네팔 경제 대홍수로 치명타…“지난해 회복세였던 관광객 줄 것”

A recent analysis suggests that the massive earthquake and flooding in Nepal on January 26 will have a devastating impact on the country's key income source, tourism. According to a report by the Kathmandu Post on January 28, Nepal's mountainous areas are now more exposed to climate change risks, which will significantly harm the tourism-dependent economy.

Nepal Tourism Secretary Dipik Rai Joshi told the news outlet that the tourism industry will inevitably suffer from the disaster, with effects likely to last at least 6-7 months. He emphasized the importance of assuring other regions of Nepal that it is not affected, and highlighted Nepal's strong recovery capability from various incidents and catastrophes in the past.

According to 2025 data from the US State Department, Nepal has the lowest UN classification of least developed country with a per capita GDP of $1,399, mainly dependent on tourism and agriculture. The tourism sector was already significantly reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, followed by aviation crashes in 2023 and 2024.

The peak season of September was affected by a nationwide anti-government protest led by young people. Moreover, Nepal has faced a new challenge with a large-scale earthquake and flooding in the north-central region. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank have repeatedly warned that increasingly severe climate shocks are a major risk factor hindering Nepal's economic growth in tourism and agriculture.

Environmental expert Vijay Kumar Singh told the Kathmandu Post that Nepal's tourism industry essentially depends on mountains, and sustainable tourism would require international climate funding and various other measures. He warned that the unstable ground in the Himalayan region poses safety concerns for Nepal's mountainous areas.

Most of the approximately 42 large lakes in the Himalayan range are located in the Everest region, a world-renowned tourist destination, which could cause catastrophic damage to residential areas, roads, bridges, and tourism infrastructure, as well as hydropower projects with neighboring countries. Nepalese former Environment Minister Ganesha Shah emphasized the need to increase investment in precise technology to protect mountain tourism and improve disaster preparedness, including communication infrastructure.

The death toll from this large-scale earthquake and flooding is rising. As of the morning of January 28, Nepal Police reported 475 deaths, while CCTV reported a minimum of 478 deaths, including 3 Chinese Tibetans, and 1,500 missing persons.