Minister Shradha Shrestha Highlights Climate Change Impacts on Tourism

Kathmandu: Minister for Women, Children, and Senior Citizens, Shradha Shrestha, has stated that Nepal's tourism sector is being severely affected by the serious impacts of climate change. 

Speaking at the Nepal Tourism Symposium 2026, Shrestha mentioned that Nepal's tourism is deeply connected to its natural landscapes, biodiversity, and cultural heritage.

She noted that climate-related events such as glacial lake outbursts, irregular snowfall, landslides blocking trails during trekking seasons, water shortages in tourist areas, loss of biodiversity, and damage to heritage sites are having an increasing impact on the tourism sector.

She said, "Nepal's tourism sector is deeply linked to our natural landscapes, biodiversity, and cultural heritage. 

However, serious climate-related events like glacial lake outbursts, irregular snowfall, landslides disrupting trekking seasons and trails, water scarcity in tourist zones, loss of biodiversity, and heritage damage are increasingly affecting tourism."

She further stated that the decline in the tourism sector has a more direct impact on women. "In many tourism-dependent communities, women rely on informal and seasonal income," she said. "When tourism declines due to climate-related impacts, those income-generating opportunities disappear."

Minister Shrestha emphasized that female-headed households, in particular, are more affected by the economic challenges created by climate change. She stressed the need for policies and programs to make the tourism sector sustainable and climate-resilient.