Impact of COVID-19 on Rural Tourism in Nepal

This paper has focused upon the rural tourism in Nepal and the impacts of COVID-19 on its development. In Nepal tourism mostly occurs in rural environments and involves rural experiences. Wonderful rural cultures and traditional farming are attracting tourists in the rural areas. The villages of Nepal have their own unique natural and cultural dimensions. The fresh environment, natural and cultural artifacts, and the lifestyle of the local people are the main things to experience in the villages. Greatest potential benefit of rural tourism is its ability to generate money, which can translate into numerous positive economic opportunities for locals and their communities. But the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant adverse impact on most businesses including rural tourism. Before COVID-19, rural tourism had become one of the most important activities to generate income in some rural areas of Nepal. But now all activities of rural tourism are in coma. Thus, in the post COVID-19 scenario, the very survival of the rural tourism industry will become the biggest challenge because there was no specific preparedness strategy in case of any crisis of this scale. Some measures are suggested to address the challenges and help prepare the strategy.

The Economic Impact of Payments for Water-related Ecosystem Services on Protected Areas: A Synthetic Control Analysis

Payments for water-related ecosystem services (PWES) are increasingly popular in promoting water ecological conservation, and their impacts on development are of considerable interest. This study estimates the economic impact of PWES on protected areas by applying the synthetic control method. Using the Middle Route of the South to North Water Diversion Project in China as a case study, we find that per capita GDP in protected areas increased markedly relative to a synthetic control region, and PWES has a positive economic impact. In addition, we conduct a variety of placebo tests to verify the validity and robustness of the results. We believe that the main factor of the positive economic impact lies in the development of the ecological-economic industrial system. This study provides a baseline for synthetic control analysis of PWES to compare regions of interest and their counterfactuals, and the findings of the case study provide reference to the protected areas for their economic development.

Reflections on Industrial Heritage Transformation in Slovakia (based on a Case Study)

In the paper, we have a look at one of the most popular and most used forms of protection of industrial heritage today: transformation. Central Slovakia is the region with the most industrial monuments and sites in Slovakia and many of them are more or less aesthetic elements of the local landscape since the Middle Ages. However, except of some popular destinations, Central Slovakia does not belong among the regions with high attendance of domestic and foreign tourists. Several industrial monuments are in poor condition and located in remote places where tourists rarely venture. In this article, we would like to point out transformation and adaptive reuse as an appropriate form of protection for industrial monuments and have a closer look at the potential of rural regions and small towns. As a positive example of a conversion, we analyze the Čiernohronská Forest Railway in Čierny Balog in more detail. We focus not only on its positive economic and aesthetic impact on the surrounding landscape and people’s lives, but also on building prestige and an important position of the rural and unattractive touristically region in comparison with popular and prestigious tourist destinations.

Prospects for the Gulf states in 2022

Subject Prospects for the Gulf states in 2022. Significance The six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), especially Saudi Arabia, are enjoying the windfall from a tight global energy market that has pushed up oil and natural gas prices. They have also coped effectively with the healthcare challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, laying the groundwork for positive economic prospects in 2022.

Conversion of the planted forest with pinus to grain production in the Brazilian conditions: a study showing the economic perspectives

The Brazilian roundwood production of planted forest (PF) is large and turns Brazil, a prominent player on a global scale. A study was established on a farm located in Tibagi, Paraná, Brazil. We simulated two scenarios: A (continuity planting of pinus), and B (conversion of pinus to corn/soybean production). Results showed that both the productions of pinus and the rotation of soybean/corn are viable economic alternatives. If make-decided, the conversion of pinus to corn/soybean production also presented optimal with an increase of net present value, annual net present value, and internal rate of return, respectively from 9.8 %; R$ 1,519.48; and R$ 160.57 (PF), to 13.7 %; R$ 3,389.50; R$ 304.93 (soybean/corn). The rotation of soybean/corn presented a positive economic flux after the 4th crop-year due to the high initial cost of stump-removal. While, the pinus showed a positive economic flux after the 7th crop-year with the thinning/harvest in the 7th, 10th, 14th, 16th, and 20th years. Based on our results and from literature, we conclude that there is an increase of grain areas due to the influence of global grain consumption and high commodity prices, which can cause a conversion of PF to grain production areas due to higher better economic gains. However, farmers should maintain the economic-health of the property with the diversity of viable economic crops (i.e., pinus and corn/soybean), and the positive impact of planted forest on environmental sustainability.

Religion, Business, and Global Visions: An Exploration of South Korea’s Discourse on Halal

Driven by economic exigencies, the Korean government began to strategize entering the rapidly expanding Islamic economy during the early 2000s. Subsequently, decisions to invest into the global halal market ignited public opposition from Korean evangelicals who rejected the positive economic framing of halal—an Islamic concept most commonly used to inform Muslim dietary laws. Based on fieldwork in Korea and analysis of Korean media sources, this article tracks the development of this “halal discourse” through a frame analysis of the discourses created by the Korean government, economic actors, and anti-halal evangelicals, and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of their arguments. As these competing voices debated halal’s place in Korean society, the supporters of halal had to respond to evangelical pushback against halal, leading to notable shifts in the public discourse on halal, an issue that was rooted in deeper underlying debates concerning multiculturalism, globalization, and competing visions of Korea.

The Circular Economy: A Study on the Use of Airbnb for Sustainable Coastal Development in the Vietnam Mekong Delta

The concept of the circular economy has become well known for its solution-oriented approach to transforming available resources into a closed-loop resource system. However, in the context of coastal areas, coastal resources seem to be ignored in the tourism production and consumption process. In relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this article discusses how sharing economy practices may sustain coastal resources through ecotourism, applying a sharing-economy theory that emphasizes changes in the new form—a circular economy—rather than a single traditional Airbnb model or ecotourism model. This study proposes a coastal sustainable development structure model based on the integration between the sharing economy and ecotourism with three modes—positive economic effects, positive economic pressures, and sustainable coastal development—and uses coastal residents’ expectations of their living conditions as moderating factors to investigate the impact of the circular economy on coastal sustainability. We developed a survey-based model that included 303 samples from the indigenous residents of 13 provinces throughout the Vietnam Mekong Delta. The results show that the integration of ecotourism with the Airbnb model has a positive effect on residents’ living conditions, supporting sustainable local development. However, the advancement of technology and residents’ awareness involves barriers to coastal development because the process of modernization is still limited in coastal areas. More specifically, in the case of the Vietnam Mekong Delta, our results suggest that limited technical knowledge and language ability stand as barriers to coastal businesses, showing that the lack of inter-regional connectivity limits the magnitude of local tourism in coastal areas. These findings are useful for assessing residents’ living conditions so that coastal development can work towards poverty reduction. Finally, the establishment and expansion of policies by local authorities can be an indispensable part of coastal economic development by limiting the negative effects of the abuse of natural resources and facilitating family businesses in coastal zones in an effort towards the integration of economic development and social and environmental responsibility.

Framework to structure the Brazilian electricity futures market

Purpose This study aims to formulate a mechanism design in the derivatives market, summarizing a framework to set up the Brazilian electricity futures market. Design/methodology/approach This exploratory study formulates a mechanism design in the derivatives market, summarizing a framework to set up the Brazilian electricity futures market. Findings The results show a positive economic outcome for the creation of the Brazilian futures electricity market. Originality/value The main feature in this work is to summarize a framework to set up the Brazilian electricity futures market applying mechanism design, applicable in other countries. The features of the mechanism are the space of expected results (Z), the strategies to survey the environmental space (θ) and the mechanism design – messages space (M).

PENGARUH PEMBIAYAAN MUDHARABAH PADA NASABAH PEMILIK UMKM DITINJAU DARI PERUBAHAN EKONOMI

ABSTRAKTujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pengaruh pembiayaan mudharabah terhadap perubahan ekonomi nasabahnya melalui empat aspek yaitu aset usaha, omzet usaha, pendapatan usaha, dan laba usaha. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah pendekatan kualitatif. Sumber dan jenis data diperoleh dari teknik wawancara, observasi dan dokumentasi kepada tujuh nasabah pembiayaan mudharabah, pihak pemerintah Desa Berbek, pihak BMT PUMA dan masyarakat sekitar. Data terkumpul kemudian dianalisis menggunakan teknik reduksi data dengan hasil penelitian yang disajikan dengan tabel, grafik, dan deskripsi. Hasil penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa UMKM mengalami perubahan ekonomi positif yakni mengalami peningkatan berupa aset usaha mencapai 90%, peningkatan omzet usaha mencapai 233,33%, peningkatan pendapatan usaha mencapai 233,33%, dan peningkatan laba usaha mencapai 150%. Namun masih ditemukan nasabah yang menggunakan sebagian dana pembiayaan untuk membayar hutang, membayar sekolah anak, dan kebutuhan lain. BMT PUMA memberikan kepercayaan penuh kepada nasabah tanpa melakukan pengawasan usaha. Saran yang relevan dengan hasil penelitian yaitu nasabah diharapkan lebih amanah dalam menggunakan dana pembiayaan mudharabah, selain itu BMT PUMA sebaiknya lebih tegas dalam mengawasi penggunaan dana pembiayaan mudharabah pada nasabah. Kata Kunci: BMT, UMKM, Mudharabah, Perubahan Ekonomi. ABSTRACTThis research is qualitative research that aims to know the influence of mudharabah financing on the economic changes of its costomers through four aspects, such as business assets, business turnover, business income, and business profit. The technique of data retrieval are interviews, observation, and documentation to seven mudharabah financing costomers, Berbek Government, BMT PUMA members, and local society. Data collected then analyzed by reduction data technique with the research result presented by tables, graphics, and description. The result of this study concludes that Small Micro Enterprises (SME’s) experiencing positive economic changes that experienced an increase in the form of business assets reached 90%, increase in business turnover reached 233,33%, increase in business income reached 233,33%, and increase in business profit 150%. But there were still customers who used part of their financing funds for other needs. BMT PUMA gives full trust to customers without monitoring their business. Suggestions that are relevant to the research result is customers are expected to be more trustworthy in using mudharabah financing funds. Moreover, BMT PUMA should be more assertive in overseeing mudharabah financing funds on customers.Keywords: Baitul Maal Wattamwi, SME’s, Mudharabah, Economic changes.