Bikram Pandey, president of Adventure Sports Tourism Society (ASTS), said about 35 percent of the total tourists visiting the country come here to enjoy adventure sports.[break] “Half of them indulge in adventure sports activities like bungee jump and paragliding, while the remaining enjoy general adventure like jungle safari,” Pandey added.
Everest Marathon, Annapurna Marathon, paragliding competition, International Cannoning Rendezvous in Syange in the Marsyangdi Valley and cross-country para expedition are some of the adventure sports activities to be organized this year.
Besides the decades old trekking and mountaineering, bungee jumping, canyoning, kayaking, paragliding and rafting are some of the popular adventure products that Nepal offers.
Adventure sports operators said the government should focus more on this particular sector as average daily expenditure of tourists indulging in adventure activities is way higher than other tourists.
Nepal´s adventure activities are popular all over the world. Popular news channel CNN recently listed trip to Everest Base Camp as the best adventure trip for 2011 and tourism entrepreneurs are hopeful of getting more visitors to the Everest region this year. Besides, the government recently unveiled Great Himalayan Trial - the longest and highest trail across the Himalayas - as one of the new products for Nepal Tourism Year 2011.
Nepal is also a popular destination for air sports. After popularizing ultra-light flights, Pokhara-based Avia Club is all prepared for the commercial launch of powered paragliding for the first time in South Asia. Powered paragliding was demonstrated during the formal launch of Nepal Tourism Year 2011 campaign on Friday.
“We have already received permission to operate tandem flights. We will soon launch the product commercially after finalizing deals with pilots,” said Stephan Shrestha of Avia Club.
Nepal Air Sports Association is organizing Himalayan Paramotor Yatra from Jan 12 to promote the new adventure product. Events like these throughout the year will help give an impression that Nepal is a destination for all seasons, Shrestha said.
“We have a very rare combination of perfect weather, unique topography and charismatic aerial view,” Shrestha said, elaborating the potential of air sports in Nepal. He also informed that more than 20,000 tourists visit the country solely to enjoy air sports.
Arjun Sharma, president of Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), said Nepal´s adventure sports products are unbeatable as they are nature-based tourism products. “We can attract more tourists toward these products even with little promotion,” he added.
Shrestha sees the possibility of introducing more air sports activities in Nepal. “If we want to grow, we need to introduce new products,” he said, urging the government to encourage new ideas.
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