Best way to support Nepal is to visit now

Major campaign launched to recover Nepal tourism losses

Nepal’s government has welcomed the recent downgrading of the travel advisories of most countries with significant tourism flows to Nepal.

Now the Himalayan nation can be considered "a safe place to visit," according to Mr. Kripasur Sherpa, Minister of Culture, Tourism& Civil Aviation. 

More than three months after the earthquake, the authorities want to jumpstart the tourist sector, a key component of the country’s economy.

The Nepal Tourism Board in partnership with National Tourism Promotion Committee has recently launched a public campaign to promote travelling to Nepal. The campaign is focused around the new http://www.Nepalnow.org web site providing up-to-date information for the potential traveler and tourism industry professionals.

As part of the campaign the Tourism Board is offering familiarization visits to Nepal for journalists, travel writers and potential business partners. The initiative is supported by the Dutch government CBI program which promotes tourism in Nepal by increasing entrepreneurial skills, promoting sustainability and creating awareness within European markets.

Mr Sherpa said, "the earthquake affected only a small portion of the country and now visitors are no longer at risk. Almost 80 per cent of the country and most tourist destinations were not touched by the earthquake."

Nepal welcomed 800,000 visitors last year, but the government anticipates a 50 per cent drop this year due to the earthquake. Mr. Ramesh Kumar Adhikari, Administrative Chief of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), said "The best way to support Nepal is to visit Nepal now.

Most key tourism areas are safe. Kathmandu and other main tourist destinations are back to normal and hotels, shops and restaurants are open".

Popular trekking areas officially declared safe…

Of the 35 principal trekking routes only three are affected. Two of the most popular trekking areas of Nepal, Annapurna and Mount Everest have been given the green light by US based Earthquake engineering specialists Miyamoto International. Operators looking for reassurance on safety for travelers in the Annapurna and Mount Everest regions had to rely on anecdotal evidence to date.

The reports of earthquake-related damage in the Annapurna and Mount Everest region have been welcomed by the Government of Nepal, trekking companies, and development agencies supporting the assessment, who see it as an important step towards the country’s economic recovery.

Kripasur Sherpa, said: "There has been a decline in foreign tourists since the earthquake. Tourism is very important for Nepal’s economy and for the Nepalese people. But, we needed to assess formally the trekking regions for the safety of our visitors." This has now been done in the key areas.

The reports confirmed that the Annapurna region sustained "very little damage, with the three percent of buildings which were damaged in the earthquake all easily repairable".

Dr. Kit Miyamoto, the technical team leader and a structural earthquake engineer, said: "The aim of the report was to develop an overall understanding of the extent of the damage from the earthquakes so that we could assess the safety of the region’s trekking routes.

The assessment mission received funding from UK-AID and World Bank on behalf of the Government of Nepal in a joint public-private initiative to conduct the expert assessment.

 Major Western source markets have eased their travel advice. While Switzerland and Japan never had a negative travel advice, USA, Finland and Italy recently changed their advice and only provide general warnings. Italian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Benedetto Della Vedova stated "Nepal is safe to visit after earthquake. There has been damage but it is not unsafe to visit Nepal, and hotels are safe and anyone can visit Nepal".

Most Western countries including Germany, Austria, UK, The Netherlands, USA, New Zealand and the Scandinavian countries have recently changed their Travel Advisories with geo-specific advice warning only in regard or serious affected areas.

Sarad Pradhan from the Nepal Tourism Board states, "There has, inevitably, been a lot of negative publicity related to tourism to Nepal. Now that life in most parts of the country has returned to normal, most travel advisories have been downgraded and key trekking areas have been declared open and safe, we need to inform the general public about this. Visitors are more than welcome!"

Valere Tjolle

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