First Guest of the Year 2078 at Venture Travels
The Nepali New Year 2078 was celebrated with equal enthusiasm and happiness on 14th April this year, albeit only amongst the close family members adhering to safety protocols. In the last week of the year, all of our staff and immediate family members were inoculated with the first dose of the jab. With the inoculation drive in full swing and mountaineering and treks gaining some momentum in Nepal, we are hoping for a better year ahead.
Excited to share with you that we commenced this year with a bang at Venture Travels as we welcomed a regular guest from the USA who arrived on the 2nd day of the Nepali New Year to visit us again. She will be staying in Nepal for 3 weeks and will be touring around the country. She will also spend a week at the Green Jungle Resort. When we say we have high hopes for this year, we mean exactly this and more. The inoculation drive is going strong around the world including Nepal, the COVID cases in Nepal has been the lowest in months and the international tourist arrival has been the highest since the pandemic struck. We firmly believe the time has come for you to plan a trip to Nepal as we are eagerly awaiting to welcome you.
A year ago, as COVID-19 spread across the planet like a wildfire, the Nepal government was forced to cancel the high-profile and lucrative Himalayan trekking and climbing season. Though necessary to help prevent the spread of the virus, the move left the travel-dependent economy and tourism sector of Nepal in shambles. The past 12 months have been long and grueling for Nepal especially the tourism industry.
Fast forward a year later in 2021, the coronavirus is still a serious challenge for most countries, although thanks to vaccinations with improved medical treatment a ray of light appears to be in sight at the end of the tunnel. This has prompted a new sense of optimism within the tourism industry of Nepal preparing to welcome a record-breaking number of trekkers and climbers in the coming season.
The mountaineering season has officially started in Nepal on 16th April when a record-breaking 68 climbers, including six Nepali women, reached the top of 8,091-meter Annapurna I on Friday, the first successful mountaineering expedition this year. This also marks a record for the first 6 Nepali women to ascend the mountain. They were among 68 that reached the summit on Friday, the highest number to do so on a single day. The Department of Tourism had issued permits for 44 Nepali and foreign climbers to climb Annapurna I. The number of climbers that climbed the mountain Friday also includes high altitude mountain guides for whom permits are not issued.
Mount Everest, The top of the world was closed to climbers last year, but this year after reopening with its first permit of 2021 season to the Bahrain military expedition on the 26th of March, a high number of climbers have already applied and received their permit as well. So far 244 individual permits have been issued and we expect this number to near the 2019 record of 381 very soon. Icefall doctors, the dedicated team of high-altitude experts who fix the ropes and ladders up to Camp 2, to make the path easy for climbers are already on their jobs. Hundreds of porters, high-altitude workers, and staff at hotels and restaurants who had been laid off have got their jobs back. Expedition outfitters, restaurants and hotels, and logistic suppliers are back in business. In other words, the 2021 spring Mount Everest climbing season is underway and it seems there’s no stopping this time. Although the actual climb and push towards the summit mostly takes place only in May, the climbers get to the mountain as early as March to acclimatize to the high altitude.
In summary, tourist arrivals have been the highest since the pandemic. Looking at the mountaineering permit including the tourist arrivals for mountaineering we are hopeful that it will be at par with years before the pandemic. We also expect the tours and trekking arrivals on a similar volume. If these are an indication of what’s in store, then we can say, the future certainly bright for all of us.
