The park is also home to several ethnic groups. Tourism Development Tourism development is one component of this project. The national park now receives around 500 visitors per year and an increase in tourists could help reduce poverty in the region. The challenge is to ensure that local people benefit economically from the park, but not at the expense of their culture or of the environment. Ang Rita Sherpa, the park's tourism development officer, is planning facilities that cater to trekkers, such as environmentally friendly lodges that will be leased to lodge keepers.
Many people think tourists are good, they bring cash.
In his family's private quarters, the satellite TV occupies one small corner. On the opposite wall, the whole length of it, is a newly built Buddhist shrine with intricately carved dragons and other animals. Then he smiles, anticipating the next question. Elizabeth Kalbfuss is a journalist with The Gazette in Montreal. She is travelling in Nepal as part of an IDRC-sponsored fellowship with the Gemini News Service.