Strike On Afghanistan May Affect Nepal’s Tourism

It’s been over a month now that America has been dropping bombs on Afghanistan’s bare mountains in a bid to what it calls "smoke the terrorists out" of their hiding. Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect of the September 11 attacks in America, and his die-hard followers are hiding in war-ravaged, benighted Afghanistan. America has said that it would take stern action against the Taliban regime if they continued to harbour the terrorists defying its ultimatum to hand over bin Laden. The consequences is now devastating for Afghanistan. And undoubtedly, the US action, in the long run, will be surely affect Nepal’s tourism, one of the most important sources of foreign currency, since the tourists, especially from the Western world will not venture out in the hostile global atmosphere. Nepal’s tourism sector, already suffering from the ongoing Maoists’ insurgency, will certainly plunge into further chaos. It is high time the concerned tourism authorities and organisations thought of plans to improve the situation.

Sharmila Nepal
Balaju, Kathmandu