In our opinion, tourism would be a good way to generate income here, though there are alternatives too, like modern agriculture. What we really need is to improve job opportunities, so young men stop migrating elsewhere. We hope tourism can help change that.
Right now, only a few people benefit — mostly those offering accommodation to the handful of trekkers who pass through their village. The impact on the district's economy is still almost non-existent.
Organised groups tend to inject fewer benefits into the local community than individual travellers do — and the conservation area won't be open to independent trekkers until 2004.
For a few years now, the fees tourists pay to enter the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area have been collected and deposited in a bank. It isn't enough yet to do anything big with, but it's a start. One of our most important priorities is improving the road into the district — it's in genuinely bad condition.
Tourism revenue here is real, but still modest — a foundation, not yet a fix.