Nepal may be a small landlocked country but it has a diverse land scape. The land area of Nepal is divided into hilly region, terai region and Himalayan region. The center of the Himalayan Range is situated in Nepal. Such diversity and the thrill of trekking the highest mountains of the world have attracted tourists from everywhere. Due to political instability and Maoist insurgency, the number of tourists in Nepal dropped significantly. Now with the restoration of a democratic government and the end of Maoist insurgency, the tourist business entrepreneurs have found new hope. I am quoting from the report published in Daily India .com:
“Nepal, gripped by 10-year insurgency, saw only 277,129 tourists in 2005 - at least 200,000 less than the inflow in 1999 and 2000. And only about 83,000 of them were revenue-generating tourists from Europe and the Americas.
Nepal earned about $77 million in foreign exchange from tourism during the last fiscal year that ended July 16.”
The long lasting political instability, slow economic growth, and most of all, wasting people’s money by King Gyanendra and his followers have weakened Nepal’s economy. Nepal’s new government is going through a very tough time. Few days ago, the new budget for 2006-2007 has been announced. To recover the damage, the country needs huge amount of money but there is no viable source, except tourism. After a long time of suffering, there is peace now, which is the most important factor behind the flourishing of the tourism sector.
My request, to those who are reading this post: If you love to travel and want to go to Nepal, then now is the best time. You can contribute to the country’s economy. Moreover, the report says that the government has waived trekking fees in order to attract more tourists. So strap your boots, load up your back pack, and head for the highest peak in the world.
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