TIMS cards issuance up 5.46 percent in 2012
Kathmandu : The number of foreign trekkers taking Trekkers Information Management System (TIMS) cards from Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) in 2012 increased by 5.46 percent compared to figures of 2011.
According to data maintained by TAAN, a total of 87,247 trekkers took TIMS cards from TAAN Secretariat in 2012. The figure includes 438 FITs and 14 trekkers from the SAARC region.
The figure excludes TIMS cards distributed by TAAN Pokhara Chapter and Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). NTB distributes TIMS cards only to Free Individual Trekkers (FITs).
The government has made it mandatory for trekkers heading to Everest, Annapurna and Langtang region to take TIMS cards. However, members of mountaineering expeditions with climbing permits and trekkers with permits to restricted areas are not required to get TIMS cards.
TAAN and NTB issue separate TIMS cards for FITs and trekkers travelling in groups. Trekkers traveling in groups have to pay US$ 10 as TIMS fee, whereas FITs need to pay $20 for the same. Trekkers traveling in groups from the SAARC region are required to pay $3, while FITs from SAARC have to pay $6.
According to TAAN Media Center, October is the most popular month to trek in Nepal, if data maintained by TAAN is anything to go by. During the month, TAAN issued a total of 20,618 TIMS cards, including 59 FITs and 18 trekkers from the SAARC region. In October last year, TAAN had issued 19,634 TIMS cards.
Similarly, June was the most unpopular month among trekkers with just 1,335 TIMS cards issued.
