Nepal Flood Recovery Disrupts Tourism as Avalanche Kills Two Guides

Nepal’s tourism industry is struggling after catastrophic floods last month killed more than 1,450 people and destroyed key highways at the start of the country’s peak travel season.

Tour operators and other workers told Al Jazeera that cancellations have spread even to areas not directly hit by flooding. Kathmandu tour planner and taxi driver Pushpraj Rimal said he had conducted about one-quarter of his usual seasonal business. Seeta Nepali, who sells buttermilk with her husband along a highway linking Kathmandu with Pokhara and Chitwan, said road closures left them without earnings for 11 days.

Tourism accounts for nearly 8% of Nepal’s gross domestic product and supports more than 1 million jobs, according to Al Jazeera. More than 1.15 million tourists visited Nepal last year, with nearly one-third arriving during the September-to-November season.

According to Deutsche Welle, severe weather has also disrupted roads and trekking routes and led authorities to suspend climbing and trekking activities on several mountains. An avalanche struck the Himlung Himal base camp near the Tibetan border on Sunday after days of heavy rain and snowfall, killing two climbing guides. The Nepal National Mountain Guide Association said 14 kitchen staff remained missing, although officials gave conflicting accounts of how many people were in the area. Local police said at least 22 people had been at the camp. Search-and-rescue operations were underway in the remote area, where communications had been cut off.