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Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Climbing Mount Everest may get even harder
Last month, as the 2025 climbing season began on Mount Everest, Nepal's upper house of Parliament introduced a tourism bill that includes a suite of new rules that would significantly raise the bar for who is allowed to attempt the mountain, who can guide, and how much it will cost. This year's proposal includes a mandate that Everest hopefuls must first climb a 7,000-meter peak located in Nepal, as well as requirements for all guides to be Nepalese citizens, for medical certificates confirming good health to be obtained from approved in-country facilities, new garbage fees, and insurance to cover the costly removal of dead bodies from the mountain. The Washington Post reported that the cost of removing a dead body from Mount Everest ranges anywhere between $30,000-$70,000. Announcements like this happen almost every year: The government floats new rules intended to improve safety and accountability on the peak, such as banning solo climbers and helicopters, or requiring tracking chips and feces removal. But they're rarely implemented. This is due to pushback from guiding companies, and an inability to pass the proposed legislation. The current bill is still in draft form and would still need to go through both houses of Parliament, meaning that changes are likely. (National Geographic crew finds clues to Everest's lost explorer, Sandy Irvine) The most controversial rules are the 7,000-meter peak requirement and the Nepali guide requirement. Both rules have been proposed before, or are very similar to previous proposals, but have never been passed into law. According to Lakpa Rita Sherpa, who guided on Mount Everest for two decades and has summited the peak 17 times, some of these new ideas are generally good—such as making sure climbers have some experience at altitude—but similar ones have been proposed in the past and 'they've never been passed or enforced.' He cited the difficulty of implementing these rules, which would require the government to track compliance across hundreds of companies and climbers, amidst high turnover in the Ministry of Tourism and the prevalence of bribery in the country. (The Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on alleged bribery in Nepal.) 'The reason they do it is to promote business, and to give the impression that they're trying to make mountain climbing in Nepal safer in order to attract more people to come,' said Alan Arnette, who summited Everest in 2011 and is a longtime Everest blogger, and who has been keeping track of these annual rule proposals for over a decade. 'The reason that it doesn't get implemented is because the operators don't follow the rules, and then the government doesn't enforce the rules—because everybody knows that if they enforce some of these rules that it would cause business to drop.' The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and the Nepal Tourism Board did not respond to requests for comment. Tourism is one of the largest industries in Nepal, and Mount Everest—the world's tallest peak—is its crown jewel. According to the most recent tourism data, there are 374 climbers from 49 countries on Mount Everest this year, which has generated $4 million in royalties from permit fees alone. (Compared to $2.48 million for 359 people in 2015). As high numbers of climbers continue to flock to the peak each year, the country reaps economic benefits but also has to reckon with the issues it brings—like on-mountain traffic jams, issues with trash and waste management, and increased fatalities. In 2023, 18 climbers died on Everest, and in 2024 eight climbers died. Some of the most common causes of death on the mountain are acute mountain sickness (AMS), falls, illness/exhaustion, disappearance, and avalanches. With an increased number of people on the mountain, support staff must ferry a higher volume of gear through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall—the location of an avalanche that killed 16 Sherpas in 2015 while they were doing just that. (Microplastics found near Everest's peak) That same year, citing safety reasons, Alpenglow Expeditions moved its Everest expeditions from the South Side of the peak in Nepal to the North Side, in Tibet, writing that the Nepalese side 'has become overcrowded with inexperienced team members and unqualified guides.' The North Side is far less crowded and far more rigid when it comes to rules, said Lakpa Rita. 'In China, you have to follow the rules no matter what,' he said. 'If you don't follow them, you won't get a permit to climb.' ExplorersWeb reported in September 2024 rules set by the China-Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA) that stipulate climbers must submit a climbing resume and medical certificate, have climbed a 7,000-meter peak, be accompanied by a professional mountain guide, and use oxygen above 7,000 meters. (In 2016, Melissa Arnot Reid became the first American woman to summit Everest without supplemental oxygen. She climbed from the Tibet side.) One of the more controversial proposals is that climbers must have successfully summited one of the 7,000-meter peaks within Nepal before attempting Everest. This rule would not count summits of 7,000-meter peaks in other countries, such as Denali or Aconcagua, or the popular prep climb of Nepal's Ama Dablam (just shy of the requirement at 6,812 meters). While the aim is to ensure that only those with proven high-altitude experience are allowed on the mountain following several deadly seasons marked by overcrowding and underprepared clients, Arnette said that many of the accepted 7,000-meter peaks are 'remote and dangerous.' They include peaks like Annapurna IV, Api Himal, Tilicho Peak, and Baruntse. There should be leeway for popular peaks, like Denali and Aconcagua to count toward this requirement, he said. The reaction from the climbing community has been positive in regard to increasing the experience level of Everest hopefuls, and the pushback is mostly around the specifics of the rule and which peaks count. Garrett Madison of Madison Mountaineering told CNN that a 6,500-meter anywhere in the world would be a better idea. 'We are generally in favor of any rules that would increase the skills and experience of aspiring Everest climbers,' said Suze Kelly, Director of Adventure Consultants, a New Zealand-based guiding company. 'And would thus discourage people from rocking up with the approach that they can attempt the summit with no prior experience, as we see each year with many of the low-cost outfitters who are prolific in Nepal.' There have been many articles written about inexperienced climbers on the peak putting themselves or others in danger—Lakpa Rita Sherpa said he's seen people who've never put on a crampon before who come to attempt the summit. This type of climbing prerequisite has been floated a few times over the past 30 years, with the government proposing a requirement for climbers to summit a 6,000-meter peak before Everest. The rule was discarded following pushback from expedition companies and climbers. 'The reason people don't want to cut the numbers on Everest is they're worried they'll lose work,' said Lakpa Rita, who has spoken with officials in the past to find ways to address overcrowding. 'It's all about the money.' (What to know about climbing the world's tallest mountain) All climbers would need to submit a medical certificate from within the last month, and from a government-approved medical institution in Nepal to confirm they're in good health. This would require a person to pay for an expedition, travel to Nepal, and perhaps be told they're not in good enough health to thinks that regardless of the law, it's a good idea to get a rigorous health check prior to climbing—like a cardiac stress test for climbers over 50, and a check of iron levels for female climbers. The rule that sirdars (head Sherpa), high-altitude guides, and helpers on expeditions must be Nepali citizens has been proposed before, and similar policies exist in other countries with high-altitude tourism (Ecuador has a similar mandate requiring the use of local guides on certain peaks). On Washington's Mount Rainier, there are only three American guide services that are allowed to operate on the mountain and 15 guide services that can apply for single trips on the Rita appreciates that proposals like this would give a Nepalese guide or employee better opportunities, and the ability to make more money, but emphasized that it would be difficult to monitor and enforce. If attempting a new route on Mount Everest, climbers must get permission from the Ministry of Tourism. Climbers must stick to that route and can only reroute in case of an emergency and with the approval of a government liaison officer. Climbers who are attempting any kind of record must declare it in advance. (Tidying up the top of the world) A new insurance requirement will cover the costly, and often dangerous, removal of dead bodies from the mountain. And to better address the problem of trash on the mountain, the $4,000 refundable garbage deposit will be replaced with a non-refundable garbage fee, and the Ministry of Tourism will manage and remove trash from the peak. According to Lakpa Rita, rules like this that focus on the compliance of expedition companies versus tracking medical and summit certificates for each individual climber, are more likely to succeed. A rule that Lakpa Rita said is being applied is the recent requirement to bring feces off the mountain using human waste bags. He said he did video chats with local officials to tell them how to execute this. When he was sirdar for Seattle-based Alpine Ascents International he required his Sherpas to use these bags on the mountain, even before any rules were in place. 'For things like this to work,' he said, 'the expedition companies have to be very honest.' In 2015 the Washington Post reported that climbers were leaving some 26,500 pounds of feces every season, calling the peak a 'fecal time bomb.' Whether any of the recent proposals will be implemented—and more importantly, enforced—remains uncertain. Arnette encourages climbers to take a look at the proposed rules, decide what makes sense personally, and figure out how to apply them yourself. Many guiding companies, like Alpine Ascents International and Furtenbach Adventures, already require their Everest clients to have high-altitude experience. For now, this season on Everest is coming to a close. Arnette wrote on his blog that total Everest summits, from both sides of the peak, total 'at least 525 people.' With additional research by Sonal Schneider
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- New Straits Times
Bukit Aman: Reduction in Mujamalah visas may see rise in fraudulent haj packages
KUALA LUMPUR: Federal police in Bukit Aman anticipate a surge in fraudulent Haj packages following the government's move to tighten the issuance of Mujamalah visas this season. Commercial Crime Investigation Department Acting Director Datuk Muhammad Hasbullah Ali said his department had received one report related to the scam, resulting in a loss of RM71,000. "This year, the government has reduced the issuance of Mujamalah visas for Malaysians to perform haj. The issuance of permits has subsequently become very strict. "However, we believe that due to this situation, there will be attempts by scammers to offer packages to deceive victims. "This haj season, a victim who wanted to perform the haj filed a report after being cheated," he told reporters here today. Hasbullah said that although the number of victims was decreasing, the number of fraudulent offers for such haj packages was on the rise. In 2023, a total of 11 cases of haj package fraud were recorded, with total losses reaching RM649,631. "Although the number of cases decreased to only four in 2024, the losses were reported to have increased significantly to RM874,100," he said. He said that starting in 2024, a special task force to address the issue of stranded haj pilgrims was established to coordinate investigations, manage documentation, and arrest individuals or company owners suspected of being involved in offering fake haj packages. He said that this effort was carried out with the collaboration of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and Lembaga Tabung Haji. He advised the public to be careful with the offers by checking the registration status of the company or agent.
Mint
2 days ago
- Business
- Mint
How is ‘Boycott Maldives' faring?
As the 'Boycott Turkey' and 'Boycott Azerbaijan' chorus grows amidst the two countries supporting Pakistan and Pakistan's position on Kashmir, along with arms support from Turkey to Pakistan, a similar situation developed with Maldives in early 2024, when Mohamed Muizzu, the current president of Maldives and then presidential candidate appeared with 'India OUT' T-shirts. The trend was strong, with a few online travel agencies announcing that they had stopped accepting bookings to Maldives, similar to the current stance by Cox & Kings and Ixigo to stop bookings to Turkey. Within weeks of this online outrage, the Prime Minister visited Lakshadweep, which became a new go-to place with investments coming in from multiple hospitality chains, along with additional flights being launched by airlines. A year and more down the line, it turns out that 'Boycott Maldives' has had its effect with Indian nationals visiting Maldives dropping by a staggering 37% in 2024 over 2023. Only 1,30,805 Indians visited Maldives in 2024, compared to 2,09,193 Indians who visited in 2023, shows data released by the Ministry of Tourism, Maldives. In the first quarter of 2025, the traffic from India has further shrunk by 7.9% over the same period in 2024. This comes amidst multiple new hotels being launched in Maldives over the last few years and overall tourism growing by 20% in 2024 for the island country. India now drops to the sixth largest source market for Maldives, with China, Russia and the United Kingdom being the top three. Chinese tourists to Maldives increased by 40% to reach 2,63,340 tourists in 2024. While China was the top source market in 2019, the last full year pre-COVID, India was the second largest back then. Data shared by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, exclusively for this article, shows that the connectivity between India and Maldives saw a drop of 17.6% in departures in December 2024, compared to December 2023. This resulted in a 17% reduction in seats. With China, Russia, the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany the top five source markets for Maldives, there remains an opportunity for Indian carriers for transit traffic to the Indian Ocean island. For carriers from India, this has had no impact as they have merely redeployed the capacity on other routes where there is more demand. Indian carriers have been reeling under the supply chain pressures and have not been able to induct as many planes as they would have wanted to, even after taking in a sizable number of aircraft last year. The loss of Maldives has been a gain for Thailand and Malaysia primarily. Both countries started offering free visas on arrival for Indians, similar to Maldives and started attracting Indians in droves. The flights between India and Thailand went up by nearly 40% in both capacity and departures in December 2024 compared to the same month in 2023. Flights between Malaysia and India were up by 21% and included the launch of flights to Penang and Langkawi by India, the two islands in Malaysia known for tourism but offering distinctly different experiences. The sheer size of the population, along with an ever-expanding middle class in India with the affordability to fly, is what is attractive for neighbouring countries to attract tourists from India. Most countries in ASEAN have traditionally been dependent on tourism from China for similar reasons, but were jolted due to China's continued closure of tourist activities, including restrictions on travel outside the country. This led to most countries turning to India to offer attractive packages and offers which could attract tourists from the most populous country. With Maldives, there are already signs of thaw in the relationship between the two countries. The ties between India and Maldives go beyond tourism. The drop in tourists saw airlines cutting down on flights. When it comes to Turkey, IndiGo has already made it clear that their commercial agreements are in line with the Bilateral Air Services Agreement, and there is no violation of any rules. Over five lakh passengers flew each way between India and Turkey in 2024 on non-stop flights, many of them connecting onwards to multiple destinations. Istanbul has always been at the crossroads and has always been an attraction for Indians. Will this change this time around? The airlines will eventually have to either discount the pricing or look for other options if the trend to Boycott Turkey or flying via Turkey continues to be strong.
Saudi Gazette
2 days ago
- Business
- Saudi Gazette
Makkah records over 1,160 licensed hospitality facilities
Saudi Gazette report MAKKAH — The Ministry of Tourism announced that the number of hospitality facilities licensed to operate in Makkah has exceeded 1,160, marking a 54% increase in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year. As part of its preparations for Hajj season, the Ministry also carried out more than 1,160 inspection and monitoring tours to ensure facilities are ready to serve pilgrims and comply with quality standards. The significant growth reflects the Ministry's ongoing efforts, in coordination with other government entities, to ensure that pilgrims are provided with safe, comfortable, and high-quality services throughout their journey. The initiative aims to enhance the overall Hajj experience by ensuring the availability and readiness of hospitality infrastructure, enabling pilgrims to perform their religious rites with ease and peace of mind.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Indian Express
As Indians look to travel more in 2025, overseas holidays likely to pick up further
After crossing the 3-crore mark for the first time in 2024, the number of Indians travelling overseas appears set for another increase in 2025, with as many as 85 per cent of respondents in a survey saying they plan to more than double the frequency of their holidays—both domestic and overseas—this year to four to six. According to Thomas Cook India and SOTC Travel's India Holiday Report 2025, which was released Wednesday, not only are Indians planning to go on more holidays, they are also looking to spend more, with around 84 per cent of respondents considering spending anywhere between 20 per cent and 50 per cent more on travel this year 2025. 'The survey…reflects a significant shift driven by rising disposable incomes and the growing aspirational value of travel, including experiential holidays,' the report said. Growing number of globetrotters Indians are travelling overseas like never before, with international departure numbers recovering rapidly since the pandemic ebbed, and now at record levels. Among other factors, driving this surge is the growing international footprint of Indian airlines and various countries offering simplified and hassle-free visas to Indians. The number of countries offering visa-free entry to Indian citizens has also grown over the past three years. In 2024, Indian nationals' departures to foreign countries rose 8 per cent to 3.02 crore after 2023 saw a 29 per cent year-on-year jump to 2.79 crore, crossing the pre-pandemic peak of 2.69 crore that was achieved in 2019, as per Ministry of Tourism data. In the first two months of 2025, 50.9 lakh Indians travelled abroad, up 6 per cent from the corresponding period last year, tourism ministry data showed. According to the report, 44 per cent respondents are more likely to visit countries offering simplified visa processes like e-visa or visa-on-arrival options such as Thailand, Malaysia, the UAE, Sri Lanka, while countries that issue long-term visas—like Australia, Japan, and the US—are also seeing an uptick. More international trips, while indicative of premiumisation in travel preferences, does not necessarily mean that Indian travelers have become spendthrift. As many as 39 per cent of the 2,500 survey respondents said that they actively seek promotions, discounts, and special offers while making their travel decisions. In fact, according to Reserve Bank of India data, Indians' outward remittances for travel under the central bank's Liberalised Remittances Scheme (LRS) edged down by 2 per cent to $16.71 billion in 2024, accounting for 57 per cent of total outward remittances under the scheme. There does seem to be a discernible premiumisation of Indians' travel plans, as has been the case in the domestic market for goods and services in the post-pandemic years. According to the survey, more than 36 per cent of respondents want 'premium experiences' such as luxury cruise holidays in Scandinavia countries, the Mediterranean, and the US, private island dining in Australia, stays in boutique hotels and chalets and heritage properties in India. Where to next? In terms of preferred international destinations, Europe continues to top the list with half of the respondents naming the continent among their destination preferences. Switzerland, France, Austria, Germany lead the European pack, with Eastern European destinations like Czech Republic, Hungary, and Croatia also gaining popularity. 'Short-hauls like Southeast Asia follows with favourites like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore (46%); also Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Ras Al-Khaimah (37%); Japan & South Korea (35%) and Australia-New Zealand (26%); Island locales – Mauritius, Maldives, Bali, Sri Lanka (22%); South Africa & Kenya (12%),' the report said. Central Asian countries like Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgystan were among other emerging destinations mentioned by respondents, while Morocco, Iceland, and Greenland 'emerging on the radar'. Inbound tourism still behind pre-pandemic levels While Indians are now travelling overseas in droves, foreign tourist arrivals are yet to reach pre-pandemic levels. In 2024, total foreign tourist arrivals rose to 97 lakh, well short of the 1.09 crore arrivals witnessed in 2019. Foreign tourists are a key source of earnings for the domestic tourism economy, with 2024 seeing total foreign exchange earnings rising 18 per cent to $33.19 billion. In rupee terms, this was equivalent to Rs 2.78 lakh crore. According to the government, the tourism sector contributed 5 per cent to India's GDP in 2022-23, with the total number of jobs supported directly and indirectly due to tourism rising 9 per cent to 7.6 crore.
