Nepal launches #NepalCalling campaign to counter flood-driven tourism cancellations

Nepal’s tourism industry had begun to look toward a strong autumn season when the Bhotekoshi disaster reversed that optimism. Mandip Giri, managing director of the Dom Himalaya Hotel in Kathmandu’s Thamel district, said bookings for September through November had exceeded 90 percent. Within a week of the disaster, about one-fifth had disappeared.

“Cancellation is rising each passing day as search and rescue intensify in northern Nepal,” Giri told the Post. “Over the last seven days, 20 percent of bookings have already been cancelled, particularly online bookings.”

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Cancellation is rising each passing day as search and rescue intensify in northern Nepal. Over the last seven days, 20 percent of bookings have already been cancelled, particularly online bookings.

Tourism operators say the problem is not necessarily the destinations visitors planned to reach. It is the way the disaster now appears on screens. Images of washed-out roads, collapsed bridges, stranded people and bodies recovered from rivers have spread far beyond Rasuwa, leaving potential visitors with the impression that the whole country has been hit.

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Our mountain trails and trekking routes are still waiting for you.

That perception threatens Nepal’s most important tourism window. Clearer post-monsoon skies typically bring foreign trekkers to the country from September to November, a period that accounts for nearly 40 percent of annual arrivals. Nepal recorded 85,444 foreign visitors in August, down 3.65 percent from the same month last year, and cancellations accelerated during the final week, when the disaster struck.

The government is responding with the #NepalCalling campaign. Tourism Minister Khadak Raj Paudel said in a Facebook video, “Our mountain trails and trekking routes are still waiting for you.” He added, “Your coming to Nepal this time does not mean only a holiday. It's a big support to the country fighting this catastrophic tragedy of flash floods.” Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal has also told diplomats and development partners that the disaster is geographically localized. Airports are operating normally, he said, and Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan, Lumbini, Janakpur, the Annapurna and Everest regions, and Bardiya remain open to tourists.

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Your coming to Nepal this time does not mean only a holiday. It's a big support to the country fighting this catastrophic tragedy of flash floods.