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 There
is increasing concern regarding the importance of
ecological aspect in tourism promotion, particularly in
the sphere of vacation tourism. Major tour operators
feel that the holiday tourists are inclined to demand
increasingly more perfect environment without any extra
cost for it. Greater number of new generation tourists
are not attracted by these green displays any more. Many
factors such as ' tranquil place up in the Himalayas,'
'ancient unspoilt culture in the midst of unpolluted
nature', 'green gardens profusely blossoming',
'awe-inspiring vistas and scenic panorama,' 'clean fresh
water', 'pure non-polluted air,' 'rich heritage,' etc.,
have now become concept of 'Ecological Tourism,'
commonly accepted as 'soft tourism.'
 For
developing tourist destinations like Nepal having
special interest programs, the growing tendency among
the clients seems to be that they prefer to arrange
their itinerary through specialised tour operators, who
possess long experience of promoting 'soft tourism,' as
being commonly understood today as 'Eco-tourism.
However, one has to be concerned with definite
commitment to the quality of our ecological environment,
apart from few exceptions that enthusiastic adventure
tourists and mountain climbers anywhere in the world are
used to taking helicopters everywhere for adventure
sports such as heli-biking(running down the hill on
mountain bikes), heli-skiing, heli-trekking, heli-mountaineering,
heli-camping at high altitudes as in the Nepal Himalayas
etc.
 As
a result of operation of number of helicopter services,
it is possible in Nepal to go on a heli-trek or a
sky-trek, propelling the tourists to the higher summits
of the Himalayan range and allowing them to stretch
their legs and then quickly return after getting the
breathtaking view of the snow-capped peaks. These are
becoming the 'New Eco-tourism of future,', particularly
for those busy affluent individuals and more
comfort-seeking people, who have neither time nor the
stamina to leg up the mountain terrains and steep hills
undergoing a tough trekking program. These helitreks and
excursions may not much tarnish the local ecological
environment and the local culture. On the other hand,
failure to introduce timely control measures on over
visitation and infuses more rationality in planning such
tour programs; there can be considerable adverse impact
on the environment of the mountain areas in the long
run.
Visitors in search of calmness of nature to the remote
mountains could feel repulsive to the increasing volume
of such excursion flights in the peaceful skies of the
Mount Everest Region, where they come all the way to
experience some undisturbed silence and tranquil nature
away from the hustle and bustle of metropolitan
Kathmandu. From environmental point of view, many sought
after ecotourist destinations are gradually becoming
fragile all over the world, although tourism promotion
is considering them still unspoilt. Besides the cultural
ecology and distinct importance of Nepal's resources of
arts and culture, there is much scope of diversified
tourism experience such as study of nature, wild life
adventure in the Chitwan national park area, exclusive
bird watching sanctuary like Koshi Tappu, trekking and
hiking experience, mountain climbing, adventure
holidays, rock climbing, mountain biking, kiting, hot
air ballooning, river rafting, countryside camping,
river beach holidays outside urban areas, rural holiday
tourism and so on.
In countries like Nepal where tourism is centred around
natural attractions, although being closely linked with
cultural interests, it has still to go a long way, as
today one finds it more than often equated with eco or
nature tourism. Even though the incoming visitors
initiate their travel program by staying in luxury
hotels in the capital valley of Kathmandu, but the real
destinations which they have come to see are the
splendour of the natural locations away in the
countryside and the rural sectors or the farfetched
hamlets in the shadow of the serene mountain
environment. It is exactly here one will be conscious of
the fact that these sensitive areas of our far-flung
countryside are the traditional dwelling places of our
native population, who constitute integral part of the
exclusive local eco-system. If not properly preserved,
even their traditional culture can be as fragile as that
of the natural world. Surprising indeed, despite few
tourists visiting these spots, yet their impact is
considered to be disproportionately greater than in most
of the developed destination areas.
What has become crucial today for the Nepalese tourist
industry is to impart serious attention in carefully
planning and implementing Nepal's Eco-tourism. This is
essential to sustain it to be of long-term benefit to
our nature and the host community of the respective
local areas.
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