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Mt. Manaslu & Mt. Lhotse Golden Jubilee Celebration 2006

Editor’s Note: The Adventure Travel Trade Associations wishes to express its gratitude to Mr. Tek Dangi, CEO of Nepal Tourism Board, and Mr. Ang Sherpa, President of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, for presenting at the 2006 Adventure Travel World Summit in Seattle.

Himalayan Mountain Conference 2006, which coincided with the Golden Jubilee Celebration of Mt. Manaslu & Mt. Lhotse, was held on 11th – 12th December 2006 in Kathmandu. Its theme: Mountaineering, Livelihood and Environment. The Honorable Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister Mr. K P Sharma Oli inaugurated the conference at Hyatt Hotel, Kathmandu on 11th December 2006. Countries represented at the conference included Japan, China, Taiwan, India, Pakistan, Austria, Slovenia, Ukraine, Nepal and 48 national and international agencies.

The conference was jointly organized by Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) in close partnership with Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MOCTCA), Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation (MOFSC), Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), WWF Nepal, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), The Mountain Institute (TMI) and Himalayan Environment Trust – Nepal.

The conference was designed to promote mountain tourism as well as to identify challenges and prospects of mountain tourism in Nepal. Similarly, it highlighted how to revive and promote post-conflict mountain tourism in the Himalaya, how to reduce impacts of tourism on Himalaya environment and cultures, and how to promote equitable sharing of tourism benefits with the local communities.

Some of the prominent figures that attended the conference were Peter Habler – First mountaineer to summit Mt. Everest without oxygen, Robert Pettigrew – President, Access & Conservation Commission (UIAA), Minoru Higeta (The only survivor of the First Manaslu Ascent team in 1956), Fumio Tanaka – President of UAAA, Nazir Sabir – First Pakistani Everest Summiteer & President of Alpine Club of Pakistan and Franc Ecker – President of Alpine Association of Slovenia. The conference also was attended by international journalists from different countries.

Out of the total area of Nepal 80 percent lies in the mountainous regions while the majority of population also live in these areas. The Himalaya Tourism Conference is expected to give impetus to development of mountain tourism in Nepal by promoting it throughout the world community.

The conference started with a procession, civic reception and cultural show at Kathmandu Durbar Square. Numerous presentations were presented by various personalities from the realms of bio-diversity conservation, Mountain tourism and Mountaineers’ community.

The conference unveiled many aspects of Nepalese Mountains and Mountain Tourism. A major concern was raised over the royalty issues. Dipendra Purush Dhakal, a former Tourism Secretary and a Policy Maker, provided a statistical data, which highlighted on the need of revisions to be made on peak royalties.

The conference is expected to convince the international community to once again visit Nepal in the wake of peace. Himalaya Conference was held at the time when the tourism industry was expecting a big event to take place in the country. Hence, it has created a platform for those international climbers and foreign media to learn about the actual situation of Nepal and to relay the message that new Nepal has opened door for the tourists once again.

Paper Presenters at the Conference were:

Dr. Krishna Chandra Paudel – Managing Mountain Bio-diversity for Better Life.

Robert Pettigrew – President (UIAA) – Developing Mountain Tourism Opportunities and Challenges.

Mr. Ravi Jung Pandey – Manager TRPAP – Community Based Tourism for Equitable Socio Economic Development.

Dr. Lakpa Norbu Sherpa – TMI – Harmonizing Tourism & Environment.

Prof. Indra Narayan Manadhar – Dept. of Geography TU – Mountaineering in Nepal – Prospects & Challenges.

Mr. Tek Bahadur Dangi – CEO Nepal Tourism Board – Tourism marketing Opportunities and Challenges.

Nr. Dipendra Purush Dhakal – Former Secretary MOCTCA – Enabling Policies for Mountain Tourism.