Mountaineering and Trekking safety protocol to be amended

Kathmandu: The government is reported to be preparing to amend the recently issued mountaineering and trekking safety protocol which said the tourists arriving in Nepal should undergo a weeklong quarantine before embarking on their respective expeditions.

The Department of Tourism (DoT) is preparing to amend the safety protocols after various stakeholders including tourists criticized the safety protocol norms.

According to the DoT the new amendment in the safety protocol will pave the way for the tourists to travel without being asked to stay in quarantine for one week from October 17 onwards.

Similarly, the department is also preparing to reduce the COV- ID-19 insurance amount for tourists. The protocol has mentioned that each tourist travelling to Nepal must have COVID-19 insurance worth $5,000.

Similarly, the department has allocated Rs 200 million to refinance the tourism industry as well. The stakeholders are of the opinion that the government should find alternative ways of grappling with the crisis of Covid-19..

Many observers and experts related to tourism industry also opined that the recently issued safety protocols for mountaineering and trekking could have adverse effect when the domestic tourism is trying to come out of the severe traumatic situation.

It may be recalled that the recent Bahrain Prince expedition team was also made to stay in quarantine for one week as per the safety protocols for mountaineering.