SATV 13 April, Kathmandu: Stakeholders have said that air pollution is increasingly affecting the tourism sector. They have raised concerns that tourists visiting the country are shortening or canceling their trips due to high levels of air pollution.
Speakers at an interaction programme titled “Impact of Air Pollution on the Tourism Sector” organised on Saturday by the Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ) and the Nepal Tourism Board said that when Kathmandu is listed among the most polluted cities in the world, it negatively impacts the tourism industry.
They said that air pollution disrupts regular flights, causes various health issues and disappoints tourists who are unable to enjoy mountain views, thereby having a growing negative impact on the tourism industry.
Speaking at the programme, Deepak Raj Joshi, Chief Executive Officer of the Nepal Tourism Board, said, “Tourism is the only industry that contributes to the green economy, but Nepal’s beautiful image is at risk due to pollution.” Despite tourism being a major contributor to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Joshi said it still has not been prioritised.
He stressed that the tourism sector provides direct and indirect employment to over one million people in Nepal. “”To reap more benefits from tourism, we must reduce activities that contribute to climate risks, environmental pollution and negatively impact tourism destinations, while also focusing on policy reforms,” he added.
According to him, air pollution may immediately reduce tourist arrivals, but if the problem persists annually, it will have long-term consequences for the tourism industry.
Thakur Raj Pandey, Senior Vice President of the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), said, “Nepal’s improved weather information system has benefited the tourism sector, but pollution continues to affect it.”
According to experts, over 90 per cent of the air during the dry season is not suitable for human health. In Nepal, around 47,000 people die annually due to unhealthy air. The Ministry of Health and Population has reported an increase in hospital patients after the Air Quality Index (AQI) reached hazardous levels in Kathmandu and many other parts of the country over the past two weeks.
He argued that unless local governments take effective measures, efforts to control forest fires and prevent pollution will remain ineffective.
Dr. Bhupendra Das, an air quality expert, said that transboundary air pollution, agriculture, industry/factories, open burning of waste, forest fires and old vehicles are the main sources of pollution in Nepal.
“Studies have shown that more than 90 per cent of air pollution occurs in the Tarai, about 6.5 per cent in the mid-hills and around 3 per cent in the Himalayan region,” he said.
“Human activity is the primary cause of increasing pollution. In recent years, forest fires have become a major contributing factor,” he added.
Chandra Shekhar Karki, President of NEFEJ, Bishnu Pandey, Secretary of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), tourism entrepreneur Chakra Karki; and senior meteorologist Dr. Indira Kandel of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, among others, expressed the opinion that only clean air can expand Nepal’s tourism industry.
According to meteorologist Kandel, rainfall during the winter and pre-monsoon season plays an important role in reducing pollution. “The weather system that brings rain is influenced by external factors, but internal activities can also be undertaken to reduce pollution,” she said.
Other speakers at the event expressed the view that the cleaner and healthier the environment is, the more sustainable and trustworthy the tourism sector becomes.
