ENHANCING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM THROUGH EFFECTIVE HOMESTAY MANAGEMENT: EVIDENCE FROM NEPAL

Community-based homestay tourism is one of the important tourism strategies that can be developed to boost the local economy, maintain cultural heritage and involve community in local tourism. But, the empirical evidence on the factors affecting efficient operation of homestay in Nepal is still limited. The main objective of this study was to investigate the operational issues leading to successful management of homestays and the economic performance and tax compliance of community-based homestays in Nepal. The method used was quantitative research and one of the designs used was descriptive cross-sectional survey. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data from 89 registered Home Stay operators of pioneer Community Based Home Stay destination in Ghalegaun and Sirubari of the community-based home stays. Descriptive statistics and linear regression in SPSS version 26 were used for the collected data. It was found that quality infrastructure, road accessibility, culturally authentic homestay, adequate guest facilities, hygiene and sanitation, safe drinking water and hygienic preparation of local food are the factors which are mainly associated with effective homestay management. Homestay operation was also supported by family involvement. However, regression analysis found that none of the variables namely income level and saving capacity – was significant in terms of its relationship with annual tax payment, suggesting that tax compliance may be influenced by institutional and regulatory factors. Improved operational standards, infrastructure, sanitation, cultural authenticity, and institutional support can improve service quality, satisfaction of visitors and sustainability and competitiveness of community-based homestay tourism in Nepal.