Locals of Mustang have assured that they would not bar entry of foreign trekkers to Upper Mustang, according to government officials. Officials of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Department of Immigration and Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) recently told a delegation of Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) that the tourism ministry has already prepared a guideline for distribution of 60 percent of royalty collected from trekkers heading to Upper Mustang through the concerned district development committee. The proposal on distribution of 60 percent of royalty fee at local level has been forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for approval. “We will release the amount once the proposal is endorsed by the finance ministry. We’ve been assured by the Mustang locals that they won’t bar entry of foreign trekkers to Upper Mustang,” the officials told TAAN delegation. A couple of months ago, Mustang locals had warned that they won’t allow entry of foreign trekkers to Upper Mustang from October 1 if 60 percent of royalty collected from trekkers is not spent in the district. TAAN delegation comprised of Senior Vice President Jangbu Sherpa, 1st Vice President Rana Bahadur Khadka, 2nd Vice President Ambar Tamang, General Secretary Mohan Lamsal and Treasurer Anjan Thapa.
