In Nepal, adventure and recreational sports that are being operated without permission have come under the strict surveillance of the government. The Department of Tourism has directed companies operating such activities to obtain a license within 30 days, warning that strict legal action will be taken otherwise.

The department issued a public notice on Monday, clarifying that registration and license are mandatory as per the law before operating adventure sports such as bungee, swing, canyoning, zipline, jetski, motorboat, sky cycling, diving, etc. The notice states that such activities should be operated only by giving high priority to safety standards and strictly following them.

So far, many adventure sports companies registered at the local level, company registrar's office, cottage and small industries office or industries department in various places in the country have not obtained permission from the Department of Tourism. According to the department, all such activities have now come under the government's 'radar' and a one-month deadline has been set to immediately stop them and go through the licensing process.

According to Himal Gautam, Information Officer of the Tourism Department, many companies have registered at the local level and started operating after the implementation of the federal structure. However, registration at the local level alone is not enough; it is mandatory to obtain a license from the department as per the Tourism Act. 'The Department of Tourism is the only official body to regulate adventure and recreational sports,' he said.

The main reason for the department to tighten this is the increasing number of complaints about non-compliance with safety standards and negligence in the safety of tourists. The department has tightened monitoring, saying that the risk of accidents has increased due to non-adherence to minimum safety standards, especially in activities conducted in risky areas.

So far, only 56 companies have officially obtained licenses from the department across the country. The department has been granting licenses in 17 categories including bungee, canyoning, rock climbing, zip flying, speedboat, skywalk, ultra trail, fun park. However, the department does not have a single data on the companies operating without a license.

According to the Tourism Act, the right to grant permits for adventure sports operations has been given only to the Department of Tourism under the federal government. However, after the implementation of federalism, the provincial and local levels have the right to register and regulate hotels, travel agencies and trekking companies, but in the case of adventure sports, the central government has been directly monitoring it.

The department has made the environmental aspect mandatory along with the licensing process. Projects with an investment of more than Rs 20 million will have to undergo a brief environmental study, while initial environmental testing has been made mandatory for infrastructure with an investment of more than Rs 50 million. Since it takes a few months to complete such studies, the department has urged companies to start the process on time.