Mountaineering & Tourism

IT is, indeed, heartening to know that Nepal is celebrating the Golden Jubilee of the conquest of Mt. Sagarmatha or Mt. Everest, the tallest peak in the world, from 1st of June 2002 to 31st May 2003 with a variety of programmes. The one-year long Golden Jubilee programmes include several sporting and other events like international cricket tournament, white water rafting, golf, rock climbing, football, cross country relay race, mountain-bike race, bowling, gliding, elephant polo competition and photo and philatelic exhibition. Going by the year-long sporting events, the celebrations will indeed be grand and they are sure to attract world’s attention towards Nepal. Conquest of Mt Everest by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary for the very first time on 29th May 1953 was, in fact, one of the greatest triumphs of human endeavour and spirit in the world. More importantly, it was land mark in the history of mountaineering.

Nepal Mountaineering Association and other organisations involved in the travel and tourism business are taking the initiatives to mark this Everest Golden Jubilee celebration. Their joint initiative should be duly commended since this event has global significance as it marks the 50th year of the conquest of the highest point on earth. The celebration is more important for Nepal because Himalayas and Mt Everest are the symbols of Nepal’s identity and tourism development. Although Nepal contains several other attractions that lure foreign visitors, the snow-clad Himalayan mountains in general and Mt Everest in particular are the major attractions for tourists, especially the trekkers, nature-lovers and mountaineers. Many tourists visit Nepal for the purpose of watching Nepal’s Himalayan peaks from very close range while some of them in fact attempt these peaks for adventure. As a result, tourism industry has developed in Nepal contributing to the national economy to a large extent. Undoubtedly, it was mountaineering that played a key role in Popularising Nepalese tourism and projecting Nepal as a popular tourist destination in the world. Nepal Mountaineering Association that came into being 28 years ago has made a significant contribution in the field of tourism in general and mountaineering in particular. This is one of the reasons why the forthcoming celebration of Golden Jubilee of the conquest of Mt. Everest is important in Nepal. More heartening to note is that the decision to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the conquest of Mt Everest coincides with the decision of Nepal to mark the Year 2002 as "Nepal Destination Year" and the United Nations declaring the same year as the "International Year of the Mountains". As tourism is the mainstay of Nepal’s economy, it is the duty of all Nepalese to work unitedly so that the celebrations to mark the 50th year of the conquest of Mt Everest will be a grand success. It would definitely contribute to popularising Nepal and its tourism potentials.