Pandemic in Nepal

Nepal Pandemic Stats and Efforts

The novel corona-virus has caused a severe impact to every part of the world including Nepal. Nepal, being a neighboring country to China and at a greater risk, took action early in the year when the first cases appeared. The international airport has been equipped with health-desks since mid-January and Nepal has cancelled all international promotional activities related to the “Visit Nepal Year 2020.” 2020 was supposed to be a Big Year for Nepal’s Tourism with all promotional activities put together by the Board of Tourism to entice more travelers to the region. Local authorities made efforts to contain the spread of the virus and ensure adequate supply of essential goods, medical equipment, and medicine.So far, Nepal shows pretty low rates of 45 COVID patients and no deaths at this time according to Wikipedia.



Tourism to Nepal

Nepal and its capital Kathmandu rely heavily on its profits from tourism. According to its annual Economic Impact Research, tourism accounts for 7.5% of Nepal's GDP. Tourists from all over the world visit this Himalayan country and its capital for various adventure, sightseeing, trekking, and mountaineering tours in Nepal, including climbing the famous mountain Everest. Since the tourism has stalled this year, Nepal’s mountain trails and streets of Kathmandu became empty due to stay-at-home order. This has made the life of the residents, and especially the mountain communities, which support themselves by offering trade and hospitality to trekkers, extremely challenging.

The Silver Lining

While it is hard to find a positive side to this pandemic, it has given time to Mother Nature to heal. The Himalayas and the terrain are taking a “break” without the footfall.The snow in the mountains is whiter than ever and, the air in Kathmandu is substantially cleaner, without heavy traffic.Newspapers report that the air is so clean you can see the snow-capped Himalayas from Jalandhar, India hundreds of kilometres away — something not seen in decades.No trekkers in the Himalayas also mean less trash in the area. With the absence of human traffic, animal sightings have become more common these days – wildlife has been spotted near cities and in villages. Sikkim, a state in India, recently reported a visit by the Himalayan Black Bear.

When will Tourism to Nepal resume?

At this point, we are not certain yet when it will be safe to travel, and we all are adhering to the World Health Organization recommendations. Our hope is that Nepal being a destination for outdoor activities will be one of the first regions to open and return to tourism. The land is more beautiful and enticing than ever and we can’t wait to go back. We are taking deposits for future treks that are flexible and can be applied to any trek 2020-2022 once we all have been cleared for travel.