Introduction: The Himalayas is a vital region that facilitates mountain tourism to a number of countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bhutan, China, India and Nepal. The unique landscape and scenery of Himalayas is the main attraction to tourist activities in this region. Tourism industry is one of the major contributors to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employment. As an example, tourism sector contributes 9.4% of GDP and 8.2% of total employment in 2012 for Nepal (World Travel & Tourism Council 2014)
defined by the World Tourism Organization (WTO), tourism comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business, and other purposes. Key concepts of sustainable development and sustainable tourism, values and ethics of sustainable tourism and the needs of sustainability in all form of tourism shall be discussed in this essay. 2.1 Sustainable Tourism Since World War II, tourism has developed from
E SSAYS ON TWENTIETH-C ENTURY H ISTORY In the series Critical Perspectives on the Past, edited by Susan Porter Benson, Stephen Brier, and Roy Rosenzweig Also in this series: Paula Hamilton and Linda Shopes, eds., Oral History and Public Memories Tiffany Ruby Patterson, Zora Neale Hurston and a History of Southern Life Lisa M. Fine, The Story of Reo Joe: Work, Kin, and Community in Autotown, U.S.A. Van Gosse and Richard Moser, eds., The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in