On November 17th-19th, the 2020 International Mountain Tourism Alliance Annual Conference opened in Guiyang. The Conference is concentrated on the theme of "The Path of Mountain Tourism Development in the Post-COVID World". During the annual conference, the participants focused on this major topic, and discuss depth in how to promote the revitalization and quality of mountain tourism after the pandemic, and provide thoughts guidance and practice support for global mountain tourism management and promotion of global tourism industry.
This Annual Conference is hosted by the International Mountain Tourism Alliance. UNWTO, WTTC, PATA, GTEF, WTA, WTCF, ASEAN-China Centre, WCCO and other well-know international organizations and associations provided powerful support.
The Address at Opening Ceremony
Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, Nepalese Ambassador to China
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me first express my great happiness to be here at this beautiful city of Guiyang in the Province of Guizhou to attend the 2020 Annual Conference of the International Mountain Tourism Alliance. It is even more special to come to Guizhou, a mountain paradise, to participate in this conference amidst the challenges wrought by the coronavirus pandemic. I express my sincere thanks and appreciation to the organizers for hosting this event, and express my warm greetings and good wishes to all those present here.
Dear Friends,
More than three-fourth of Nepal’s total landmass of 1,47,181 sq. km is covered with mountain landscapes, including the Himalayas. As you know, the Himalayan mountain range is endowed with pristine nature and culture. Of the 3500 sq. km Hindu-Kush range, Nepal’s Himalayas cover around 800 sq. km, with around 1800 mountain peaks. More than 1300 of these mountain peaks are above 6000 meters. Apart from the Himalayas, there are other mountain ranges in Nepal: the Sivaliks, Mahabharata, and mid hills. These mountain ranges are crisscrossed by valleys in between and are inhabited by various communities of people.
The pristine Himalayan range is a world famous destination for mountain tourism. The seven cultural heritage sites and one natural heritage site listed in UNESCO’s world heritage sites in Nepal are all located in the mountains. These mountain tourism sites are valuable world assets, and we need to do all we can to preserve and protect them for posterity.
The attractions of mountain tourism in Nepal are many: snowcapped great Himalayan ranges, deep gorges, beautiful landscapes, forests, wild animals and birds, cool climatic conditions, traditional culture, festivals, and religious places of worship. The mountains are sources of fresh water in the form of rivers, streams and lakes, as well as of renewable energy, and are in fact revered by the local communities as gods.
Such attractions make Nepal a fascinating mountain tourism destination for people from around the world. The tourists visiting Nepal, in turn, find a great variety of things to do in the mountains in the fields of trekking and expedition, ecotourism, and adventure sports. These include terrestrial tourism (trekking, mountaineering, pony trekking, ski diving, rock climbing, bird watching), aerial tourism (bungee jumping, hot air ballooning, paragliding, ultra-light aircraft, mountain flight, cable car), and aquatic tourism (rafting, kayaking, boating, fishing, swimming). Truly, a tourist visiting Nepal returns home with fond memories of his deep intimacy and immersion with nature.
Thus, Nepal’s mountains have immense mountain tourism potentials, and attracted people from far and wide. In addition, tourism has also made valuable contribution to the mountain economy by providing employment to the local people and foreign currency earnings to the government’s reserves. Similarly, it has induced production development and supply linkages across various sectors of the economy. However, there are challenges: we need to enhance the linkages of mountain tourism with community tourism, using local resources and making use of local products and enhancing employment for the people living in the mountains.
In recent years, climate change is exerting an increasingly greater impact on the fragile ecosystems of the mountains and their weak infrastructures, necessitating collective efforts to combat its adverse effects. With the rapid growth of population and lack of economic opportunities in the mountains, the natural environment is deteriorating rapidly. Since climate is an important attribute of mountain tourism, climate change can hit tourism directly by affecting the overall sustainability of facilities and destinations. These impacts may take the form of an increase in natural hazards, adverse impacts on health of the local and visiting people, and damage in the bio-diversity of the local ecologies. It takes time and resources to reverse the disruptions in energy and transport related infrastructures, and damage and depletion of the natural resource base. In Nepal, some of these impacts could take the form of high mountain avalanches, glacial lake outbursts, heavy snowfalls and landslides, with an array of attendant problems such as blockages of highways and trekking routes.
Thus, climate change will have major impacts on the livelihoods of the mountain populations, and it is essential for us to emphasize mitigation and adaptation measures. Since tourism transcends many aspects of the economy, it is important to view mitigation and adaptation strategies as a collaborative effort encompassing the relevant stakeholders, such as local entrepreneurs, non-tourism agencies related to health, transportation and disaster preparedness.
Mitigation of the adverse impacts of climate change will require a deep systemic overhaul, not just around the locations of the mountains but across the globe. Thankfully, the world community is aware of its dangers, and several initiatives under the UN, including the Paris Climate Agreement, are under various phases of implementation. In the specific context of mountains, however, there are several adaptive measures that should be taken up without any further delay.
Adaptive measures include relocation of tourism activities, where possible, to low-risk areas, installing protection measures especially in steep locations and high snowfall areas, and developing capacity to respond to sudden catastrophic events through early warning systems, and instituting robust search and rescue stations. Similarly, relief and rescue mechanisms, and preservation of buffer forests and other protective land use features will help the local population to adapt to changing conditions.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Like Nepal, Guizhou is a mountainous terrain with rich ancient history, and is well-known for its traditional rural villages and an eco-friendly way of life. While the mesmerizing Huangguoshu Waterfall and the Anshun Dragon Palace Cave are nature’s precious gift to Guizhou, its people living in perfect harmony with nature is a good example of how modern civilization should build itself on. No doubt, Guizhou is a perfect location where the conference on mountain tourism should have been held, and I am sure this conference will provide us all an excellent opportunity to discuss how to further promote mountain tourism and outdoor sports in our respective countries.
As we have seen, Nepal and China’s Guizhou Province possess similar potentials in mountain tourism, and attract tourists world-wide fascinated by their proximity and harmony with nature. However, Nepal and China’s Guizhou also face similar challenges in preserving their fragile mountain ecosystems and in maintaining the sustainability of their tourism products. It is here that we can work together, and with other mountainous countries, and enhance co-operation and collaboration in sharing our knowledge and technologies for ensuring a prosperous future for all of us. Let me assure you that Nepal is ready to be a part of this joint initiative.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Nepal and China are trusted friends, close neighbours and reliable partners-in-development. It is a matter of great satisfaction that the bilateral relations between Nepal and China have been expanding in various fields of mutual interests over the years. Important achievements have been made in further strengthening the mutually beneficial relations in the past year. The exchange of Presidential Visits and the elevation of bilateral relations to strategic partnership of cooperation have contributed in cementing and deepening our ties. We look forward to further strengthening bilateral cooperation in jointly combating the epidemic, and in further promoting Nepal-China friendship and cooperation in all fields of mutual interest.
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the acute deficiencies and wide disparities in health and information, communication and technology infrastructures, especially in developing countries. The importance of building connectivity linkages among countries for not only unleashing the potentials of co-operation but also for jointly combating common global challenges has been quite visible during the pandemic. The Belt and Road Initiative is a good example of promoting mutually beneficial co-operation. I believe that BRI can play an instrumental role in addressing these gaps in connecting the peoples around the world. The initiatives in building both hard and soft infrastructures, such as through the Health Silk Road and the Digital Silk Road schemes, are examples regarding how BRI can be leveraged for mutual gains, especially for combating common global threats.
Finally, I would once again like to congratulate the organizers for hosting this useful conference, which has brought together the important stakeholders and participants in mountain tourism. It has provided us an excellent opportunity to share our experiences in promoting mountain tourism in our respective countries, particularly with respect to combating the impacts of climate change. Let me also express my best wishes to Guizhou for its efforts to develop itself as a prominent mountain tourism destination, and to the organizers for the success of this conference.
Thank you!
