The impact of tourism on urban renewal through stakeholders’ perspective: A case of post-earthquake urban renewal in Kathmandu Valley in the wake of COVID 19

Abstract

In an increasingly urbanized world, there is a growing awareness of the impact of disasters in urban environments and of the complex challenges in rebuilding urban areas following large-scale disasters (Daly, et al., 2017). A magnitude 7.8 earthquake and its subsequent aftershocks struck Nepal almost seven years ago on April 25, 2015, triggering a huge humanitarian disaster. The earthquake caused significant socioeconomic destruction, from which the country is yet to recover. The initial years of post-earthquake rehabilitation were slow; eventually, it picked up speed and accomplished some important reconstruction in historic sites. However, not all locations received the same amount of attention. Currently, with the covid-19 outbreak, Nepal is engulfed in yet another unprecedented crisis. The purpose of this study is to recognize the effect of tourism on urban renewal projects before and after covid and analyze the impact of covid-19 pandemic on post-earthquake urban renewal efforts in historical commercial areas of Kathmandu Valley. Tourism has been one of the driving forces for the urban renewal efforts in Nepal, but the epidemic has caused the industry to collapse. Today, as the country continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic, all the urban renewal works has been halted and there is hardly any tourist in the country. Now, the dilemma is whether the country should continue to chase tourist arrival numbers and yearly foreign currency profits or strive to shift the focus to something other than tourism in order to continue the urban renewal works. For making the entire system more transparent qualitative system mapping is used in the research. The research will be qualitative explanatory type. Case study research will be conducted at a historical commercial area of Kathmandu Valley centering Kathmandu Durbar Square. As part of a case study in Kathmandu valley, expert interviews, qualitative data analysis and system mapping will be conducted. The primary data for this research will be collected by semi structured interviews with the stakeholders and other relatable personnel. Using these data, a new approach to system mapping with be developed which will serve as a foundation for future strategy implementation and emphasize the importance of understanding the influence of covid on urban renewal and tourism in Kathmandu. Lastly, the outcomes of this research will provide useful knowledge and solutions to key stakeholders, allowing them to make wise decisions for the future of urban renewal and Nepal tourism in the light of covid 19.