The Namche Conference: May 24-26, 2003 People, Park, and Mountain Ecotourism Participants and Presentations: Dr. Padma Chandra Poudel

Dr. Padma Chandra Poudel ( poudelpc@hotmail.com) Abstract: Development and Issues in Mountain Eco-tourism: A Case from Pokhara Area, Nepal. Tourism is basically a service industry, which involves different developmental activities, firms, organizations, goods and services form various industries. Therefore, development of tourism has enormous potentials for economic blessing and environmental (physical & cultural) blights, if properly managed with thoughtful and well co-ordinated planning. Evil consequences that are associated with mountain tourism happen because of thoughtless haphazard development and the economic forces left to work without restraints. This type of development kills the healthy places and destroys tourismagnetic environment. Generally, such situations are often visible in developing countries and more serious in the countries dominated by fragile mountain landscape. The developmental activity i.e., opening of Pokhara-Baglung Highway notably reduced tourism activities in Dhampus and Naudanda Area of Kaski. Before the Highway construction Dhampus and Naudanda were the main first night stop site for mountain tourists traversing to Annapurna Base Camp and Mustang area. These days, Ghandruk and Beni Bazar, Myagdi play the role of Dhampus and Naudanda. Consequently, night stay of tourist in the area decreased and the developmental activities created for mountain tourism turned to economic burden rather than economic blights. Similarly, the opening of road linking Naudandada via Sarangkot and Kaskikot has remarkably reduced the healthily growing mountain tourism in Sarangkot and Kaskikot area. Road construction to Himalpani (proposed) the dam site of Upper Modi Hydro Project, and Beni to Jomsom/Mustang may create similar situation to Ghandruk/Kaski, Marpha & Tukuche/Mustang.

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