A fledgling peace process and five-month ceasefire between Nepal's government and Maoist rebels are giving the nation's beleaguered tourism sector a much-needed shot in the arm, officials say.

"Hotel bookings are highly encouraging and have gone up by 75 per cent this season" over last year, Narendra Bajracharya, the outgoing president of the Hotel Association of Nepal, told AFP.

October to January is Nepal's peak season for tourism, with the end of the monsoon and the cool, clear autumnal weather creating ideal conditions for trekking in the stunning Himalayan range.

A decade-long insurgency has ravaged the aid- and tourism-dependent nation, but following the ceasefire declared in April, visitor numbers for this season are expected to be much healthier than in recent years.

"Ninety per cent of our rooms have been booked for the next three months and we're getting more enquiries all the time," said Babita Pandey, sales manager of the four-star Shangri La Hotel in the ancient, temple-studded capital of Kathmandu.

Nepal, home of Mount Everest, saw its top year for tourism in 1999, when nearly half a million foreign visitors arrived. This compares to 2005's 277 000 visitors.

Air arrivals for the first eight months of 2006 were up by five per cent from the same period a year earlier at 165 312, Bimal Kandel, the assistant manager of the Nepal Tourism Board, said late last week.

"We're expecting a high number of tourists to come to Nepal in the remaining months of the year as the political situation is gradually improving," said Kandel. That period is also when arrivals traditionally spike.

Protests scared away tourists

Nepal's King Gyanendra was forced to end 14 months of direct rule and restore parliament after massive street protests spearheaded by rebels and political parties. The rebels and the seven-party coalition government are now engaged in a peace dialogue.

The only factor potentially capping the number of arrivals could be "the availability of air seats for travellers," said hotel association official Bajracharya. "That's one of the biggest problems we're now facing," he said.

Some 13 international carriers, including three from India, fly into Nepal. Three more foreign carriers are in the process of applying.

"We're processing the applications of (Bangladeshi) GMG Airlines and Orient Thai Airlines which have shown an interest," said Mukunda Rajopadhay, the deputy director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. A South Korean charter airline is also angling to bring in tourists.

"We're evaluating the application of Korean Airlines, which plans to start operations in November," the aviation official said.

What began as a trickle of hippie tourists in the 1960s turned into a major moneyspinner for the nation, which is sandwiched between China and India. The tourism sector employs some 300,000 people and supports around three million people indirectly, according to Bajracharya.

The latest peace attempt in the kingdom marks the third time that the rebels and government have tried to hammer out a peace deal. Two previous tries in 2001 and 2003 failed, plunging the impoverished country back into conflict.

The insurgency has claimed over 12 500 lives but tourists have never been targeted by the rebels except for requests for "donations".

AFP

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