Eighteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

Nepal, being a home to eight out of ten eightthousanders (mountains above 8000 metres above sea level), is one of the famous tourism destinations of the world. The highlands which are very rich in natural beauty and diversity, have minimal options for the livelihood. The barren land and tundra vegetation restrict the local communities to practice commercial farming. Further, the sustenance farming and animal husbandry generate very low economy and that contributes to unsustainable practices like slash and burn farming and degradation of the resources. In this line, tourism industry has undoubtedly become the best source of livelihood of Khumbu region (Everest region). Tourism industry also provided ways to other basic amenities including health, education, and safe drinking water facility. However, the global pandemic not only restricted people’s travel but also severely damaged the only source of income of the local communities of Khumbu region. The paper considers the impacts local communities have had due to pandemic. The paper concludes on how tourism industry can be a means to sustainable development in the highlands.