Nepal Still Beckons Adventure Travelers

Fewer tourists visited Nepal in 1990, and the country’s tourism officials blame trouble elsewhere in the world, especially the Persian Gulf crisis.

“This year, you can find a hotel room any time you want,” said Surendra Shakya, manager of the Yak and Yeti hotel in Katmandu, the capital. “Previously, you would have been lucky to find standing space.”

Thousands of tourists changed plans last spring, when the country was in the grip of a mass uprising that brought democracy to Nepal by stripping King Birendra of near-absolute powers and making him a constitutional monarch.

The year’s second tourist season, which started in mid-September when the monsoon ended, has proved just as bad. Hoteliers say 50% of those who had booked rooms did not turn up. Most of the cancellations came from the United States and Germany, Nepal’s two major tourist markets in the West.

One reason is that most air routes to Nepal pass over the Gulf region and many tourists want to avoid it, Nepalese officials said. In addition, air fares are rising because of higher fuel prices.

According to the tourism department, only 176,000 tourists will have visited Nepal in 1990, compared to about 240,000 in 1989.

More Nepal: Although pleasure travel is down, adventure tourists apparently are not bothered by the considerations that dissuade other visitors from going to Nepal. Trekking agencies, in fact, are as busy as in other years.

“They (adventure travelers) know there is more risk involved in climbing Mt. Everest or rafting down the rapids of Himalayan rivers than flying over the Middle East,” said Stanley Armington, the owner of a trekking agency.

Travel Quiz: If you were heading for Surtsey, where would you be going? (Answer below.)

Seal of Approval: Briton Brian Davies, who fought for almost two decades to halt the senseless slaughter of harp seal pups, now organizes trips to see the animals in their natural habitat in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

In 1969, Davies founded the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which each March offers several seal-watching tours to the floating ice fields west of Canada’s Magdalen Islands.

The trips are intended to help the economies of communities that were hurt when seal hunting was banned in 1987.

Quick Fact: There are more than 20,000 bed and breakfast establishments in the United States.

Safety First: According to Travel Smart, a monthly newsletter aimed at frequent travelers, airline passengers are willing to be delayed longer or pay more if it means greater security.

The newsletter’s survey of its readers showed that contrary to airline claims, passengers would agree to arrive earlier for flights and pay extra for more thorough security checks if they could be assured that the money really was being used to improve security and not simply enriching the airline.

Food for Thought: Figures released by the National Restaurant Assn. disclose that the food service industry will generate $240 billion in 1990. The industry employs 8 million people, a figure that is expected to grow to 11 million by the year 2000.

Mayan Dreams: Mexico’s tourism department plans a major campaign in Europe next year to encourage people to visit Mayan ruins in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize.

Tourism secretary Pedro Joaquin Coldwell announced the campaign last week during a meeting at Palenque, the site of one of Mexico’s most impressive Mayan ruins.

He said the campaign will be particularly intense in Germany and the Netherlands, traditionally the source of thousands of visitors to the ruins and the nearby beaches and jungles.

Chiapas state Gov. Patrocinio Gonzalez said his state welcomes tourists, but warned that its rich, fragile ecology must be protected.

“We don’t want an avalanche of tourists who will trample on our communities or our ecology,” he said.

Tatler’s Tips: In its November issue, Britain’s oh-so upscale Tatler magazine featured a revue of what it judges to be the world’s finest hotels. Among the 50 establishments accorded a mention, these were the blue-ribbon winners in each of five categories:

--Small hotels: Villa San Michele, a converted monastery in Florence, Italy.

--Resort hotels: Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc, in Antibes, France, where some guests reserve suites 10 years in advance.

--Grand hotels: Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, which is so popular that the average annual occupancy rate is 98%.

--Safe havens: La Gazelle d’Or in Taroudant, Morocco, an oasis of luxury on the edge of the Sahara Desert.

--Islands in the sun: Villa Argentikon on Cios, one of the Greek Aegean Islands, which consists of just four suites.

Nature Study in Crete: Five years of campaigning by British wildlife conservation groups and hotel authorities on the island of Crete have paid off with the creation of a nature reserve on the Mediterranean island’s north coast.

Located about 10 miles from Heraklion, the new reserve encompasses a number of lagoons that are home to 170 species of bird, including the greater flamingo, glossy ibis and griffon vulture.

Local villagers had threatened the existence of the ecosystem by using the area as a garbage dump. Now the lagoons are protected within a reserve that is open to visitors.

Quiz Answer: Iceland. Surtsey is the offshore volcanic island that emerged from the sea in 1963.