Clients considering a trip to Nepal will be happy to hear that the country’s most popular trekking track has been cleared and deemed safe for tourists.
The greenlight on the Annapurna region was handed down late last week and comes less than three months after the country was hit by two powerful earthquakes, which killed more than 9,000 people and injured more than 23,000 others.
While the earthquakes had a devastating impact on locals, tour operators say reports of damage to major tourist attractions have been widely exaggeratedly and Nepal is still open for travellers.
They say that without the economic support from tourism the situation for locals will only worsen.
This is because tourism is Nepal’s largest resource of foreign income, with more than 40 percent of the country’s 800,000 visitors each year coming for its iconic trekking and adventure activities.
In a bid to draw back tourists, Nepal’s government has already reopened major heritage site, Bhaktapur and is in talks with foreign leaders to lift travel warnings.
A joint public-private initiative also saw earthquake engineering specialists Miyamoto International receive funding from SAMARTH-UKAID on behalf of the government of Nepal to conduct the expert assessment.
The report from Miyamoto’s experts confirms that the Annapurna region, located in the Himalayas in north-central Nepal, sustained “very little damage, with the three percent of buildings which were damaged in the quake all easily repairable.”
The assessment of the Annapurna region was made by a team of geotechnical and structural engineering experts with mountain guides, who were sent to conduct a technical inspection of the main trekking routes and select villages ahead of the monsoon season.
“Annapurna is ready to open for business.”
Dr.Kit Miyamoto, Miyamoto International CEO
“The report highlights areas where organizations can help Nepal rebuild stronger than ever. We now have the information needed to take action.”
Intrepid Travel, which has promised to donate next season’s profits to charities, says it has experienced a slump in bookings mainly from travellers concered about safety.
Founder, Darrell Wade welcomed the report saying it will helps ease speculation about the condition of the treks.
“We’re one of the largest trekking operators in Nepal, and we know how reliant the country is on tourism so we felt a big responsibility to get things in Nepal back to normal as soon as possible by kick-starting the trekking season in September.”
Darrell Wade, Intrepid Founder & CEO
The assessment is believed to be the first ever completed by international earthquake engineering specialists on trekking routes in Nepal, and the recommendations include opportunities to manage potential hazards not associated with the April and May earthquakes.