As the world is rapidly changing with the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), Nepal is not staying behind to embrace the change. And, not to be outdone by other countries in the region whose economic and commercial landscape is changing thanks to innovation in tech, including: India, China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Nepal has understood the central role that can be played by AI in shaping its future, especially in areas such as: Tourism, agriculture, health and education. Play Nepal lays ground for responsible and inclusive AI transformation with its draft National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy 2025 Posted by admin on February 2022 February 2022, Kathmandu, Nepal: Transforming the country to the new digital infrastructure with values and commitment to human rights is the underlining goal of the draft National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy of 2025 launched by Play Nepal.
This article delves into the emerging AI policy landscape in Nepal with a special focus on the implications of the integration of AI in the national development roadmap and tourism sector. A Look of AI in Nepal And The Opportunities and Challenges: As Nepal gears up to fit in the AI wagon, what opportunities and challenges does adapting AI technologies imply in a sustainable way.
AI Policy in Nepal : Vision for the Future
The AI landscape of Nepal is still in its embryotic phase. Nonetheless, it’s an excellent exercise in trying to map out strategy across sectors to leverage AI: draft National AI Policy 2025. The policy is designed to transform sectors, improve performance, and drive national productivity through AI. The government has already identified five priority sectors on which AI can make a difference: health, agriculture, energy, transportation, and tourism.
Nepal in particular sees potential for AI-powered developments in tourism sector, an important sector of the economy. The AI policy suggests realizing the potential of AI by leveraging the technology for better travel planning or delivering personalized experience and for improving the ease of logistics for visiting tourists. Furthermore, the AI enabled tools could contribute to enhancing data about tourism that would help the visitors for more organized and efficient exploration of Nepal’s very rich cultural heritage and natural features.
It also defines the formation of a National AI Excellence Center and a top ranking AI Supervision Council to oversee the ethical use of AI over the entire country. This infrastructure is essential in setting standards, resolving ethical issues, and furthering innovation in a responsible way.
The AI Revolution in Nepali Tourism Industries
Tourism has long been one of Nepal’s economic lifebloods, attracting millions of visitors annually to visit its breathtaking mountains and rich cultural heritage. But with AI entering the picture, Nepal’s tourism industry could be forever changed as well. AI could be used to create cognitive travel apps that can provide customized travel schedules, optimize transport itineraries and monitor weather, traffic and safety conditions in real time.
Furthermore, artificial intelligence chatbots and virtual assistants would provide visitors with 24-hour support and guidance in several languages. This lurch towards AI in tourism places Nepal alongside several other countries such as South Korea and Japan, where smart tourism is already fructifying tourist experiences and economic gains.
With AI, Nepal might also be able to more effectively regulate tourist flows, ensuring that sought-after sites like Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan National Park are adequately served without burdening local resources. Artificial-intelligence powered systems could track footfall, modernize waste-management solutions and propose alternative, less crowded routes, thus making the country’s tourism sector more sustainable in the long term.
Challenge: Infrastructure, Funding, and Digital Literacy Solutions: Several Ways to Overcome It
Nepal’s AI policy, however promising, still faces its own share of challenges. Infrastructure, financing and digital literacy are the most imminent challenges. Nepal 150/193 countries in 2024 of Government AI Readiness Index and is confronted to many challenges when it comes to deployment of AI in large scale. Internet connectivity remains uneven in remote parts of the country and there are deficits in high-performance computing both in terms of capability and capacity. This means that even though the AI policy draws up plans for creating national databases and cloud-based platforms, their operationalization would be slow unless adequate investment is made in infrastructure.
In addition, there is no clear funding roadmap of how the country will pay for its AI ambitions. AI is a pricey field of research and for which, lacking sound financial planning, Nepal will have a hard to reach its target. According to Birglechner government funding, cooperation from the private sector and a collaboration with the international communities will be imperative if the policy is to succeed.
The most important missing item in the AI policy is short-term training programs and boot camps for creating AI-ready workforce. While the new policy is focused on introducing AI into the school curriculum, it is a long-term plan and not a short-term skills response to fill the AI professional void. But in the meantime, even fast-tracking partnerships with international AI organizations and academic institutions will be required to educate Nepal’s workforce for the battles to come.
Nepal’s Commitment to Responsible AI
On top of technical and infrastructural challenges, the AI policy of Nepal also emphasizes the value of responsible AI. The French initiative seeks to ensure that the development of AI follows ethical considerations and respects core human rights such as privacy, equality and the right not to be discriminated against.
In taking cues from global developments, Nepal may turn toward countries, such as India with its legal safeguards against uncontrolled use of facial recognition technology, or South Korea with its focus on human-centered AI guidelines. These are cases that illustrate the need to keep AI from contributing to amplifying inequality and violating basic rights.
Responsibility in the use of AI for tourism is of particular concern for Nepal. Facial recognition and predictive analytics are increasingly deployed as AI tools, but it is necessary to address issues of surveillance, data privacy, and algorithmic bias when these technologies are used. Nepal’s AI policy should make sure that these tools and platforms are employed to the benefit of all stakeholders, including especially marginalized communities and local people.
The Way Ahead: Augmenting Nepal’s AI Architecture
As Nepal moves forward in designing its AI policy, it should pay attention to building a robust institutional governance mechanism, sustainable financing, and investments in human resources. The National AI Excellence Center and the AI Supervision Council will play an important role in steering the responsible development of AI, but much will come down to how much resources they are given and what their enforcement will amount to.
Furthermore, short-team training courses and international cooperation are necessary as key foundations to establish the AI workforce. Partnerships with other countries such as China, Japan and South Korea, which have strong AI ecosystems, can help Nepal leverage advanced expertise in research, development and ethical governance of AI.
Closing Thoughts: Tourism and Development Prospects of AI in Nepal
Nepal’s use of AI is in its infancy but there are some positive signs in the country in the form of draft National AI Policy 2025. With a focus on responsible and inclusive AI development, Nepal can modernize its existing industries, and, at the same time, benefit the tourism sector by developing it in a manner that will allow for a better experience for tourists while also enabling local communities to see positive results.
With strategic planning, investment, and international partners, Nepal can mitigate its infrastructure and funding barriers and create its own leadership as a responsible user of AI in South Asia. As Nepal continues on its AI journey, the international community will have a close eye on the progress made, and what is done here in implementing AI, can potentially become a role model for other countries in the region.
The post Latest Update: Nepal Joins with India, China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka in Embracing AI for Tourism and Development appeared first on Travel And Tour World.
