Nepal is open for tourism - Is it safe to visit yet?

In March 2020, just as the mountaineering season was around the corner, Nepal government mandated a strict lockdown after the second case of COVID was found.

Now, after 8 months, Nepal is open for tourism from October 17. As a part of the gradual opening of lockdown, many businesses are now allowed to resume its services, domestic flights and intercity transfers are now allowed to operate following safety protocols.

Limited international flights are being conducted from September 1 for Nepali citizens and diplomats. Foreigners are still not allowed to travel to Nepal and all incoming passengers must submit a PCR COVID negative test report done 72 hrs prior to the arrival.

As of September 29, Nepal has recorded 62,797 cases of COVID-19 out of which nearly 71% have recovered with 401 deaths reported. Amidst the daily cases still continuing to rise in the capital and other parts of the country, Nepal government has surprised the trekking and mountaineering communities by announcing the resume of trekking and mountaineering activities from October 17.

Nearly 1.2 million tourists visited Nepal in 2019, and this year the government was promoting Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign with an aim to bring 2 million tourists. Tourism makes up 8% of the total GDP of the country and the tourism industry supports 1M jobs directly and indirectly. The year 2020 was supposed to be a tourism year for Nepal with more business and job opportunities but instead, it has been shattered with no hope of reviving tourism soon.

With the hope of reviving tourism safely, the Nepal government has introduced safety protocols and health guidelines for tourism businesses but how effective and efficient will it be is something that everyone is looking forward to seeing. Similarly, different associations and organizations relating to the tourism industry are working jointly to promote Nepal as a safe destination after post COVID travel but with COVID cases still continuing to rise in Nepal, a big question has popped up "IS IT SAFE TO VISIT NEPAL YET?"

Opening tourism safely is the right thing to do but without any proper information and infrastructure at a place, it can instead backfire. There are still many questions that have not been answered relating to the opening on tourism. Tourism is allowed from October 17 but no more information regarding the Visa procurement, COVID test report, Quarantine, Hospitals, etc are announced officially.

Hopefully, in the coming days or weeks, we will hear more about this and learn how the government is working to resume the travel safely.

On a positive side, the mountainous region of Nepal does not have active cases of COVID. Very few cases were recorded in the Himalayan region and today, there are no active cases. Nepal, a Himalayan nation is a proud home of eight highest mountains in the world and several other 7000m and 6000m peaks. Annually, over 35,000 trekkers visit the famous Everest Base Camp Trek.

Meanwhile, Two expeditions had been granted permission to climb in Nepal. One is for Baruntse Expedition consisting of Nepali climbers and another is a 15 member Bahrain military expedition to Mt. Manaslu. Prince of Bahrain is also a part of the 15 member expedition. The Bahrain team members are staying a week quarantine currently in the capital before leaving for the mountain.

According to the tourism associations and organizations, nearly 90% of the confirmed bookings have been postponed for 2021. Even if tourism is allowed in Nepal, there are still restrictions imposed globally. Limited flights availability and new Insurance rules can cause the travel not to resume efficiently. With only 3 months remaining in 2020, the chances of tourism getting back to normalcy are very slim for this year.

Unless the active cases are dropped miraculously and the vaccine is approved, travelling may not be back to normal quite soon. Without stringent protocols and guidelines for COVID, simply announcing the opening of tourism will not convince travellers just to visit Nepal.

As we learn more about the virus and with good news on the vaccine development across the world, 2021 may be the year when the world will open like before. But for now, is it wise to assume that 2020 will not see any trekkers and mountaineers treading the foothills of the Himalayas.

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