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With the number of unregulated firms operating adventure tourism mushrooming in the country, the Nepal government has introduced a new provision to bring such enterprises under the scanner.
This is the first governmental endeavor as such to regulate the adventure tourism.
Tourism entrepreneurs in this Himalayan nation lately have begun to focus more on adventure tourism tapping the potential of adventurous landscapes and breathtaking measures of recreation.
A new regulation unveiled by the Ministry of Tourism in Nepal seeks the compulsory registration of any adventure tourism including rafting, canyoning, caving, fun park, bungy jumping, zip flying, rock climbing, mountaineering, cable car, among others. "Unlike other sectors of tourism, the adventure tourism has gone largely unregulated," Purna Chandra Bhattarai, joint secretary at the Tourism Ministry told Xinhua, adding the move is to bring the unregistered adventure tourism under its umbrella and to organize the sector.
The ministry sources said most of the enterprises operating the adventure tourism have not fulfilled due process including the payment of royalty to the government, security management and risk mitigation. "We hope the move will help to promote the sector to the further height and attract large number of adventure seeking foreign tourists in Nepal," added Bhattarai.
So far, there is no legal policy under which adventure tourism needs to be registered at any governmental body.
Ministry officials said they would give a formal call to all the entrepreneurs who have been operating adventure tourism in the country. "The denial to register themselves in the ministry will also result in legal penalty," Bhattarai said.
