Nepal: Come
April 1, solo or free independent trekkers have to mandatorily hire a guide or
a porter before setting off to Nepal’s
mountains.
Nepal Tourism Board, the country’s national tourism promotion body,
which includes trekking and mountaineering associations, on Thursday, decided
to make a guide mandatory for solo or free independent trekkers (FITs) due to
increasing safety concerns.
Some experts, however, said the move is a restriction on the free
movement of trekkers, particularly for those coming to Nepal to
experience adventure. It could be counter-productive for the country’s ailing
tourism industry, they added.
FITs are travellers who plan their own trips and prefer to travel
alone.
The concept of FIT tourism includes travellers booking without a tour
operator.
Many independent travellers are very price-conscious. In Nepal’s context, the numbers in this segment are
growing rapidly since Nepal’s
mountains are connected to the internet nowadays.
Nepal Tourism Board has been mandated to issue the trekkers information
management systems (TIMS) cards before they start trekking.
“Therefore, the board reserves the right to make a guide mandatory for
solo trekkers,” said Mani Raj Lamichhane, the board’s spokesperson.
Thirteen other travel and tourism-related organisations have signed the
minutes for the upkeep of legal records that such a decision was taken at a
board meeting on Sunday.
“The decision, however, will not be applicable to Nepali trekkers,”
said Lamichhane.
For trekkers from third countries, other than South
Asia, the fee for TIMS card or the trekking permit has been hiked
to Rs2,000, from Rs1,000 per person. It used to cost Rs2,000 for the FITs. The
new fee too would come into effect from April 1.
Similarly, for South Asian trekkers, the fee for group trekkers is
Rs300 and Rs600 for FITs. Now, both will have to pay Rs1,000.
According to Nepal Tourism Board, it issued more than 46,000 TIMS cards
for FITs in 2019.
The Covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021 affected the trekking sector. In
2022, according to the board, there were 19,415 FITs.
Nepal’s
private travel and tourism bodies, particularly the Trekking Agencies
Association of Nepal, has been lobbying for a one-trekker, one-guide system,
since 2012.
The apex body of the country’s trekking agencies had announced that
solo trekkers would have to take along a guide from September 1, 2012, as per
government orders. However, it was forced
to backtrack after the Tourism Ministry said it had not issued any
such directive.
In 2012, when the news circulated, the Nepal Tourism Board, including a
large section of the travel and trade industry, received a flurry of inquiries.
Again, in 2014, the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal lobbied to
implement the one-trekker, one-guide system. The government then assured to
implement the system by the beginning of 2015. But due to the earthquake, the
plan fell apart.
However, the government, this time, has taken kindly to the industry’s
proposal.
“The decision to enforce mandatory guide for trekkers falls under Nepal
Tourism Board’s jurisdiction,” said Rajendra Kumar KC, spokesperson for the
Tourism Ministry. “The issue was under discussion for quite a long time to
ensure the safety of the trekkers.”
“The ministry has no objection to it,” KC added.
The tourism secretary chairs the Nepal Tourism Board’s boardroom.
The system has drawn mixed reactions with some complaining that it was
a restriction on trekkers' freedom while some others welcomed it, saying it
would make trekking safer.
Nilhari Bastola, president of the Trekking Agencies Association of
Nepal, said making guides mandatory for FITs would increase employment and
ensure the safety of travellers.
“We have estimated that roughly 40,000 Nepalis will get new employment
if the rule is enforced,” said Bastola.
According to him, for day-long trekking, the guide’s fee ranges from
$25 to $50.
However, the fee is much higher on the long and difficult trekking
routes—ranging from $100 to $200 a day.
“The one-trekker, one-guide policy, however, will not significantly
affect the trekker's budget,” said Bastola. “It will generate jobs. That’s good
for Nepal’s
economy.”
Due to a lack of employment opportunities at home, Nepal is
expected to see nearly 1 million youths leaving the country for foreign
employment this fiscal year ending mid-July.
The tourism industry is also struggling. Based on forward-looking
scenarios for 2023, international tourist arrivals could reach 60 percent of
pre-pandemic levels this year.
In 2019, before the Covid pandemic struck, Nepal received 1.19 million foreign
tourists.
Among them, more than 300,000
were trekkers—with the Annapurna area
receiving the highest 181,746 trekkers, followed by 57,289 trekkers in the
Everest region, according to government statistics.
According to Bastola, since the trekking companies will become liable
for the safety, including search and rescue of the missing trekkers and their
assets, it would boost the confidence of the trekkers. “Every year, some 10 to
15 trekkers go missing, mostly FITs, and this is serious.”
Last year, Lee Myungkap, a South Korean tourist fell ill due to the
high-altitude trekking he had undertaken in the Everest region and died.
This January, another South Korean woman died at a high camp above Thorang Pass in the border area of Mustang and Manang.
“Taking guides means they will brief trekkers on the high altitude
sickness and other issues that are related to natural disasters,” said Bastola.
Senior tourism entrepreneur Basant Raj Mishra, however, said it needs
proper research before implementing it. “Trekkers come here for adventure. They
want a free movement,” he said. “Imposing mandatory rules on free movement is
always counterproductive.”
Free independent travellers are mostly well-experienced and very
individualistic travellers, which is why they try to keep some degree of
freedom by not booking everything on a trip in advance.
Nowadays, the internet gives travellers better access to research on
travel destinations, said Mishra. They also get travel inspiration from photos,
videos, stories and online reviews.
“Because there is so much to find online, it is much easier for
trekkers to make decisions about when to visit than it was before the
internet,” said Mishra. “The internet has become the most important place for
FITs to get their travel information.”
Since the issue of imposing mandatory guide rules was conceptualised,
some tourists had complained about the restrictions on their freedom, while
some others felt that the mandatory provision would make trekking safer.
In December 2008, Julian Wynne, a British tourist trekking solo in the
Everest region, went missing.
For Patricia Wynne, mother of Julian Wynne, it would be good for the Nepal
government to enforce such rules. In an email to the Post in 2012, Wynne wrote,
“If guides had been made compulsory four years ago, my son would probably be
with us today.”
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