But there is no denying that despite the negative impacts, mountain tourism has had overall positive impacts on mountain communities. The Importance of Tourism in Nepal Nepal is a country rich in natural and cultural diversity and the country boasts of the highest mountain chain in the world. However, the poverty and the rapidly deteriorating environment urgently requires new approaches to developing sustainable livelihood systems that make the most of the comparative advantages that mountains have over the plains. From the perspective of promoting off-farm employment opportunities and income generation in mountain areas mountain tourism offers numerous possibilities and challenges. Trekking tourism is the most popular type of mountain tourism in Nepal, followed by mountaineering and rafting.
Studies suggest that protection has enhanced conservation.
Conflicts between park authorities and local people have also emerged, as development and tourism have not been able to benefit the communities that reside in protected areas. Mountain tourism is popular in some of the national parks. More than ten mountain areas in Nepal have been opened to tourists. Some of the popular areas are the Annapurna Conservation Area, Sagarmatha National Park, and Langtang National Park. Over 50 per cent of the trekkers that come to Nepal visit the Annapurna Region which is easily accessible and located about 200 km west of Kathmandu.