OK, time for an UPDATE on the situation...!!!
I am in Nepal now, arrived a day after the bomb blasts... !! No surprise that all Nepalese are deeply shocked! This is the first time in history something like this has happened, where a bomb has actually targetted innocent civilians...
Seems like everyone is learning from examples of the maoists, that there is only one way to make yourself heard in Nepal, start an armed conflict, and maybe examples of 'making a statement' techniques around the world is giving them ideas... but I never thought my own people were capable of something like this!
To take this news and analyse in more practical terms... it is business as usual for the tourism and trekking business... there is concern, but this is not targetting travellers... as all parties realise that there is no benefit in raising foreign interests by targetting foreigners... That would be utter stupidity...!!
Good news is that the industry is rising from the depths now... and things are looking up! Nepal Tourism Board is already talking about double digit growths in arrivals, 4 times higher than annual growths worldwide.
Good news for sustainable travel too... a workshop just concluded, starting a process of skill enhancement in sustainable travel to 30 odd private sector organistions... hopefully bringing out real sustainable travel alternatives in the near future...
New airlines are coming in too, making connections to Europe and the regional hub of Singapore better, opening newer opportunities in Australia and Europe...
Hopefully, we do not experiment with too many stupid stunts (which we are entirely capable of), and keep the image intact....
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