Open Air Classroom: Learning Tourism Beyond Four Walls

As a lecturer of the Master of Tourism Studies (MTS) program at KATH College affiliated with Purbanchal University, I always try to make my teaching practical and interesting for students. This year, I got the opportunity to teach two subjects: Research Methodology and Tourism: Trends and Issues (TITI).

When I was a student, I often felt bored sitting inside the classroom for many hours. Tourism is not only a subject to read from books; it is something to see, feel, and experience. Because of this belief, I planned to organize an “Open Air Classroom” for my students at a real tourism destination.

I shared my idea with the college principal Dr. Amit Wagle, and thankfully he accepted it positively. Together with Anup Thapa Sir, we fixed the date for the class on Sunday, 17 May 2026, at Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square. The plan was simple: two hours for sightseeing and one hour for discussion about tourism trends and issues.

Before the class, I prepared myself seriously. I again studied books, journals, historical events, architecture, and issues related to Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square so that I could guide my students properly.

Finally, the special day arrived.

I reached the area at 7:00 a.m., but later I realized that the student arrival time was actually 7:30 a.m. Since I had no other option, I just waited and scrolled on my phone. 

During that time, one city police officer came to me and asked, “Hello, are you Nepali?” I replied, “Yes, I am Nepali. Why did you ask me?” She smiled and said, “Your slippers and dress look like a tourist, so I thought you were a foreigner.” That moment made me laugh a lot. Later, I shared this funny story with Anup Sir and my students, and everyone was surprised. Even today, I still remember a similar moment from 2016 when I was hiking in Shivapuri National Park dressed like a trekker.

Later, I gathered all my students in front of Kumarighar. All 14 students were present that day. Anup Thapa Sir explained the importance of the open-air classroom and handed over the sightseeing session to me.

Our first stop was the famous Kumari House. I explained the history of the Living Goddess Kumari, the wooden carvings, art, architecture, and religious importance of the building.

The second stop was Trailokya Mohan Narayan Temple. Sitting on the temple stairs while students stood around me, I explained the history of Kathmandu Valley from the Kirat period, Lichhavi period, Malla period, and Shah period. I also taught students about Nepalese temple architecture, including pagoda style, shikhara style, stupa style, and mixed architectural forms.

After that, we visited many important heritage sites around Hanuman Dhoka area such as the Garuda statue, Kasthamandap, Maru Ganesh, Shiva-Parvati Temple, Kala Bhairav area, Krishna Temple, Sweta Bhairav, the stone pillar of King Pratap Malla, Taleju Temple area, Hanuman Dhoka Palace, Nasal Chowk, Lohan Chowk, museums, galleries, and Freak Street.

At every place, I tried to connect tourism with history, culture, religion, architecture, heritage conservation, and present tourism issues. Students were not only listening but also observing and questioning directly from the field environment. After completing the sightseeing session, we moved to SuryaMoon Restaurant for lunch and discussion. I told everyone to enjoy food together while paying separately. We spent around one hour there discussing tourism trends, research perspectives, visitor management, heritage conservation, and tourism challenges related to the Hanuman Dhoka area. Anup Sir also shared his ideas about the tourism resources and importance of the place.

For me, this class was more than a normal teaching session. It was part of my dream. I always believed tourism students should learn outside the classroom because practical observation helps students understand more in a single day than many classroom lectures.

This was not my first open-air classroom experience. In 2023, I first organized a field class for +2 students from Oxbridge International College by walking from Lagankhel to Patan Durbar Square. Later in 2023, I also conducted a field class with NATHM 17th batch students at Pashupatinath Temple together with Barun Khatiwada and Mahesh Bhatta. One was a pujari of Pashupatinath temple, and the other worked at PDAC, so students received both academic and practical knowledge. In 2024, I took BBA 6th semester students of Kathmandu Don Bosco College to Hanuman Dhoka for practical tourism learning. In 2025, I organized similar classes for BSW students of Times International College and later for BBA-TT students of Apex College at Pashupatinath area. Similarly, I conducted practical tourism classes at Bhaktapur Durbar Square and Changunarayan Temple for different student groups and teachers.

After 4 years of teaching experience, I have realized one important thing: tourism education becomes more effective when students can directly connect theory with real destinations. Open-air classrooms encourage observation, communication, critical thinking, and practical understanding. Tourism is not only inside books. Tourism lives in heritage sites, local culture, temples, markets, festivals, people, and stories. As a tourism lecturer, I believe students must travel, observe, and experience Nepal deeply to become better tourism professionals in the future.

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