When concentrated in and around protected areas, tourism poses specific environmental challenges such as changes in land use, loss of vegetation cover, garbage accumulation and trail degradation. It is precisely because of such tourism-induced problems that more cautious tourism development policies are needed to ensure that they contribute positively to the sustainable development of mountain tourism destinations. Tourism in the Nepal Himalaya represents the dilemma of reconciling conservation with development, an issue that is still under debate in the context of sustainable development.
This book is an attempt to highlight this dilemma for a developing country like Nepal. Set in the context of three popular mountain regions, the  book examines the dynamics of tourism development and environmental change over the last three decades, and analyses the strategies that have been developed in response.