Your news item ('End travel warnings', #286) blaming foreign travel advisories just go to show that the private sector is as much to blame as the parties, king and Maoists. It is a classic hat trick: brandishing blatantly wrong figures and accusing foreigners for domestic-made problems. Nepal's tourism decline has a lot to do with environment degradation (of which Nepali are the first to suffer) irresponsibility of so many tour operators, trekking agents and rafting specialists who wrap bad service in great promises. Lack of professionalism is rife at all levels and NATO (what a ridiculous acronym) is its representative. The second untruth is that tourism 'benefits the poor in villages'. The problem is that only marginal benefits goes to the poor in porter's salaries. A great part of the money sticks in Kathmandu, here in the hands of operators. Tourism mostly benefits the rich in Kathmandu, and provides a mediocre seasonal living for a limited number of people. Using the 'poor Nepali' argument only shows the usual disrespect of the Nepali elite towards their own poor.

How can they talk about protecting the 'sole breadwinners' when tour operators never respect the minimum rules about protecting and paying porters? The little that has happened in Nepal for porters is because of western customers and some dedicated (isolated) Nepalis. Travel advisories are about insurance claims, if you decide to travel anyway the risks will not be covered. Western tour operators can be sued by clients if stuck by Nepal bandas, riots, coups, phone lines cutting and random bombings. The embassies don't issue these advisories on a whim but as a last resort.

Should the number of tourist increase again and more importantly the number of days they spend in Nepal and the amount they spend per day, Nepal's really poor will only marginally benefit from it. So, do we have here a case of culprits posing as victims? The decline of tourism in Nepal would have happened even without the conflict. Mishandling tourism is one of the many lost opportunities for Nepal.
H Marceau,
France