Nepal Tourism Starting To Recover

Nepal's beleagured tourism industry may be on the cusp of recovery according to a New York Times article cited in the latest Himalayanet newsletter with the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) saying that tourist arrivals are up 31 per-cent over last year for July.

Since a ceasefire was agreed between the Government and Maoist rebels on 29 January this year, there have been only a few minor skirmishes, even though negotiations have proved to be a tortuous and slow process.

The article quotes estimates that the number of foreign visitors to the country dropped by 57 per-cent over the four-year insuirgency, but says that the ceasefire has seen an increase in the number of visitors again.

Apparently the first nationalities to put Nepal back on their agenda were its neighbours in India and China, but there are signs that westerners are also starting to return to the area. There were apparently some 3000 trekkers in Namche - the Sherpa capital and a major stopping off point on the Everest trek - in April this year, almost double the number during the same period in 2001.

The Maoists have consistently undertaken not to target tourists and trekkers in the Himalayan country and while there have been incidents of trekkers being 'asked' to make a financia; contribution to the cause, as far as we're aware none have been attacked, in marked contrast to the situation in Peru a few years back when the Sendero Lumino maoist movement made a point of attacking visitors to the country on several occasions.

American visitors however are notoriously cautious and it may be some time before the industry reaches pre-insurgency levels.

It's interesting reading and you can find the article either on the New York Times site though you'll have to register or by reading the latest newsletter at the HEC site.

For on the ground news as it happens, or at least as it's reported in Nepal, see the Nepal News site which is reporting that tourist arrivals are 31 per-cent up for July compared to last year.