Tourism and the geopolitics of Buddhist heritage in Nepal

This study explores the intricacies of geopolitical imagination at a heritage attraction in Nepal, when a Chinese NGO proposed an investment project to develop it as tourism hub. It seeks to investigate the discourses and reasons deployed by Nepali tourism stakeholders in explaining the Chinese plan. The study applies qualitative methodology and the primary data which were collected through 20 semi-structured interviews. The study shows that in articulating the project aim, the agency of national actors is shaped by the regional power struggle and a ‘nationalist’ sentiment originated from perceived threat to the heritage in question. The finding is useful in understanding the complexities of geopolitical constraints that can influence tourism development projects.