Tourists decreasing in Kanchenjunga area

Tourist arrivals are declining in the Kanchenjunga area of ​​Taplejung. COVID-19 has badly affected the number of internal and external tourists in the Kanchenjunga area for two years.

The Kanchenjunga region has been deserted for the last two years since the outbreak of the pandemic. During this time, very few tourists have visited Kanchenjunga. According to the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Management Council, 43 people visited the area in fiscal year 2020/21.

About one hundred and fifty tourists have visited the Kanchenjunga region so far in the current fiscal year. A total of 141 tourists visited Kanchenjunga in the first season of the current fiscal year, according to the council office.

The Kanchenjunga region, which has been deserted for two years, has seen a limited influx of tourists in the current fiscal year after the impact of the epidemic eased. The first tourist season of this year was in September and October, when tourists from the United States, France, Taiwan and other countries visited the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, said Tasi Tenzing Sherpa.

In the first season of the current year, five climbers, including a Taiwanese national who went through the Seven Summit Treks tradition, successfully climbed Kanchenjunga. Among those who have climbed Kanchenjunga are Seng Ko Ath of Taiwan, Nimagaljen Sherpa of Dolakha, Pasangrinje Sherpa of Nepal, Glajje Sherpa of Solukhumbu, and Dakipa Sherpa. According to the council office, some of the foreign and domestic tourists visiting Kanchenjunga plan to climb the mountain, while some only reach the base camp.

According to the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Office, 5,427 tourists have visited the Kanchenjunga region in the last decade up to the year before the outbreak of coronavirus. According to statistics, the highest number of tourists, numbering 806, visited Kanchenjunga in the fiscal year 2019. Between 500 and 700 tourists used to come every year before the pandemic. Chairman of the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Management Council, Khagendra Fembu, said that the tourism development has been hampered due to the direct impact of the epidemic on tourism sector. Fembu said the number of tourists visiting Kanchenjunga would double if the viral outbreak subsided.