Responsible Tourism

Nepal is a place of overriding beauty and calm but, as with anywhere, dig a little deeper and the same question will arise: at what price? Responsible tourism issues in Nepal are driven by poverty, a lack of education, and simple inefficiency when it comes to infrastructure. Much to the annoyance of purists, there are new roads making inlays into the Annapurna circuit, yet concomitantly, the existing roads are in an appalling state. Similarly, the more us tourists want to experience rural Himalayan life, the more growing wood the locals will chop and burn to keep us warm and fed.

Nepal’s issues are clear-cut, but co-dependent and can therefore seem like vicious cycles – the hardest cycles to break. The rural Nepalese are caring and spiritual people who strive for positive changes, but who as yet lack enough understanding or support to implement them fully. Granted, tourism is not perfect and does cause damage, but there is a real need for development, especially in Nepal’s rural areas and responsible, well-managed tourism is still one of the most central ways of lifting rural Nepalese out of poverty.