By Gaurav Aryal



The Great Himalaya Trail: Once Is Not Enough




The trail is known as one of the top 20 adventure destinations by the National Geographic Adventure magazine.

The Great Himalaya Trail (GHT), one of the longest and highest trekking trails of the world, within two years of its opening, has grabbed attention from around the world. The trail is known as one of the top 20 adventure destinations by the National Geographic Adventure magazine, thanks to the successful marketing and branding of the trail.

The Great Himalaya Trail Development Programme (GHTDP), a two-year programme, has become one of the most popular programmes of tourism development in Nepal. The GHTDP is being implemented by the Nepali Government with technical support of SNV and funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID.) It is being monitored by NGOs and host communities to ensure that GHTDP is living to meet the goals of responsible tourism at its best. Other partners of the programmes are Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN).

SNV has taken up the role of advisor to successfully implement the GHTDP. Its role in the project is to provide technical advice and capacity building support to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and the GHTDP Steering Committee. The programme is funded by the UKAID.


Branding the GHT

According to Mim Hamal, GHTDP Team Leader, marketing has been mostly done through the website, newsletters and optimum use of the social media. Participation in travel fairs such as ITB, WTM and travel fairs organised by NTB and TAAN and familiarisation. The trail has also been listed as a prime product by Hauser Exkursionen, a German tour operator, in its catalogue and website. Hamal is optimistic and thinks that the attention the trail is getting (as one of the best adventure trekking trail to stroll around the majestic mountains of the Himalayas) will attract tourists from all over the world.

According to Hamal, who is also SNV Senior Advisor, the trail is divided into ten connecting treks of two to three weeks long treks each. He stated that each section is being branded with the unique selling points. This opens up the opportunity for tourist to come repeatedly to Nepal to complete the trail. “This is the product that fulfils the Nepali tourism slogan: once is not enough,” said Hamal.

Prospects

Mim Hamal expressed the possibility for the trail to be expanded up to 4500 kilometres. “Countries like Afghanistan and China are interested in extending the trail into their territories,” he revealed. Currently, the GHT is 1700 kilometres long.

The trail, that began as a pilot testing in 2009/10 from Humla and Dolpa, has now touched 16 districts in the Himalayan region. The GHT starts in Taplejung district and ends in Humla and Darchula, in the Far West of Nepal, close to the Indian and the Chinese border. The trail connects popular treks in the Annapurna and Everest regions with exotic and virgin tourist destinations in the Eastern and Western Nepal. The GHT takes the travellers to a fascinating vista of mountains and green forest, along with rustic culture and livelihood of mountain people.
Trekkers have the option to choose from two routes: one passes through the average altitude of 4000 to 5000 metres, the other remains mostly below 4000 metres. The upper route is considered quite challenging but promises breathtaking views of the mountains up-close, while the lower trail takes one to the culturally rich villages in the remote mountains of Nepal. This lower trail also allows the traveller to enjoy the biodiversity of the route.

The GHT is not only for foreigner adventure seekers, this could also be the perfect trekking destination for Nepali people wanting to travel through the majestic mountains of the country.

Impact on Livelihood

The GHT has not only brought tourists to the remote mountains but also development opportunities, employment and possibility of improving livelihoods. Hamal states that the awareness programmes carried out in the route have changed the way people treat tourists, “Earlier, people used to offer beer to tourists in the early morning. These days they offer treated and filtered water for drinking.”

Similarly, the cooking, guiding, porter and handicraft, lodge management and housekeeping trainings among others provided by the GHTDP have secured self employment for local people. Tourist flow has also opened up market for their agro products, skills and locally made products. The opening of the GHT has also contributed to the building of seven suspension and temporary bridges by the GHTDP. These bridges are not only used by trekkers but also have eased transportation for local people, directly benefiting them.

Bottlenecks

However, Hamal states that the government has not yet finalised the official route of the GHT. He says that the official route for the endorsement by the cabinet was submitted around a year ago but the cabinet has not endorsed it so far. He also complained about the lack of tourism policies.

Moreover, the government does not give a visa for more than 90 days. He demands the extension of this permit for at least two to three years in order for travellers to complete the entire route. Hamal also believes that the current charge for getting a trekking route permit that is as high as US $ 10,000 must be reduced.

Inductive Benefits

Other infrastructure development, such as micro hydropower in Pathivara, has been initiated. Wi-Fi connectivity is being established targeting tourists coming to the trail. Similarly, the GHT has also provided solar panels for lighting facilities to 40 households in Barpak in Gorkha.Hamal claimed that there are around 100 travel companies operating in the GHT. These companies are also given training courses on sustainable and eco-tourism promotion of the route.


LeaderSpeak

‘The GHT Will Play a Vital Role in Improving the Overall Tourism Scenario’



MIM HAMAL
GHTDP Team Leader
and SNV Senior Advisor


What was the idea behind the development of Great Himalayan Trail (GHT)?

The idea behind the development of the Great Himalaya Trail was to promote remote destinations that have not been explored so far. We foresaw that GHT has a huge potential in providing a significant boost to Nepal’s tourism industry and associated support sectors. We estimated that it could help channel tourist and pro-poor tourism investments to less visited and under-developed districts, thereby spreading tourism benefits more widely and inclusively among impoverished mountain communities. And, I believe that we have been successful in achieving that to an extent.




The trail is a remarkable adventure package in Nepal. How do you think this trail alone will help to promote other trails and the overall tourism in Nepal?

Trekking and mountaineering has the largest international market when it comes to tourism products in Nepal. And, as you say it yourself, that this is a remarkable adventure package, it will most certainly play a vital role in improving the overall tourism scenario in Nepal by attracting those segment of tourists who are in pursuit of a new tourism product who want to explore newer, off-beat-track destinations. This trail will provide a sublet to other smaller, side trails which trekkers are not yet aware of, thereby also promoting other smaller trails.



How has the GHT helped in enhancement of livelihood of people living along the trekking trail?

Rather than saying just GHT or SNV, I must also highlight the roles played by the DDC, local NGOs and the local people themselves; the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID), who is funding GHTDP – their role is equally important in enhancing the livelihoods of people. With help from these actors, we have identified the needs of people living along the trail and have provided leadership trainings, cook, guide, porter, lodge management, house-keeping, handicraft trainings. We have also invested in infrastructure development – building bridges, micro-hydro extensions, providing solar electrifications, drinking water, investing in trail maintenance and waste management.

On the other hand, we are marketing and promoting these destinations (in the European and American markets) so that there is increase of tourist inflow in these areas. All these activities and involvement is expected to benefit the local mass in some way or the other, most definitely in improving their livelihood.




SNV’s one of the targets is pro poor sustainable tourism. How do you evaluate Nepal’s progress in this direction?

I can’t speak on behalf of Nepal’s progress overall because there are plenty of players in pro-poor sustainable tourism and I am not the right person to judge others’ progress. But for SNV, I would say we have made good progress with projects like TRPAP, MAST-Nepal in the past, and GHTDP and HITT in the present. All were/ are focused on pro-poor sustainable tourism. We were innovative. We are thinking out of the box.

We started with sustainable market projects, which were really about bringing tourism benefits more equally - in particular to the remote and impoverished mountain districts - providing for new business and employment opportunities, and which has also been declared one of the priorities of the Government of Nepal. Our progress has been good and fulfilling.




How has SNV recognized and incorporated the role of the private sector in tourism?

The private sector has a very important role to play in carrying out any development project. We recognize the importance of their involvement which is why along with having an agreement with the Government of Nepal, and local capacity builders; we also have an agreement with TAAN, Nepal German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NGCCI) at the central level and District Chamber of Commerce at the local level. This cooperation is necessary to carry out work smoothly. Working in this manner has turned out to be a really positive process. We are all committed to the same objective, which is striving towards poverty reduction in the country, and we all want to make this work.