Operators set autumn target for return of Nepal tourism
Specialist tour operators are hoping visitors will quickly return to Nepal to help the country recover from its devastating earthquake.
Derek Moore, chairman of the Association of Independent Tour Operators, said tourism is vital for Nepal to stand on its own feet again.
"We must hope that, when immediate events give way to a country ready to, and desperate to, receive visitors again, that travellers will return to the country quickly; this is a nation that needs tourism more than most countries if it is to return to some sense of normality again in the course of time," he said.
Several AITO operators had clients in Nepal at the time of the tragedy, but all now report that their groups are out of danger.
"As always in situations like this, visitors who are travelling with an organised tour have benefitted from their tour operator’s expertise in handling crisis situations such as this, whilst it has been heartening to see the way the operators themselves have been working together to solve information and logistics problems," said Moore.
Steve Berry, MD of Mountain Kingdoms, said Nepal will be anxious for tourists to return in the autumn.
"They need our business, and by the autumn, the initial shock will have subsided and people will be re-building their lives," he said.
"We should get the EU to remove its ban on Nepalese airlines for a year at least. We must get the message across to our general public that cancelling their holidays is just another heavy blow."
Tim Greening, director of KE Adventure, added: "The Nepalese are extremely hardy and will be ready to receive people in the autumn season which starts in mid-September, but the prime months are October and November.
"The Nepalese rely entirely on tourism for economic growth. Without us backing them in the next season, this disaster will get much worse."
He said 80% of KE Adventure clients have rebooked to go in the post-monsoon, autumn season, while the rest have accepted the offer of a full refund.
Simon Lowe, MD of Jagged Globe, suggested holding the 2016 AITO Conference in Kathmandu.
Meanwhile, several AITO members have begun fund raising to help the relief effort.
Naturetrek has pledged to match client donations up to £10,000, which was reached within 24 hours. It raised over £27,000 in just a few days.
KE Adventure Travel raised over £20,000 through Just Giving within the first day of putting out an appeal, and this figure is dramatically rising.
Discover Adventure is sending tents to the Manasalu and Langtang regions to provide temporary shelter to those who have lost their homes.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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