Nepal has mountain to climb

Picture: Stone

Between royal massacres and Maoist rebellions, Nepal has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons of late.

But figures just released for last year show that UK visitor arrivals were up 10% to 21,202. In fact, Nepal has been achieving steady, double-digit growth in arrivals since 2002, the year when King Birendra and most of the royal family were murdered in a palace shoot-out.

However, these figures mask the truth. In a country where tourism is the third-largest source of foreign currency, the Nepali tourism market has been massively underperforming for several years. Back in 1998 visitor numbers, excluding India, topped 500,000.

Since those heady days, the Maoist rebellion, which began in the early 1990s, has intensified, killing some 11,000 Nepalis to date. Then in February of this year, King Gyanendra, who succeeded his murdered brother, deployed troops and assumed direct control of the country. The King has promised to restore democracy and ‘stabilise' the country.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice rates the threat of terrorism in Nepal as high. It warns against travel by road outside the Kathmandu valley, and advises trekkers to travel with a reputable operator and to stick to the main routes.

Nepali Minister of Information and Communication Tanka Dhakal accepts tourism is suffering but lays part of the blame on misinformation carried in foreign media. He also wishes Britain, along with other countries, would issue more specific travel advice. "The real advice is crystal clear,” said Dhakal. "Yes, there is a problem with terrorism and disturbances in some remote areas, but there's no trouble and complete freedom of movement in the main tourist areas. All proper measures have been taken to ensure the safety of tourists and no single tourist has been harmed in 11 years of the insurgency.”

On the streets of the capital, Kathmandu, as well as in provincial towns such as Pokhara, the Nepalese army maintains a high profile with sandbags, barbed wire and armed soldiers. Hotels and other tourist businesses are clearly suffering.

However, at the same time many UK visitors do continue to travel to Nepal and enjoy trouble-free holidays.

"Our business to Nepal has probably fallen by 50% in the past two years,” admitted TransIndus director Amrit Singh. "But at the same time all of our clients have been enjoying safe, wonderful holidays. International and domestic flights have not been affected and the hotels have maintained their services and standards. There's a growing range of good-value accommodation as well as upmarket options such as the Hyatt and Radisson in Kathmandu, and the Shangri-La in Pokhara.”

However, Singh said the Nepali Tourist Board needs to do more. "It doesn't have an office in the UK. Nepal needs to look at what Sri Lanka is doing – welcoming journalists, opening doors, reducing rates.”

Exodus Travel marketing manager Crispin Jones said: "We're continuing to run between 15 and 20 itineraries in Nepal, in accordance with FCO advice. We're constantly monitoring the situation and could react quickly if the need arose. This year has been our best for several years in terms of sales and general interest in Nepal.”

Jones said almost all the travellers Exodus takes to Nepal go on a trek, whether it's to Everest base camp or something more gentle. Exodus believes trekking in Nepal has plenty of potential.

"At the same time, everybody comes into Kathmandu and most will spend a few days there, or in Pokhara, getting used to the altitude before setting off on a trek, so there's potential there too,” said Jones.

According to Explore Worldwide product manager John Telfer sales to Nepal have been significantly down over the past three to four years. However, bookings for this winter, the high season in Nepal, are looking strong. Trekking accounts for 80% of its business and the average stay is two weeks.

"By and large the situation is stable enough to operate — the safety of our groups is of paramount importance — and we have contingency plans in place as necessary,” said Telfer.

"Assuming the political situation remains stable, there will be significant pent-up demand for Nepal. We would then expand our selection of treks in both the Annapurna and Everest areas.”