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is normally the beginning of a crucial period for hotels, guides, trekking operators, drivers, restaurants, shops and countless other businesses. This year, however, cancellations have left many people facing a dramatically reduced income at precisely the time when they would normally be preparing for their busiest months.
The financial damage from the August disaster alone has been enormous. A rapid assessment reported losses to Nepal ' s tourism sector of more than 52 billion Nepalese rupees, with hotels, tourism businesses, transport, trekking routes and tourism infrastructure among those affected.
For motorcycle travellers, that connection is particularly tangible.
We rely on local people to help us navigate unfamiliar roads, maintain our bikes, find accommodation and introduce us to places we might otherwise never discover. A local guide, mechanic, guesthouse owner or restaurant may only be one small part of a motorcycle journey, but collectively these people are the tourism industry.
We have experienced that hospitality firsthand on our own rides through Nepal. The people we have met have helped make those journeys what they were. It is the conversations over a cup of tea, the welcome at a small
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