Mountain tourism is enhanced in Nepal

Mountain tourism, disrupted by the Corona epidemic, has started to return to its rhythm. Tourism professionals say that the arrival of domestic and foreign tourists has started to reach the same level as before COVID-19.

According to the data released by Nepal Rastra Bank in 2018, it contributed up to 8.5 percent to Nepal’s gross domestic product. According to the data of the Nepal Tourism Board, Nepal’s tourism industry created employment for more than 371 thousand people. The percentage was expected to increase further in the situation where the taste of external tourism in Nepal is increasing every year.

The Government of Nepal declared 2020 as the Year of Visiting Nepal to boost Nepal’s tourism business. However, a year before that, in 2019, the coronavirus epidemic that spread worldwide caused a big shock to the tourism sector.

According to the data released by the Ministry of Tourism in 2019, the arrival of domestic and foreign tourists dropped to 2.5 percent due to the Corona epidemic. During that period, 1,555 trekking companies registered with the Nepal Mountaineering Association were unemployed.

According to Lamsal, when one foreign tourist comes, 4 people are directly employed. “11 thousand 321 climbers who were directly connected had to be completely unemployed during the coronavirus,” says Mohan Lamsal, general secretary of the association, “climbers started getting work after Covid.” Now everyone is busy.

There are 414 mountains open for climbing in Nepal, out of which only 75 mountains are left to climb.

According to mountain tourism professionals, Nepal is the main destination of mountain tourists because there are 14 mountains in Nepal, including Everest, the highest peak above 8,000 meters in the world.

Thakurraj Pandey, Senior Vice President of the Mountaineering Association, says that mountain tourism is the area with the most potential in Nepal.

“Other regions have their limits, but in the case of Nepal, tourism is our main source of income,” he said in a program organized in Pokhara, “neighboring countries are taking great advantage of this.” However, we are not able to preach even after receiving the gift of nature.

Mountain tourism businessmen express concern that increasing industrialization in recent times is having an unusual effect on the mountain environment as the global temperature is changing.

Issues such as increased global temperature due to increasing industrialization in the world, uncontrolled deforestation, and unusual changes in the mountain environment have affected mountaineering tourism, said Lamsal, the general secretary of the association.

From the 8th International Mountain Festival, The United Nations has been celebrating December 11 as International Mountain Day. On the same day, the Nepal Mountaineering Association has been holding a mountain festival. Jinesh Sindulkar, director of the festival, informed that the eighth edition of the festival is going to be held with various programs for 5 days.

The festival will be held from 22-26 December at Pokhara International Mountain Museum, Ratopaihro. In this year’s festival, the drama show ‘Misunderstood Birds’ in collaboration with Bird Conservation will be the main attraction.

According to Mohan Lamsal, general secretary of the organizer Nepal Mountaineering Association, the play will be staged by the students of Children and Youth First, a charity school in Lalitpur.

“Students will put on masks as vultures on the stage and convey knowledge about the importance of vultures as well as Nepal’s birds and biodiversity to the public,” said Lamsal, “We believe that this program will provide information about conservation.”

During the festival, 6 documentaries about mountain climbing and mountain life will be screened over five days. The documentary Pasang, Mountain Man, Sophie Lavad, The Second Summit, Ai-della Huts Valais, and Everest Man will be staged at the festival.

Nirmala Neupane, member secretary of the festival, informed us that there will also be a photo exhibition of mountaineers who have set records in various categories related to mountain climbing.

This year, ‘Tug of War’ has been included in the competition for the first time. “Apart from this, children’s competitions, zip lines, and double songs have also been included,” she said.

A record number of tourists in protected area

Kathmandu a record number of tourists visiting the protected areas of the country has set a record. According to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, 9,32,532 local and foreign tourists have visited the protected area in the financial year 2079/80. This is the highest ever.

Earlier in the financial year 2075/76, 7 lakh 6 thousand 148 tourists visited the protected area. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the number of tourists dropped to 254 thousand in 2077/78, but since then it has been gradually increasing.

Similarly, in 2078/79, 467,155 people visited the protected area. This number doubled last year. 60 percent of the foreign tourists who come to Nepal visit protected areas. All hikers and trekkers must visit protected areas.

Apart from this, the jungle safari and hiking trekking areas around Kathmandu are also within the protected area. There are 20 National Parks, Wildlife Reserves, Hunting Reserves, and Conservation Areas in Nepal. Besides, there are two zoos. Among them, Everest and Chitwan are also listed on the World Heritage List.

How many tourists are in which protected area?

Shivpuri-Nagarjuna : 3,01,278
Chitwan: 2,92,392
Annapurna: 1,72,108
Everest: 57,690
Langtang : 27,561
Bardia: 23,511
Koshitappu : 12,029
Rara : 10,899
Dhorpatan : 7,045
Manaslu: 6,851
Krishnasar : 5,569
Se-Foksundo : 3,782
Shuklaphanta: 3,528
Khaptad: 2,891
Gauri Shankar : 1,893
Makalu Varuna : 1,610
Parsa: 890
Kanchanangha: 713
Banke: 271
Apinampa: 18

Among the protected areas, the protected area that collects the most revenue is the Chitwan National Park. Second is Everest. In one year, a revenue of 75 crore 77 lakh rupees has been raised from protected areas.

Out of that, only 281.3 million revenue has been raised from Chitwan and 148.1 million from Everest. Shivpuri-Nagarjuna has collected 54.3 million in revenue and Langtang has collected 42.4 million in revenue. 4 crore 55 lakhs revenue has been collected from Bardia and 3 crore 62 lakhs from Parsa.

So far, 170 households have taken permission to operate homestays in protected areas across the country. In which 3 thousand 763 tourists can take the service at the same time.

Among the top 10 countries to visit India, Nepali ranks 7th

December 1, Kathmandu. Among the foreign tourists visiting India, Nepali tourists have managed to be included in the first 10th list. According to the data of the Ministry of Tourism of India, among the tourists who visited India in 2022, Nepalese nationals were seen at the 7th place. The position of Indian citizens is the first in the tourism of Nepal. According to the data, in 2022, India welcomed a total of 61 lakh 91 thousand 399 tourists to that country.

Out of which, the number of Nepalis traveling to India by ship is 135 thousand 347 people. This is a share of 2.19 percent of the total number of tourists welcomed by India this year. It is also the 7th place in terms of the number of tourists entering the country. It is also mentioned in the data that the peak season for Nepalis to travel to India is December and the lowest month is January.

In December, as the weather in India is relatively favorable for Nepali tourists, many Nepalis come for sightseeing. Also, many citizens who go out for a walk on the eve of the English New Year go around at this time.

In 2022, the highest number of tourists in India is American. That year, 1,373,817 American tourists visited India. Bangladeshi tourists are in the second place. There are statistics that 12 lakh 55 thousand 960 tourists visited India that year.

In 2019, the Indian tourism market, which welcomed 19 million 30 thousand 355 foreign tourists, was then hit by the impact of Covid-19. Only 1.5 million 27 thousand 460 tourists visited India in 2021.

Many tourists to India enter through the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the capital city of Delhi. In the year 2022, 19 lakh 32 thousand 425 tourists have entered from this airport in India. This is 31.21 percent of the total number of tourists. Besides, many tourists have entered India from airports including Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi, and Kolkata.

According to the data of the Indian Ministry of Tourism, in 2022, a total of 2,10,96,217 Indians went on tour. Out of this, 5.891 thousand 814 Indians have reached the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia is in second place. According to the data, 24 lakh 21 thousand 723 Indians have reached that country. 16 lakh 83 thousand 256 people have visited India in America. 987,000 Indians in Singapore and 9,290,000 Indians in Thailand this year.

Tourists from the top 10 countries visited India in 2022

America: 1.373 thousand 817
Bangladesh: 12 lakh 55 thousand 960
UK: 617 thousand 768
Australia: 369 thousand 23
Canada: 277 thousand 291
Sri Lanka: 1 lakh 77 thousand 652
Nepal: 1 lakh 35 thousand 347
Germany: 1 lakh 24 496
Singapore: 1 lakh 17 thousand 195
Malaysia: 1 lakh 16 thousand 523

An action plan is being made to promote ‘Mice Tourism’ in Nepal

An action plan is going to be made to promote tourist activities (Mice Tourism) in Nepal through activities such as fairs, meetings, and weddings. The Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) has informed that it is going to prepare an action plan to meet the increasing demand for MICE tourism.

According to the annual action plan of the Hotel Association of Nepal, the businessman believes that this program will help to establish Nepal as a suitable destination for MICE tourism at the national and international levels.

To increase tourism in Nepal, which is abundantly supported by nature, Han said that it is indispensable to develop ‘mice’ tourism and is going to promote it among the business community. Han has also organized a program for the same purpose. According to Han, the strategy will be made from the discussion among the stakeholders.

International level fairs, meetings/conferences along with the trend of sending them on foreign tours for the promotion of business is worldwide. This trend has increased in Nepal’s neighboring countries, India and China. Han also said that thousands of married couples and their family members come to Nepal every year from countries including India. The Hotel Association of Nepal has started an initiative to make this type of tourism more popular and wide.

The association has mentioned that there is a great potential to attract corporate companies by making various packages of such fairs, meetings/conferences, destination weddings, and incentive tours of Nepal’s hilly and lowland destinations, natural trekking areas, and religious and heritage sites. According to the association, there is a need for government policy rules, additional infrastructure, manpower, and effective promotion programs.