One of Nepal’s main tourist destinations, the Everest region, welcomes thousands of trekkers, mountaineers, and upscale (luxury) travelers each year. As popular as trekking and mountain climbing, helicopter sightseeing offers visitors who are prepared to shell out a lot of money to get a close-up look at the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest. The nation’s economy as a whole, local companies, hotels, and airlines all gain a great deal from these sightseeing excursions. However, the Sagarmatha National Park has made the decision to outright prohibit helicopter sightseeing tours in the area as of January 1, 2025. Stakeholders are engaged in a heated discussion as a result.
There is a darker side to this ostensibly profitable tourism practice. Although they help with tourism in the national park and its environs, helicopters are bad for the wild animals that live in the comparatively untouched parts of the park. During the busiest travel seasons, spring and fall, there are more than 6,000 helicopter flights in the Everest region, according to official data. These flights disturb the feeding and breeding habits of the wildlife and contribute to excessive noise pollution. The Himalayan Goral and Tahr are especially vulnerable to low-flying helicopters. The sudden, loud noises of the choppers are causing some animals to jump off the cliffs and die, according to park sources. Others are escaping their native areas and wandering into neighboring villages, where they cause problems for the local population.
Therefore, it makes sense that the park is concerned about wildlife. The rarest animals in the world, such as red pandas and snow leopards, can be found there. It is impossible to ignore the importance of protecting these creatures since it supports wildlife tourism and preserves biodiversity. Park officials claim that they took this action for additional reasons, such as the accidental landing of the helicopters and their suspicion that wildlife contraband was being transported. However, given that it will impact tourism in the area, the sudden and capricious way the ban was implemented is worrisome. The ban, which was imposed without consultation or consideration of other options, has drawn criticism from tour operators, helicopter companies, and the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the nation’s civil aviation regulator. Additionally, the CAAN has made it clear that the park lacks the legal authority to impose such a ban.
Nepal’s tourism industry is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The European Union’s extension of its ban on Nepali airlines has made matters worse. Business owners who have made tourism-related investments continue to lose a lot of money. High-end tourism offerings, such as helicopter sightseeing, could save the struggling industry at this point. Therefore, instead of placing blame on one another, the park and civil aviation authorities ought to look for areas of agreement and choose a more impartial strategy.
Establishing designated flight corridors away from conservation areas or sensitive wildlife habitats may be a workable way to reduce noise pollution, as experts have recommended. Monitoring efforts in the area should be stepped up, and the aviation watchdog should hold the operators responsible if the national park authority’s worries about illegal trafficking and unplanned landings are sincere. Our economy depends heavily on both wildlife and tourism, so a delicate balance between the two must be maintained. We think that they can coexist if a little more consideration is given.
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