Mountain Tourism In Nepal

Tountains have been attracting people from all over the world since antiquity. Mountain tourism, thus, accounts for a quarter of the tourist industry across the globe. It is the fastest growing industry worldwide in terms of international tourism receipts, showing an average annual growth rate of close to 10 per cent in the first decade of the 21st century.

Nepal became a popular destination for climbers, trekkers and tourists after the first conquest of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. Government records show that the number of tourists was only 1,140 in 1955, which increased to 448,769 in 2010. During this period, the government introduced several policies and programmes and declared several areas as national parks, trekking routes, view points, conservation areas and hunting reserves to promote tourism.

Mountain-related tourism like trekking and mountaineering in Nepal accounts for about half of the total tourism industry. Nepal as a mountainous country receives the largest number of international mountain tourists.

Although the average length of stay of the visitor has not increased over the past few years, there has been significant increase in terms of visitor numbers. September through November is the peak season, accounting for almost half of all tourist arrivals in Nepal, likewise the second peak season is February through April. And mountain tourism - trekking and mountaineering - is mostly confined to the three major areas of Everest, Helambu-Langtang and the Annapurna region.

Impacts

Mountain tourism is a multi-faceted phenomenon with environmental, economic, social, cultural and historical dimensions. Along with the growth of mountain tourism in Nepal, it has had varying impacts on the natural and socio-economic environment of the mountain communities.

Little study has been done on these impacts of tourism. Available studies show that the most notable environmental impacts result from the demand for fuel-wood, the general problems of pollution and garbage. In the mountain areas, tourism is an attractive option for enhancing the quality of life.

But the benefits of tourism may not flow spontaneously, where they are most needed. So interventions are called for to make tourism relevant to the three inter-related concerns of mountain development, namely poverty reduction, environmental conservation and empowerment of the local communities. Indeed, mountain tourism has to be seen essentially as a development intervention.

In general, poverty and environmental degradation characterise mountain areas, and the degree of poverty and environmental degradation is more intense in the loftiest of all our mountain regions - the Himalayas. For various reasons, the mountain inhabitants of these regions lack adequate access to means of sustainable livelihoods in terms of assets, capabilities and gainful remunerative activities.

There is growing pressure on environmental resources for the fulfillment of the basic necessities for survival. The traditional process of adaptation is not only fast breaking down but are also being made irrelevant and redundant by the inexorable processes of globalisation and liberalisation. The challenges to sustainable quality of life in the fragile mountain environments of the Himalayas have never been so critical nor so urgent. Tourism in the mountains must be considered in the context of these challenges.

In Nepal, touristic attractions are the beauty and diversity of the terrain, habitats and culture. There is also a strong, deep-rooted sense of spirituality, sacredness, romance and adventure associated with our mountains.

Tourism and the hospitality industry, in general, are relatively human resource intensive. Tourism happens to be one of the few industries where the traditional impediments to development - inaccessibility, remoteness high terrain - add to the attraction and, in fact, offer a competitive advantage. Furthermore, tourism is one in situ export whose consumption does not necessarily exhaust or impair the quantity or quality of the resource base.

In recent times, tourism under different names - ecotourism, green tourism and responsible tourism - is being promoted as a win-win situation where biodiversity as well as the well-being of the people can be simultaneously enhanced. Indeed, it is believed that the three objectives of sustainable tourism, i.e., improvement of the quality of life of the host population, high quality experience for the visitor and protection of the mountain environments - on which both the visitor and the host population rely - can be achieved even with rising tourist numbers.

Mountain economies such as Nepal’s have, therefore, begun to view tourism as a viable shortcut to rapid development. It is seen as one opportunity to partake in the fastest and the most dynamic global industry and learn to become partners in a globalised world. Whereas international financial institutions are pursuing tourism as a serious export strategy, the implications of such a strategy for the poor economies of the third world under the dispensation of liberalisation are also questioned.

The nexus among tourism, mountain environments and the livelihoods of the mountain people of Nepal, in particular, must be viewed from generalised implications of the mountain context on tourism development and specific experience of mountain tourism in Nepal in terms of the characteristics, trends and impacts on the mountain communities.

Diversification

Tourism, in general, and mountain tourism, in particular, have remained essentially demand-driven. Diversification of mountain tourism, both in terms of product and destination, has been lacking in Nepal. Moreover, demand-driven initiatives related to tourism tend to be extractive. There have been very few attempts at supply side management, destination, planning or targeted enhancement on demand. While the appeal of Nepal’s mountains as a trekkers’ paradise will endure, the need for innovative diversification of the tourism product is important if tourism is to provide sustainable option for livelihood in the mountains.

The experience of the local people about tourism is not necessarily positive so far. This is mainly because the local people cannot get direct benefit compared to the entrepreneurs involved in the tourism business.

The existing infrastructure and service for the trekkers and climbers are comparatively poor. The introduction of the community-based campsite system can create stronger motivation for the participation of more local people, and some portion of the income could be made available for the conservation of mountain environments.