Himalayan kingdom throws open its doors to gay tourists
By Andrew Buncombe, Asia Correspondent
The Independent — Monday, 10 January 2011
  Gay rights activists in Nepal are hoping to attract
up to 200,000 pink tourists this year as the Himalayan nation seeks to
boost its coffers after years of political instability.
The authorities in Kathmandu
have recently announced plans to push the promotion of tourism in 2011
with the aim of attracting up to 1 million visitors. And with Nepal
gradually becoming one of the nations in south Asia where gay and
lesbian rights are most solidly enshrined in law, activists and those
within the tourism industry
believe gay tourism is set to take off. Among the travel opportunities
already being promoted to international gay visitors are wedding and
honeymoon celebrations at the base camp of Mount Everest.
"Nepal
is a good place for any tourists, but for pink tourists Nepal is
comparably more friendly than our neighbours to the north and south,"
said Sunil Babu Pant, who in 2008 became the country's first openly gay
MP. "Tourism is an important part of the country's economy, next to
hydro-power. But the hydro-power projects always face problems because
of political disagreements. The tourism industry can carry on regardless
of political disputes. Gay tourism is a large potential market and
Nepal can benefit. We would like to attract up to 200,000 visitors."
In 2008, the year it ousted the monarchy and became
a republic, Nepal also became the first country in south Asia to
decriminalise homosexuality, a move that many believed would boost the
country's chances of becoming a destination
for gay tourists. Same-sex marriage has since become legal and equal
rights for gays and lesbians have been demanded by the country's highest
court. The country also issues so-called "third gender" identity cards
for transsexuals.
Mr Pant, a member of the
Communist Party of Nepal-United (CPN-U), has a personal stake in
realising that aim. In addition to his roles as a legislator and head of
the country's first gay rights organisation, Blue Diamond, he also
opened Nepal's first gay travel agency, Pink Mountain Tours and Travel,
which is already promoting itself around the world. Mr Pant believes
there is a particularly large untapped market in both China and India.
Gay tourism was worth around $100bn a year globally. Already, he has
received inquiries from gay Buddhist couples and groups who would like
to travel to Nepal, tour the country's many monasteries and visit the
Buddha's birthplace at Lumbini.
Nepal is still
trying to overcome the devastating consequences of a decade-long civil
war between Maoist rebels and government forces which left more than
16,000 people dead and left the nation deeply traumatised. A UN mission
set up in 2007 to help the country find a peaceful settlement is to
close this week, with some analysts pointing out Nepal still faces huge
hurdles amid disputes between the Maoists, who now hold seats in
parliament, and political rivals.
For more
than six months, the country has been without a formally agreed
government and there have been 16 failed attempts in parliament to vote
for a new prime minister. Work on a new constitution remains stalled.
At
the height on the insurgency, 10 years ago, many potential tourists
were put off travelling to Nepal but last year there were 500,000
visitors, contributing $370m to the economy. Officials within the
interim government believe those numbers could be doubled this year.
They also recognise the high-spending potential of gay and lesbian
visitors.
"They spend a lot, and we want
tourists in this country who will spend a lot," Kishore Thapa, the
secretary of tourism, told the Washington Post.
Mr
Pant dismissed suggestions that locals in Nepal – which until 1949 was
closed to foreigners – were too conservative to welcome gay tourists.
"The rural part of Nepal was closed off by rulers not by the locals. Now
that has changed," he said. "Rural people are usually more friendly
than those in the cities." | 
