

Higher Secondary Level 7

Bachelor Level 3

Total 100

Source:

Table showed that the highest percent of respondents were secondary level i.e. 32 percent

and the least is Bachelor level which is only 3 percent and illiterate percent were 7.

During the field it is found that the elderly people household heads were illiterate

e. Main Source of Livelihood

Tourism diversifies the sources of livelihood in host community. As there are many

sources of livelihood in community this study tried to find out the sources of livelihood in

the respondents family. The following sources of livelihood has been listed in

questionnaire and ranked them according to their level of income from the given sources

which is presented below:

Agriculture

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Livestock farming is one of the traditional occupations in Ghandruk. Most of the

households have a buffalo, cow, chicken, for the family purpose. Very few of

them sell them to hotels to get economic benefit from it. Mules are mostly used to

carry loads up and down the village.

We have also found varieties of vegetables are grown there. However, they are

not sufficient to feed them and very few of them sell and get economic benefit.

Some crops grown there are maize, millet, paddy, wheat, potato, cabbage, tomato,

cauliflower, rai sag, milk and milk products, local alcohol, etc.

Aside from vegetables, other food items, including eggs, biscuits, cold drinks and

beer are obtained from Pokhara. These food items are used in the

lodges/restaurants for tourists in addition to cereals procured from local sources.

Hotel/ retail shop/petty business/home stay

There are 33 hotels in Ghandruk. Most of the tourists are from Norway, USA,

China, Japan and India. Local tourists are also increasing every year. Along with

development of tourism in Ghandruk both positive and negative outcomes of

tourism were viewed in the society. As a positive impact, it brought significant

change in the living standard of Ghandrukes by offering them an income

generating opportunities through tourism business. Such as running guest houses,

lodges, and tea houses etc. that helped them to raise their standard of living. On

the other hand, occurrences of people meeting with tourists led to transformation

of Ghandruk culture in to visitor’s culture to some extent.

Abroad employed

Ghandruk is home to thousands of British and Indian Gurkhas either serving or

retired as well as war veterans who fought valiantly on numerous wars abroad.

Although there are good economic opportunities in the village, the younger

peoples prefer to go outside the village or abroad in search of employment for

easy and better life.

Service (government/private)

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Some of them are involved in teaching in the schools of Ghandruk.

Agro/forest/local product selling

There is a traditional costumes and jewelry center where visitors can dress up in

a traditional Gurung style and take photographs with a hiring cost. They have

also established a small scale cottage industry. This cottage industry is gradually

picking-up and growing up in Ghandruk. They weave carpet, blanket etc. and sell

to the visitors

Wage labor

More Gurung boys are finding employment as guide whereas the low caste people

living in the village are porters. Some women also work at the canteen of the

school. The lodges are run by family members from the village. Low employment

in the lodges is mainly due to the shortage of labour in Ghandruk.

In conclusion most of the people in this area are involved in agriculture however it is not

only the main source livelihood in the household. Thus abroad employment and hotel

service is the main source of livelihood in the study area.

CHAPTER III: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND

RECOMMENDATION

3.1 SUMMARY

Ghandruk is a beautiful place with magnificent natural scenic beauty and a distinctive

Gurung culture that thrives in this small village still in its typical unaltered form. It is

considered among one of the most preferred touristic areas in Nepal.A study on 'tourism

and economy of local people of Ghandruk had been caused out in Ghandruk VDC of

Kaski district. The objectives of the study were to examine socio-economic impact of

tourism on local livelihood, assess tourism related activities and natural resource and

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environmental management and to assess the role of stake holder institutions in the study

area. The study was conducted both tourism entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs to find

the actual impact of tourism. Primary data collection tool was emphasized through the

verbal questionnaire schedule. For the study purpose simple random sampling and

purposive sampling has been used. The nature of research was descriptive and both

qualitative and quantitative methods were used. This study analyzed the three major

component of tourism. They are social, economic and environmental.

4.2 CONCLUSION

There have been several positive impacts brought by tourism in terms of growth in

employment opportunities, increase in foreign remittances, self-sustainable investments,

etc. in village of Ghandruk. The forces of change are many and varied; tourism is just one

of them. Due to the keen interest of the visiting tourists in the local Gurung culture in the

village, people have been more than delightful to preserve their culture and tradition and

language not only to thrive their distinctiveness but also as a major attraction to the

tourists and source of income. Besides, people have been more connected to the outer

world, through the exchange of their culture, the lifestyles, with the tourist flowing in

from different parts of the world. The living standard has been enhanced to some extent.

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The co-operation between stakeholder institutions and local people has been able to

manage the wastes and reduce the excessive use of forest products by promoting

alternative source of energy. On the other hand, in socio-economic perspective tourism

has generated various sources of livelihood however the main source of livelihood among

the respondents were abroad employment and agriculture was subsistence. Tourism has

brought changes in the facilities like health post, trekking route and provided

opportunities to learn second language, change in profession and in education level. The

negative impact due to tourism is hike in price it is because tourist can pay more which

has made excessive expensive to local people. In case of Ghandruk, tourism has been

majorly benefitting only one group of people that is the hotel owners. The economic

benefit from tourism was only to the tourism entrepreneurs where non-local were

employed rather than local ones.

3.3 RECOMMENDATION

Ghandruk is one of the attractive tourist's destinations in Nepal which lies on the famous

ABC trekking route (sanctuary trek). This study tried to analyze the tourism on socio-

economic condition. It has been found that agriculture was mostly subsistence. The

economic linkage between tourism and agriculture sector was poor. And one can easily

say the area of socio-economic and environment is very large. Therefore, the study has

limitations of not covering the overall area of socio-economic and environment. It would

be better to encourage and train the farmer to grow the vegetables and other crops which

has more demand in tourism sector. The local poor and disadvantaged groups have less

economic benefit from tourism so it would be better to make equal sharing of economic

benefit plans and programs.

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Recommendation for the village of Ghandruk:

Creation of two markets:

One for the tourists and another for the local villagers

In order to eliminate the economic inequality brought in by tourism and

for equal utilization of resources

Utilization and best mobilization of culture for both cultural thriving and source

of income.

Making equal share of economic benefit plans and programs even to

disadvantaged group

Recommendation for the college:

College could conduct meeting with the leaders of the groups prior to the tour to

discuss on the interests and expectations of the students

BIBLOGRAPHY

The Editor. (2010, October 19). Bistream. Retrieved from

http:/182.93.84.134:9991/Pucl/Bistream/

123456789/27/1Gurung_Dashmi.pdf

Wikipedia

Google Map

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APPENDICES

Ethnicity: DalitOccupation: Animal Husbandry

Ethnicity: GurungOccupation: Agriculture, Animal Husbandry

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Ethnicity: GurungOccupation: Canteen Helper, Teacher

Ethnicity: GurungOccupation: Agriculture

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Ethnicity: GurungOccupation: Owner of Peaceful Hotel

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