Tourism in Nepal

I. IDENTIFICATION
1. The Issue
Situated between China and India lies the small land-locked country of Nepal. Sl
ightly
larger than the state of Arkansas, Nepal contains eight of the world's ten highe
st
mountain peaks making it a popular destination for adventurous tourists. Nepal i
s among
the poorest and least developed countries in the world. The country's population
reached more than 21 million in 1994 yet the per capita income is one of the wor
ld's
lowest at $160 a year. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a l
ivelihood
for over ninety percent of the population. Nepal is also a producer of cannabis
for both
the domestic and international markets as well as the transit point for heroin i
nto the
West. With the growing number of tourists, however, the Nepalese Government is
trying to exploit this resource as well. One Nepalese ecologist says "There are
now
three religions in Nepal -- Hinduism, Buddhism, and tourism." The influx of tour
ists has
had dramatic effects on the environment and on the local communities who come in
to
contact with the tourists. It is no longer uncommon to find discarded rubbish al
ong the
trekking trails. Just as common is the soil erosion during the monsoons as a res
ult of
severe deforestation, also caused by tourism. "Tourism is not only the goose tha
t lays
golden eggs...it also fouls its own nest," says a Nepalese scientist.
2. Description
The Nepalese portion of the Himalayas was "long remote from the main pathways of
international tourism." The first Americans and Europeans did not enter the regi
on until
1950. Up until 1964 only mountaineering expeditions were permitted to visit the
area.
In 1971, scarcely one thousand visitors came to visit. "A decade later five time
s that
number visited, and by the end of the 1980s tourists numbered more than 8,000
annually." In 1993, the figure "was closer to 300,000." The Nepalese Government
hopes
to attract a million people within the next ten years. More than ninety percent
of these
tourists are trekkers, coming mostly from the United States and Western Europe,
but
also from Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.
With the steady stream of visitors, at least $60 million in foreign currency has
been
generated each year. One person who is fearful of what this may do to the local
cultures and to the environment is Sir Edmund Hillary, now 75. Hillary believes
that
explorers have an obligation to protect the very things which they come to marve
l.
He was a driving force behind the creation of the Sagarmatha National Park and h
as
established a trust which builds schools, hospitals, clinics, bridges and water
systems
for the Sherpas, whose culture is threatened the most.
Most tourists come to Nepal to trek through the mountains. Trekking may be arran
ged
by a service and done in a group or on one's own. Group treks are typically prea
rranged
and paid for abroad or in the capital city of Kathmandu. The other alternative i
s to trek
individually without the services of a trekking company.
Individuals instead rely on the villages along the way for food and lodging.
About one-half of the trekkers who come to Nepal, come with commercial groups. T
hese treks generally last between twenty-two and twenty-five days. A trek for tw
elve clients will contain a support staff of approximately fifty members. Becaus
e these groups pay
to make arrangements, little money goes to the local communities. The World Wild
life
Fund estimates that "only 20 cents of every $3 spent by an average trekker each
day
reaches village economies. The rest goes for goods imported from outside, notabl
y
the West." Individual trekkers, however, rely upon local guides and families. Th
is means
that more money is dispersed to the local communities.
Regardless of how one travels, the environment and local communities are affecte
d.
Mountain trekking is part of a new type of tourism called "adventure tourism."
Adventure tourism attracts people who desire to see exotic and unknown places,
primarily in the developing world. Adventure tourists, the name given to tourist
s who
seek this type of tourism, are searching for "authenticity." This means that the
mountain treks are slow journeys which pass through the landscape, "allowing tim
e to
explore both nature and village life." The core problem is that the environment
and
communities begin to change as a result of their newfound popularity. The local
cultures
become influenced by the presence of the trekkers and become modernized in their
own
way. Hence, they are no longer considered "authentic" and new "ever more remote
locations" must be found. The idea behind "adventure tourism" is that the more r
emote
a location is, the more it is desirable. This means that unless precautions are
taken,
degradation will inevitably occur.
Perhaps the most visible impact of trekkers on the Himalaya is the growing amoun
t of
rubbish left behind. Galen Rowell wrote of the Himalayas,
The solitary splendor is dazzling - until I glance down
at my feet. There, frozen into the ice cap of Tharpu
Chuli, lies a miniature garbage dump; discarded candy
wrappers, film cartons, plastic bags, wads of tissue, and
half-empty food cans, all of it left by foreign climbing
groups. It is a familiar and sickening sight to old
Himalaya hands - the growing pollution of a priceless
heritage.
It is estimated that over the past forty years, eighteen tons of garbage, "from
tin cans
and beer bottles to oxygen tanks...(this does not include such items as abandone
d
helicopters)" have been dumped on Mount Everest alone. (The helicopters are a ne
w
form of tourism, called Sky Treks, for those who do not desire to hike up the mo
untains.
Tourists instead ride helicopters to the top of the mountains, take their pictur
es, and
then return to the bottom again.) Other estimates place the accumulated rubbish
at
fifty tones which will cost approximately $500,000 to clean up.
A second, and perhaps greater problem than all of the rubbish, is deforestation.
Many
visitors come to Nepal expecting to see massive forests along the slopes of the
Khumba.
They do not come expecting to find Western amenities. Often the reverse is true.
Western amenities assault the visitors in the teahouses and guest lodges they fi
nd along
the trails while the forests are all but gone.
Over the years, the influx of tourists has encouraged changes in the use of fore
sts for
fuel wood and construction materials. The forests have typically been used by th
e
Nepali for fuel wood. However, the consumption rates between Nepalis and tourist
s
greatly differs and this is where the problem lies. The demand for fuelwood from
tourists has always been a concern for the park planners, administrators, and ma
nagers.
They consider "fuel-wood use by mountaineering and trekking groups to be one of
the
main environmental threats" to the parks.
"It has been estimated that four times as much fuel wood is needed to cook a mea
l for a
Western tourist than for a Nepali due largely to differences in diet." Add to th
at the
fuel wood needed for the daily hot showers and for the bonfires to keep them war
m and
"the impact on the forests is devastating." One trekker alone consumes five to t
en
times more fuel-wood than one Nepali. In addition to the trekkers who are consum
ing
gross amounts of fuel wood, there are also the estimated "150,000 guides, porter
s,
cooks, and other support staff" who are traveling with the trekkers and who need
fuel
wood as well.
Massive amounts of fuel wood are needed by the teahouses and guest lodges as wel
l.
More and more people are staying in the lodges and the number of lodges has quad
rupled
since 1976. The lodges and teahouses may use "up to four times as much fuel wood
a
day" as does a local's household." Others have estimated the amount of fuel wood
 used
by one trekker per day to be more firewood than the average Nepali uses in an en
tire
week.
By 1979, the park authorities of Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park were beg
inning
to see how extensive the deforestation, as a result of tourism, was becoming. As
a
result, they banned the use of wood for cooking and bonfires. All expedition and
trekking groups now must use kerosene stoves to cook. However, there have been n
o
restrictions on the fuel-wood used by loges and teahouses. This must surely chan
ge if
the country wants to preserve the forests it still has remaining.
In the Annapurna Conservation Area, a program was created to link conservation a
nd
development benefits, through tourism and involving the local people. The progra
m
helped the local lodge owners see the benefits of halting deforestation. While t
he
trees did provided needed fuel wood, their elimination would destroy the beauty
that
many of the visitors came to see. The program "organized lodge owners and all ag
reed
to honor a requirement that trekking expeditions had to bring in their own keros
ene."
As a result of the burgeoning influx of tourists, the Nepalese Government began
to
establish wildlife reserves, national parks, conservation areas, and hunting res
erves in
1976. The first three of these protected areas are recognized by the Internation
al
Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) now the
World Conservation Union.
One of the most famous conservation areas is the Annapurna Conservation Area Pro
ject
(ACAP) created in 1986. ACAP "was designed to minimize the negative impact from
tourism and promote conservation and the socioeconomic development of the region
."
ACAP is unique in that it calls for the participation and management by the loca
l people.
The project is based on the belief that properly managed tourism can bring benef
its
both to the land and to the people. "Tourists are regarded as partners in fulfil
ling the
goals of biodiversity conservation, cultural revitalisation and sustainable econ
omic
development." ACAP managers and developers believe that mountain trekking is a f
orm
of education which can be used to benefit the
Annapurna region. In addition, the trekkers provide much needed revenue that can
be
used for further conservation and development programs.
Most tourists come to Nepal either during the "cool, clear days of October and
November or during the secondary peak season that extends from March through ear
ly
May."
Economic Data
Industry output was $60 million may be as high as 75% concentration in some area
s.
"Tourism provides the single largest source of foreign exchange for the country'
s
development plans and the largest source of employment besides agriculture for N
epali
nationals." Tourism is also the major source of employment for many residents.
Employment from tourism is seasonal as a result of the weather. Most people empl
oyed
by the tourism industry work only four or five months a year. It also varies fro
m
community to community depending on the popularity and location of the village.
For most family members, the income is earned through trekking as guides, leader
s,
cooks, porters, and kitchen crews. During the expeditions the Nepali's hired to
assist
trekkers are fed, lodged, and provided with equipment so they return home with a
ll of
their earnings. Employment in trekking has been predominate for men but the numb
er
of women earning income from trekking is on the rise.
There has also been an increase in the employment and income generated from the
establishment of tea houses along the trekking route. An increasing number of to
urists
"carry light day packs and eat and sleep in the lodges for just a few dollars a
day."
A frequent complaint among the tourists is the lack of sanitary facilities. Saga
rmatha
National Park, the park which encompasses Mt. Everest, is getting a bad reputati
on as a
result of all the trash. It is ironic that it is the tourists who are causing th
ese
problems, yet they believe that it is up to the park authorities to alleviate th
em.
The World Wildlife Fund estimates that if present rates of deforestation continu
e,
Nepal's forests will be gone by the year 2000. This is troublesome not only beca
use of
the soil erosion and habitat loss which result, but also because 86 percent of N
epal's
energy comes from its forests.
CULTURAL IMPACTS
The influx of tourists have had a significant effect on the local communities, e
specially
the Sherpas (a Nepali ethnic group) who live around the trekking routes. The cul
ture of
the Sherpas has been changed as well as the structure of the local economies.
When the first trekkers came to Nepal, the Sherpa paid little attention to them.
Now
that the numbers have increased and the Sherpas' services are in demand (Sherpas
have
historically acted as guides, leaders, cooks, porters, etc.), trekking has encou
raged a
"get-rich-quick" mentality. The result has been a decrease in agricultural produ
ction,
since it generates less income, and a decrease in school attendance, children dr
eam of
becoming guides and drop out of school the moment they get the chance to join an
expedition. The Sherpa see money now when they see a "white face."
Villages are also becoming more dependent on cash rather than the traditional me
ans of
barter and reciprocal labor. This has meant that villages are changing from bein
g self-
reliant into beingdependent on "tourist dollars and outside resources to meet th
eir
daily needs." More and more agricultural fields are left fallow as more men are
leaving
to seek wealth from tourism. This means that more food must come from outside an
d
that there is less of it, causing higher prices. The higher prices are a hardshi
p on those
families who do not have income from tourism. Other traditions are disappearing
such as the custom of drinking Tibetan salt-and butter tea. The price of butter
makes this drink nearly unaffordable and the supply of tea is uncertain since tr
ade has also been disrupted by the beckoning wealth of tourism employment.
The Sherpas have not saved or invested any of their income generated from touris
m.
Rather, they have spent it on Western items, further degrading their traditional
culture. "Trekking Sherpas," as they have come to be known as, have discarded th
eir
traditional dress for "imported hiking boots, colorful wool sweaters, and down p
arkas."
The division of the village into trekking Sherpa and non-trekking Sherpa has res
ulted in
the creation of a new type of class. Whereas there were always class divisions i
n the
past, all of the people dressed and lived in a relatively similar manner. Today
donning
the Western wear, the trekking Sherpa and his wealth is easy to distinguish from
a
farmer.
Another affect of tourism is that local crafts are dying out. These crafts can n
ot
generated the same amount of income as tourism and the supplies needed are harde
r to
obtain. The Sherpa now have access to cash, hence they are now able to purchase
manufactured items rather than make their own. Wool is one item which has become
scarce, hence layers of cotton must be bought and worn to keep warm.
Trekking is one of the highest paying employments in Nepal today. The wealth ava
ilable
from this job draws many youngsters out of school and into tourism. Teaching and
government jobs, once considered very prestigious, are no longer desirable since
they do
not provide the same income as trekking. It is ironic that many youngsters are l
eaving
school since one of the qualifications needed today in trekking is knowledge of
spoken
and written Nepali and English. The youngsters may be even more valuable if they
would
continue their education rather than leave after a few years. It is also ironic
that the
Sherpa do not enjoy the trekking. To them, "climbing is simply a high-paying job
."
The trekking Sherpa are also forced to reflect the image projected upon them by
the
Western visitors. The Sherpa wear masks, having a public side for the world to s
ee and
a private side which is true to themselves. It is hard for the Sherpa, who work
twenty-
four hours a day, to maintain the public mask. Some Sherpa see themselves partly
as
actors and entertainers. It is only when the trek has ended that they may unveil
themselves and "engage in drinking binges and general hell-raising that may go o
n for
days."
Finally, there is the disruption to the family life. The men are often away from
the
home ten months of the year. Many of the trekking Sherpa who are married, keep
another woman in the cities where they stay in-between treks. Other Sherpa are
enticed by the forward gestures of Western women, who often initiate the affair.
"A
number of Sherpa women have lost their husbands or fianc?s to foreign women."
Perhaps a far greater concern is the loss of life. The decreasing number of youn
g men
has meant that many women are burdened with raising the children and with the
responsibility of the farm-work. The young unmarried women are also disadvantage
d
since there are fewer young men. One must begin to wonder if it is justifiable t
o
endanger the lives of the Sherpas so that others may enjoy themselves.