Incoming Nepalese prime minister Balendra Shah, a former rapper known as “Balen”, could signal an optimistic era for tourism development across the country after recent violent demonstrations last year.
The large-scale anti-corruption protests and demonstrations took place across Nepal, organised by Generation Z students and younger citizens, motivated by the public’s frustration with corruption and display of wealth by government officials and their families, as well as allegations of mismanagement of public funds.
After recent elections, “Balen”, a former mayor of Kathmandu and leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is now on the brink of becoming Nepal’s youngest leader.
Indicating in his party’s manifesto that tourism is an important agenda item, Balen and the RSP look set to achieve an historic victory with more seats voted in than any party in Nepal’s history.
Launched in 2018, the Community Homestay Network social enterprise has welcomed Balen’s appointment and his party’s ambitions for tourism, as it released its 2025 annual report this week.
The report examines the community tourism pioneer’s successes and the positive impact tourism has had for local people over the course of the past year, looking forward to future ambitions.
Founder of Community Homestay Network, Shiva Dhakal, said the election result is encouraging, and he hoped for further investment in, and support of, responsible tourism in Nepal, such as the work being undertaken by his team as showcased in the report.
“Balen’s nurturing of culture and heritage, and focus on visitor experience as Mayor of Kathmandu, combined with his strong social impact stance as expressed through his career in music, strongly align with our mission and values at Community Homestay Network,” he said.
“Our annual report is a timely demonstration of how community tourism empowers women, preserves culture, and spreads wealth to lesser-known parts of the country. This election result gives us hope that our trajectory of lifting up local people and inspiring them to become tourism entrepreneurs will continue.
“The RSP’s manifesto is clear in its commitment to increasing visitor numbers, and improving aviation connectivity and tourism infrastructure. We look forward to a strengthened commitment to responsible community tourism, supported by conducive business environments and enabling policies. With the government leaning toward promoting rural tourism, such as the regions Community Homestay Network has been actively working to open up to the tourism supply chain, we see a positive outlook for creating job opportunities, safeguarding local culture, and boosting entrepreneurship at the rural level.
“It’s also exciting to see the RSP express its desire to strengthen Nepal’s cultural identity, particularly through gastronomy. Nepal has typically been marketed synonymously with mountains and hiking, which are obviously magnificent and important drivers of tourism, however there is so much more for travellers to see and do in terms of art, wellness, food, spiritually and culture,” says Dhakal.
Community Homestay Network operates a community-led tourism model across rural, semi-urban, and urban Nepal, working with 51 communities, 408 households, and benefiting around 2,000 people through homestays and locally led experiences.
The year brought notable recognition, including the Gender Equality Champion of the Year Award (Accommodation), ICRT awards for local sourcing and shared value, and founder Shiva Dhakal was the recipient of the PATA Nepal Trailblazer Award.
