High profile visitors to Nepal after the Earthquake of 2015
- 21-Apr-2016
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As known, Nepal suffered heavy devastation due to the earthquakes on April 25 and May 12 in 2015 and the tourism sector was the worst hit besides a huge physical and human loss. Almost a year has passed and the tourism sector is recovering at a slower pace. Besides the listing of Nepal as a favored destination for 2016 by some reputed travel publishers such as Rough Guide, National Geographic Traveller Magazine, Forbes Media, and Huffington Post, and Travel Website like TripAdvisor, Nepal has also seen some of the high profile visits post the earthquake.
Let’s look upon at dignitaries who visited Nepal after the devastating calamity.
Darrell Wade, the chief executive of Intrepid Travel, was one of the first to visit Nepal after the earthquake. Mr. Wade visited Nepal in September 2015 after which Intrepid Travel announced that it would resume its Nepalese itineraries. Apart from other donor and international agencies, Intrepid Travel is one of the prominent travel companies to announce the contribution of its profit from Nepal back to the rebuilding of this nation.
President and CEO of Forbes Media, Mr. Mike Perlis, visited this Himalayan nation in November 2015. Invited by Nepali entrepreneur and Nepal’s only billionaire to be listed in Forbes’ list of billionaires, Binod Chaudhary after hearing the desire of Mr. Perlis to visit Nepal, the duo embarked on a trek to Rara Lake. This visit also spread some positive messages to the outer world about the safety of trekking in Nepal and the readiness of Nepal to welcome tourists like before.
One of the most talked-about visits post-April earthquake was by Prince Harry, the British royal. He landed in Nepal on March 19, 2016, on a 5-day official visit later extended for another 6 days after the official visit ended. In his words, he extended his visit ‘to do his bit for helping in the reconstruction and rebuilding of Nepal. He visited Bardia National Park in the plains of Nepal, did some rafting, had a ‘home stay’ in the hilly district of Lamjung, visited heritages in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Patan besides his visit to the scenic Pokhara. Prince also had hard manual labor in the hilly district of Gorkha.
Why would a British Prince visit any place if it has risk? Prince Harry visited Nepal to give the message that Nepal is safe and ever beautiful, even after the epic disaster. So, forget about the travel advisories for Nepal, if any still in effect today, and look at the facts. Only 14 of the 75 districts were affected by the quake, major tourist destinations including Kathmandu, Pokhara, Bhaktapur, Chitwan are back to normal including the hotels, only 3% of the buildings in the Annapurna region, and 17% in the Everest region suffered damage initially which are almost functional by now and even climbing of mountains have resumed.
So, Nepal is safe and back to normal! With ever smiling and resilient locals, glittering and snow-capped Himalayas Nepal is ready to welcome you with open arms. The high profiles mentioned visited Nepal to validate the fact that trails are open and people are ready to welcome you with excellent hospitality. Considering the best possible way to help this beautiful nation? You have a simple answer, Visit Nepal.
