Imagine a mother in Basantapur whose child urgently needs a toilet. An older man visiting Kathmandu for a hospital appointment faces the same difficulty while waiting for transport. Nearby, a foreign visitor interrupts a heritage walk to ask where to go. Neither a palace nor a tourism slogan can offer relief. A clean, accessible toilet can.

Without one, an ordinary outing becomes an anxious search: ask a stranger, approach a restaurant, perhaps buy something simply to gain entry. For someone with limited mobility, the next option may be too far away. The discomfort is private, but the failure is public.

As Parliament reviews the Tourism Bill, one question should guide lawmakers: who must answer when a tourist destination has no usable public toilet? Nepal’s tourism ambitions for 2028 and beyond require an answer. Mountains and monuments attract visitors. Everyday services help determine whether our welcome extends beyond the invitation.

Sanitation has already featured in consultations on the bill. Lawmakers should now test whether its provisions clearly assign responsibility—and close any gaps. A duty that leaves maintenance unfunded and inspections uncertain will offer little comfort to someone searching for a toilet.

Basic Services, Not Slogans: This is also about residents. Kathmandu Metropolitan City recorded 862,400 people in the 2021 census. Commuters and visitors create additional demand for services.

Students, shoppers, vendors, workers and families visiting hospitals or government offices all need facilities. A tourist may encounter the problem during one holiday; a commuter may face it every day.

A welcoming city provides unobstructed footpaths, safe crossings, places to rest, safe drinking water and clean public toilets, supported by waste collection and drainage. These uphold public health, dignity and the city’s image. A tap must deliver safe water; a toilet must be open and usable.

A small pilot study of 150 international travellers in Kathmandu Valley, published in the Journal of Nepal Health Research Council in 2023, found that nearly 23 percent reported gastrointestinal symptoms during the preceding week. Among those affected, 21.4 percent said their travel plans were affected. The non-random study cannot establish national prevalence or prove that toilets caused illness, but it reinforces the importance of water, sanitation and hygiene throughout the visitor’s journey.

Partnerships Cannot Replace Provision: Kathmandu has taken steps. It signed agreements with 33 organisations to open existing toilets for free public use, with maintenance and monitoring provisions. Such partnerships can expand access quickly, but only if people can find and enter the facilities without buying anything. A common standard should apply across Nepal’s cities and tourist areas, with verified locations, hours, charges and accessibility information on Google Maps and other widely used platforms—not confined to little-known municipal apps.

Public provision must also reach places without willing private partners. Kathmandu’s markets, heritage areas and transport hubs need dependable coverage; so do the public spaces and heritage sites of Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, Pokhara’s visitor routes and highway stopping points. Women, older people, workers and persons with disabilities should help identify gaps. Facilities serving tourist areas must account for residents and domestic visitors too. Dignity should not depend on a passport.

Budgets Must Deliver: The bill should make responsibility explicit. Tourism operators should meet sanitation requirements within their premises. Municipalities should plan public provision within their mandates. The national framework should clarify minimum standards, coordination and enforcement, building on existing sanitation and accessibility requirements. Implementing rules should cover water, soap, privacy, menstrual hygiene, disability access and safe waste disposal.

Responsibility must come with resources—and delivery. Kathmandu’s reported municipal budget for 2026/27 is approximately Rs25.88 billion. This does not establish how much is available for toilets. Where allocated funds remain unspent while essential sanitation needs go unmet, however, the question extends beyond affordability to implementation. Kathmandu, Lalitpur (Patan), Bhaktapur and Pokhara should disclose allocations, expenditure and sanitation outcomes, explain delays and set deadlines for improvement. Unspent funds are not automatically available for toilets; each municipality must demonstrate that basic services receive adequate funding and timely attention.

Before a facility opens, there should be an identified operator and funding for cleaners, water, soap, electricity, repairs and waste disposal. Cleaning staff need fair pay, protective equipment and supervision. The opening ceremony should mark the start of dependable service.

Users should be able to identify the operator, see the cleaning schedule and report problems. 

Municipalities should publish inspection findings and whether faults were corrected. Charges should be transparent and affordable, with provision for people unable to pay. Directions should work without a smartphone. These are concrete tests of delivery.

Global Lessons, Sister-City Results: Bangkok records inspections against Thailand’s Health, Accessibility and Safety criteria and maps qualifying toilets. Hanoi’s preparations for its 2025 National Day celebrations combined additional free access with signs, maps and assigned responsibilities. These examples do not establish universal success. They show approaches Nepal can adapt: inspect facilities, help people find them and prepare for demand.

Kathmandu’s city partnerships with Matsumoto in Japan, Chengdu in China and Seoul in South Korea offer another route to cooperation on design, staff training and maintenance. The next exchange should produce a practical project with funding, deadlines and published results. Residents should see the value of city diplomacy in better everyday services, not merely in exchanges of official visits.

Act Before 2028: As local elections approach, incumbents need not wait to act. Repair neglected facilities, fund upkeep and close gaps now. Those seeking another term should present results; challengers should present costed commitments and deadlines. Parliament must establish clear duties, and municipalities and operators must deliver them. Public dignity cannot wait for a tourism campaign.

Return to the mother, the older patient and the visitor. Each needs a door that opens, water that runs and privacy to leave with dignity intact. If “Atithi Devo Bhava”—the guest is like a god—is our philosophy, should our toilets not reflect that hospitality towards guests and our own people alike?

(Ghale writes on global health, policy and diplomacy; Pradhan is a tourism activist.)