Impact of Renewable Resources on Tourism Industry: A Case of Hotels in Lumbini

Abstract

The objectives of this research are to analyze the trends of tourist arrival in Lumbini; to study the employment and investment patterns of tourism in Lumbini and to explore the impact of renewable energy in hotels in Lumbini. The researcher adopted qualitative and quantitative methods for this study using a survey questionnaire and open- ended questions as tools for data collection. Correlation and Multiple regression analysis methods were applied to find out the relationship between investment and employment opportunities in Lumbini hotels. The SPSS tool and descriptive method were used to find out the impact of renewable resources in hotels in Lumbini. I have visited 101 hotels out of 120 from February 2022 to October 2022 in Lumbini municipality of Nepal. The key respondents were more than 101 hotel entrepreneurs of Lumbini Hotels. Some of the hotels that I have visited are ‘The Lumbini Garden’, ‘The Hockey Hotel’, ‘Hotel Pawan’, etc. It was found that the flow of Indian tourists was more in Lumbini than tourists of other countries. February, May, October, and November months were more favorable months in terms of climate in Nepal. Similarly, winter and autumn are favorable seasons for Lumbini visits. It was found that there is a positive relationship between investment and hotel numbers with employment level in Lumbini.

The contribution of renewable energy was found to be very low in the national demand for energy in Nepal. Most of the respondents agreed that renewable energy and green infrastructure helped to increase the flow of tourists arriving in Lumbini. It was also revealed that the use of greenery products is slowly rising in Lumbini hotels. It was also found that hotel entrepreneurs in Lumbini are unaware of the usefulness of renewable energy in the field of the tourism industry. This research paper helps local hotel owners to review the use of renewable energy Moreover, they can attract more tourists to their hotels using renewable resources and making greenery there. In addition to that, it is equally useful to the provincial government and central government to review the energy policy for the appropriate promotion of the tourism industry.