Banning Mt. Everest Summit Hampers Nepal Visit-2020: Tourism Entrepreneurs

Kathmandu: Entrepreneurs associated with the tourism sector have stated that any hearsay in connection with banning Everest summit during the “Nepal Visit Year 2020” would be illogical and detrimental for the tourism sector in Nepal.

They were directly or indirectly referring to one of the recent controversial remarks of the National Coordinator for Nepal Visit Year 2020, Mr. Suraj Vaidya who is reported to have said that sanctions should be put against Everest summit next year.

Chairperson of Trekking Agencies Association Nepal (TAAN), and member of sub-committee of Visit Nepal 2020, Mr. Nabraj Dahal told Highlights Tourism that it is the wrong logic to prevent climbers from summiting Everest, which is the main center of attraction for the tourists.

Similarly, the senior-most vice-chairperson of the Hotel Association of Nepal Mr. Binayak Shah said, “Actually no such proposal has been submitted to the office of Prime Minister and Mr. Vaidya alone cannot make such decisions to affect the visit year 2020. The cabinet will do what is possible to make the Visit Year successful.”

According to the spokesperson Mr. Ghanshyam Upadhyay at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, the government has no such plans to close the Everest summit.

Similarly, CN Pandey, President of the Nepal Association for Tours and Travel Agents (NATA) opined that Mt. Everest being the center of attraction for all climbers, in no case, should such controversies be sustained.

General Secretary of Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), Mr. Kul Bahadur Gurung said, “Instead of spreading controversial rumors about Everest summit, we should dispel the doubts about Everest traffic jam and consider clearing garbage from the Everest region to make the visit year a success.”

Dhurba Simkhada, the chairperson of Village Tourism Promotion Forum Nepal (VITOF) opined that closing Everest would be possible only in the event of too much garbage and sludge found in the Everest region. But it cannot be closed to the foreign tourists in the Visit year.