Eco Village Tour
There is increasing concern
regarding the importance of
ecological aspect in tourism
promotion, particularly in
the sphere of vacation
tourism. Major tour
operators feel that the
holiday tourists are
inclined to demand
increasingly more perfect
environment without any
extra cost for it. Greater
number of new generation
tourists are not attracted
by these green displays any
more. Many factors such as '
tranquil place up in the
Himalayas,' 'ancient
unspoilt culture in the
midst of unpolluted nature',
'green gardens profusely
blossoming', 'awe-inspiring
vistas and scenic panorama,'
'clean fresh water', 'pure
non-polluted air,' 'rich
heritage,' etc., have now
become concept of
'Ecological Tourism,'
commonly accepted as 'soft
tourism.'
For developing tourist
destinations like Nepal
having special interest
programs, the growing
tendency among the clients
seems to be that they prefer
to arrange their itinerary
through specialized tour
operators, who possess long
experience of promoting
'soft tourism,' as being
commonly understood today as
'Eco-tourism. However, one
has to be concerned with
definite commitment to the
quality of our ecological
environment, apart from few
exceptions that enthusiastic
adventure tourists and
mountain climbers anywhere
in the world are used to
taking helicopters
everywhere for adventure
sports such as heli-biking
(running down the hill on
mountain bikes), heli-skiing,
heli-trekking, heli-mountaineering,
heli-camping at high
altitudes as in the Nepal
Himalayas etc.
As a result of operation of
number of helicopter
services, it is possible in
Nepal to go on a heli-trek
or a sky-trek, propelling
the tourists to the higher
summits of the Himalayan
range and allowing them to
stretch their legs and then
quickly return after getting
the breathtaking view of the
snow-capped peaks. These are
becoming the 'New
Eco-tourism of future,',
particularly for those busy
affluent individuals and
more comfort-seeking people,
who have neither time nor
the stamina to leg up the
mountain terrains and steep
hills undergoing a tough
trekking program. These heli
treks and excursions may not
much tarnish the local
ecological environment and
the local culture. On the
other hand, failure to
introduce timely control
measures on over visitation
and infuses more rationality
in planning such tour
programs; there can be
considerable adverse impact
on the environment of the
mountain areas in the long
run.
Visitors in search of
calmness of nature to the
remote mountains could feel
repulsive to the increasing
volume of such excursion
flights in the peaceful
skies of the Mount Everest
Region, where they come all
the way to experience some
undisturbed silence and
tranquil nature away from
the hustle and bustle of
metropolitan Kathmandu. From
environmental point of view,
many sought after eco
tourist destinations are
gradually becoming fragile
all over the world, although
tourism promotion is
considering them still
unspoilt. Besides the
cultural ecology and
distinct importance of
Nepal's resources of arts
and culture, there is much
scope of diversified tourism
experience such as study of
nature, wild life adventure
in the Chitwan national park
area, exclusive bird
watching sanctuary like
Koshi Tappu, trekking and
hiking experience, mountain
climbing, adventure
holidays, rock climbing,
mountain biking, kiting, hot
air ballooning, river
rafting, countryside
camping, river beach
holidays outside urban
areas, rural holiday tourism
and so on.
In countries like Nepal
where tourism is centered
around natural attractions,
although being closely
linked with cultural
interests, it has still to
go a long way, as today one
finds it more than often
equated with eco or nature
tourism. Even though the
incoming visitors initiate
their travel program by
staying in luxury hotels in
the capital valley of
Kathmandu, but the real
destinations which they have
come to see are the splendor
of the natural locations
away in the countryside and
the rural sectors or the
farfetched hamlets in the
shadow of the serene
mountain environment. It is
exactly here one will be
conscious of the fact that
these sensitive areas of our
far-flung countryside are
the traditional dwelling
places of our native
population, who constitute
integral part of the
exclusive local eco-system.
If not properly preserved,
even their traditional
culture can be as fragile as
that of the natural world.
Surprising indeed, despite
few tourists visiting these
spots, yet their impact is
considered to be
disproportionately greater
than in most of the
developed destination areas.
What has become crucial
today for the Nepalese
tourist industry is to
impart serious attention in
carefully planning and
implementing Nepal's
Eco-tourism. This is
essential to sustain it to
be of long-term benefit to
our nature and the host
community of the respective
local areas.
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