KATHMANDU: Mountain tourism stakeholders have called for a comprehensive overhaul of the proposed Tourism Bill 2081, arguing that the legislation should provide a long-term national roadmap for tourism rather than focus primarily on licensing, regulation, penalties and administrative control.

Representatives of Nepal's major tourism bodies - the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN), Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and the Expedition Operators Association of Nepal (EOAN) — appeared before Parliament's International Relations and Tourism Committee today to press for major changes to the Tourism Bill, 2081, with several groups calling for a comprehensive rewrite.

Lawmaker Mingma Gyabu Sherpa said the discussion focused particularly on reforms needed to make Nepal’s mountaineering, trekking and adventure tourism sectors safer, better organised, sustainable and internationally competitive.

Mountain tourism is a vital part of Nepal’s identity, economy, and employment. Therefore, it is essential to establish an effective legal framework that recognizes and protects the interests of mountain communities, climbers, guides, tourism professionals, and all relevant stakeholders. Strong policy reform and collaboration among stakeholders are essential for a prosperous and sustainable future for Nepal’s mountain tourism, MP Sherpa added.

TAAN President Sagar Pandey said TAAN, NMA and other mountain tourism stakeholders had presented a “strong and united voice” on the proposed legislation and submitted amendment proposals to the parliamentary committee.

He said the draft should be comprehensively rewritten where necessary so that the new law reflects the realities and future needs of Nepal’s trekking, mountaineering, adventure and wider tourism sectors.

The most detailed critique came from Rishi Ram Bhandari, Secretary-General of EOAN and a former NTB board member, who told the committee the bill remains vague and control-oriented despite a decade of consultations, and lacks a clear long-term vision for the sector. He said the draft as ambiguous, control-oriented, and lacking a clear strategy to make Nepali mountaineering safe, competitive, and internationally credible. He pointed to inconsistent terminology—including the definition of "mountaineer"—and the state's minimal role throughout the provisions as major weaknesses.

Bhandari said the federal tourism law should function as a 20–50 year national roadmap covering infrastructure, conservation, carrying capacity, investment protection, and community benefits, rather than being limited to licensing and penalties. He noted the bill neglects key tourism sectors beyond casinos and mountaineering, fails to define coordination between federal, provincial, and local governments, and omits workforce qualification standards for guides and sirdars. He also criticized vague language leaving matters "as prescribed" to the Department, which could lead to arbitrary decisions, and the absence of a growth plan for tourist numbers and employment.

He urged a shift from punitive control to business facilitation, with protections for investment and consumer rights embedded in the Act. He called for practical currency rules allowing remote businesses to accept Nepali rupees with proof of foreign exchange, and proposed that Everest climbers from 2028 Spring season onward must have summited an 8,000m UIAA peak or a 7,000m Nepali peak. He also recommended clearer peak-opening criteria, local government involvement, cultural safeguards, and state-determined liaison officer standards with centralized deployment for peaks with four or more teams.

Bhandari also called for clearer arrangements for liaison officers, mountain cleaning, search and rescue, dead-body management and insurance, arguing that some proposed obligations may be difficult to implement under existing insurance provisions. He proposed separate mountain-cleaning and mountaineering-support welfare funds and suggested that part of the mountaineering royalty could be allocated to mountain cleaning, liaison officers and search-and-rescue operations undertaken by the state.

Finally, he insisted that all adventure tourism standards—for trekking, travel, and guiding—must be explicitly defined in the Act itself, not left to provincial or departmental regulations, to ensure consistency and accountability.

The discussion was attended by representatives of major tourism organisations, government officials and other tourism stakeholders.

The submissions from NTB, NMA, EOAN, TAAN and other stakeholders now form part of the ongoing clause-wise review of the Tourism Bill, 2081, by the House committee. No amendments have yet been adopted; the bill, as passed by the National Assembly, remains under discussion in the House of Representatives.