There is increasing concern regarding the importance of ecological aspect in tourism promotion, particularly in the sphere of vacation tourism. Major tour operators feel that the holiday tourists are inclined to demand increasingly more perfect environment without any extra cost for it. Greater number of new generation tourists are not attracted by these green displays any more. Many factors such as ' tranquil place up in the Himalayas,' 'ancient unspoilt culture in the midst of unpolluted nature', 'green gardens profusely blossoming', 'awe-inspiring vistas and scenic panorama,' 'clean fresh water', 'pure non-polluted air,' 'rich heritage,' etc., have now become concept of 'Ecological Tourism,' commonly accepted as 'soft tourism.'
For developing tourist destinations like Nepal having special interest programs, the growing tendency among the clients seems to be that they prefer to arrange their itinerary through specialised tour operators, who possess long experience of promoting 'soft tourism,' as being commonly understood today as 'Eco-tourism. However, one has to be concerned with definite commitment to the quality of our ecological environment, apart from few exceptions that enthusiastic adventure tourists and mountain climbers anywhere in the world are used to taking helicopters everywhere for adventure sports such as heli-biking(running down the hill on mountain bikes), heli-skiing, heli-trekking, heli-mountaineering, heli-camping at high altitudes as in the Nepal Himalayas etc.
As a result of operation of number of helicopter services, it is possible in Nepal to go on a heli-trek or a sky-trek, propelling the tourists to the higher summits of the Himalayan range and allowing them to stretch their legs and then quickly return after getting the breathtaking view of the snow-capped peaks. These are becoming the 'New Eco-tourism of future,', particularly for those busy affluent individuals and more comfort-seeking people, who have neither time nor the stamina to leg up the mountain terrains and steep hills undergoing a tough trekking program. These helitreks and excursions may not much tarnish the local ecological environment and the local culture. On the other hand, failure to introduce timely control measures on over visitation and infuses more rationality in planning such tour programs; there can be considerable adverse impact on the environment of the mountain areas in the long run.
Visitors in search of calmness of nature to the remote mountains could feel repulsive to the increasing volume of such excursion flights in the peaceful skies of the Mount Everest Region, where they come all the way to experience some undisturbed silence and tranquil nature away from the hustle and bustle of metropolitan Kathmandu. From environmental point of view, many sought after ecotourist destinations are gradually becoming fragile all over the world, although tourism promotion is considering them still unspoilt. Besides the cultural ecology and distinct importance of Nepal's resources of arts and culture, there is much scope of diversified tourism experience such as study of nature, wild life adventure in the Chitwan national park area, exclusive bird watching sanctuary like Koshi Tappu, trekking and hiking experience, mountain climbing, adventure holidays, rock climbing, mountain biking, kiting, hot air ballooning, river rafting, countryside camping, river beach holidays outside urban areas, rural holiday tourism and so on.
In countries like Nepal where tourism is centred around natural attractions, although being closely linked with cultural interests, it has still to go a long way, as today one finds it more than often equated with eco or nature tourism. Even though the incoming visitors initiate their travel program by staying in luxury hotels in the capital valley of Kathmandu, but the real destinations which they have come to see are the splendour of the natural locations away in the countryside and the rural sectors or the farfetched hamlets in the shadow of the serene mountain environment. It is exactly here one will be conscious of the fact that these sensitive areas of our far-flung countryside are the traditional dwelling places of our native population, who constitute integral part of the exclusive local eco-system. If not properly preserved, even their traditional culture can be as fragile as that of the natural world. Surprising indeed, despite few tourists visiting these spots, yet their impact is considered to be disproportionately greater than in most of the developed destination areas.
What has become crucial today for the Nepalese tourist industry is to impart serious attention in carefully planning and implementing Nepal's Eco-tourism. This is essential to sustain it to be of long-term benefit to our nature and the host community of the respective local areas.
