Case study on the effects of tourism on culture and the environment: Nepal. Chitwan-Sauraha and Pokhara-Ghandruk, Vol.4; 199

The present publication in the series on ‘Culture and Tourism in Asia’ attempts to highlight the impact of tourism on the economy, culture and environment of today’s Nepal. The case studies that were undertaken as part of a project jointly formulated by Indonesia and Thailand in 1992, are based on a research design developed by experts on culture and tourism in a meeting held in Cipanas, West Java, Indonesia 22-24 July 1992. The findings of these case studies are expected to lead to formulation of practicable guidelines, aimed at promoting sustainable tourism: a tourism that encourages better understanding of a people and respects for their culture, and protects natural and social environment of the host country. The study is divided into four chapters: Chapter I gives a brief introduction; Chapter II provides an overview of the tourism sector in Nepal; Chapter III and IV introduce two case studies and examine the impact of tourism on two different groups of people who inhabit the plains of Nepal and the hill regions around the Annapurna sanctuary; and Chapter V offers recommendations to enhance the tourism industry in Nepal while protecting the socio-cultural and ecological conditions of the country.