Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-11-23)

◼ECONOMICS BloombergBusinessweek

Unfreezing the

Everest Economy

30

FROM LEFT: RAJNEESH BHANDARI/BLOOMBERG; GILES PRICE/INSTITUTE

● Nepal has lifted a seven-month travel ban and

is welcoming climbers again. But will they come?

After closing its mountains to climbers in March

because of the coronavirus pandemic, Nepal is

trying to restart the economy that revolves around

Mount Everest. But it’s pretty clear that 2020, which

officialshadchristened“VisitNepalYear,”is going

tobea washout.

Thetinynationis hometo8 ofthe 14 highest

mountains on Earth. Tourism accounted for

almost 8% of gross domestic product in 2018,

according to the London-based World Travel and

TourismCouncil,withthesectorsupportingmore

than1 millionjobs.Everestexpeditionsalone

contributedmorethan$300millionlastyear.

TheNepaligovernmenthadsetanambitioustar-

getofwelcoming2 millionvisitorstothecountry

thisyear,almostdouble2019’snumber. Instead,

international arrivals fell to 180,131 through

October, from 795,199 in the same period last year.

Authorities banned incoming international

flights in March out of fear the novel coronavirus

would overwhelm the country’s limited health-

care infrastructure. (The nation of 29 million had

recorded approximately 213,000 Covid-19 infec-

tions and 1,259 deaths as of Nov. 17.) The Ministry

of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation permitted

flights to resume in September, subject to sev-

eral restrictions. But trekkers and mountaineers

weren’t allowed into the country until the middle

of last month.

New arrivals must submit proof of a nega-

tive Covid-19 test administered in the previous

72 hours and are required to quarantine in a hotel

for seven days before heading into the mountains.

Theymustalsobeinsuredagainstthepossibility

thattheycontract the virus while in the country so

they won’t saddle the government with the cost of

caring for them.

Despite the lifting of the travel ban, there’s

littlehopethatNepalcanmakeupitstourist

shortfallinwhatremainsoftheyear.Springis

peakseason in the Himalayas, with only 10% of

summits occurring in the fall, according to the

Himalaya Database.

More than 320  mountains are available for

mountaineering expeditions, but Everest is

themainattraction.Itgenerated$4millionin

royalties last year, four times more than the rest

combined. Expeditions to reach the 29,035-foot

summit have a maximum of 15 climbers per per-

mit, with a per-head cost ranging from $35,000

to more than $100,000. The sum covers transpor-

tation within Nepal, provisions, base camp tents

and other gear, as well as the wages of mountain

guides, porters, and cooks.

None are more dependent on the Everest econ-

omy than the more than 100,000 Sherpa people

living in Nepal, who are famous for their ability

to labor at high altitudes where the air contains

less oxygen.

Expeditions usually have a 1:1 ratio of trekkers to

hired climbing Sherpa. During the spring climbing

season, which starts in May and ends around the

first week of June, a Sherpa guide can pocket $6,000

to$12,000—aprincelysumina countrywherethe

minimummonthlywageis lessthan$200.It’shaz-

ardousworkthatinvolvesinstalling about 40 lad-

ders and more than 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) of rope

to create a secure path across the melting Khumbu

Glacier. Meanwhile, a Sherpa cook working at base

camp can earn around $2,000, while porters trans-

porting baggage and camp supplies on foot make

approximately$1,000perseason.

MostSherpahavebarelyhadanyincomethis

year.“Ispentthelastsevenmonthsinmyvillage

helping my mother in potato fields, working in

maintenance of my own lodge, and other regu-

lar activities. It was very difficult,” says Phurba

Tenzing Sherpa, a prominent mountain guide

who’s logged 14 ascents and is managing direc-

tor of Nepali adventure company Dreamers

Destination Trek and Expedition Pvt Ltd. Some

expedition companies have started fundraising

campaigns on GoFundMe to support the commu-

nity of porters, cooks, and guides.

There’s the possibility that this year’s tourist

drought could turn into a deluge next year, with

potentially fatal results. The government, which

doesn’t limit the number of climbers on Everest,

▲ Sherpas guide

climbers up the

Khumbu Glacier

◀ Phurba Tenzing

Sherpa