Nepal flood fallout reaches tourism businesses beyond damaged areas
Flood deaths and damaged highways have prompted cancellations as the September–November season begins, squeezing workers and small businesses across the country.
Floods that killed more than 1,450 people and damaged key highways last month have disrupted Nepal’s peak tourism season, according to Al Jazeera. The September–November period is a major source of income for a sector that the report says employs more than one million people and accounts for nearly 8 per cent of GDP.
The impact is being felt beyond places directly hit by flooding. Kathmandu tour planner and taxi driver Pushpraj Rimal told Al Jazeera his business was about a quarter of its usual seasonal level after tourists cancelled trips and hotel and trekking commissions dried up.
On the highway linking Kathmandu with Pokhara and Chitwan, sellers Seeta and Ramakant Nepali said a road closure stopped their sales for 11 days. Seeta said business remained below half its former level after the route reopened.
Travellers interviewed by Al Jazeera described cancelling or changing plans. A Chitwan resort worker said 80 per cent of reservations were cancelled after the floods, while the highway to the area was closed for nearly two weeks.
Travel advice has added to uncertainty. The report says the UK warned on 11 September that flooding had made many areas unstable and safe travel difficult to guarantee; the US embassy also designated some areas unsafe or no-travel zones. India’s chargé d’affaires said some parts should be avoided, while Nepal remained open.
The full economic impact is still being assessed. For tourism workers and small businesses, however, the loss of visitors is already cutting income during a season on which many depend.
