Trailmapper’s initiative to make Nepal’s trekking tourism safe through data
Kathmandu. With an aim to make trekking tourism safe, systematic, and technology-friendly, a Nepali startup Trailmapper has organized a panel discussion on the use of structured data.
The British College Incubation Centre, Trailmapper is hosting an event titled ‘How Structured Data Can Make Nepal’s Tourism Safer, Smarter?’, on July 31 at Kathmandu Marriott Hotel, Naxal, Kathmandu.
The program was attended by 35 representatives from tourism, conservation, disaster management, education and communication sectors.
Sudhan Subedi of Nepal Tourism Board, Ashok Subedi of National Trust for Nature Conservation, Ram Chandra Sedhai, Chief Executive Officer of Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN) and Raju Chapagain, GIS and Disaster Risk Management Expert Raju Chapagain were the panelists of the program.
The program was facilitated by Achchata Shakya.
The discussion focused on the topic that information related to trekking routes, weather, safety and emergency services available in Nepal’s tourism sector is being dispersed by various agencies and this has posed a challenge to the safety of the trekkers.
The participants were of the view that trekking tourism could be more safe and effective if such data could be provided through an integrated and verified system.
During the discussion, it was raised that although the government and the concerned bodies have a lot of information for the safety of pedestrians, the data is not updated, there is a lack of authentication or it is limited to different systems.
Limited number of weather monitoring stations, lack of data exchange between local and federal agencies and lack of access to communications in remote mountainous areas were also cited as major challenges.
Swarnim Ratna Shakya, CEO and Co-Founder of TrailMapper, said that a data-driven decision-making system is necessary to make trekking tourism safe in Nepal.
“Such discussions are essential to improving the safety and overall experience of thousands of hikers. Nepal’s tourism sector has been divided into various levels and bodies for a long time. If effective decisions can be taken by integrating data, the tourism sector can be made more safe and competitive,” he said.
According to him, TrailMapper is not just a mobile app, but a digital platform to provide important information about trekking in one place.
It provides pedestrians with easy access to routes, accommodations, emergency contacts, and other necessary information.
Speaking at the program, Raju Chapagain, GIS and Disaster Risk Management Specialist, said that the main need of the hour is to manage and verify the available data rather than collecting new data in the tourism sector of Nepal.
‘Everything is limited to planning. The need now is to identify the available data and make it verifiable and usable,” he said. Ganesh Poudyal, head of The British College Incubation Centre, said, “The journey of Trailmapper has shown the potential of innovation and startup ecosystem in Nepal. According to him, the project that started from a simple concept has now been able to bring together stakeholders from tourism, conservation, government and technology sector on a single platform.
The event concluded with a Q&A and networking session. The participants also pledged to collaborate in the areas of tourism security, disaster management and data collection in the coming days.
TrailMapper is a mobile app developed in Nepal that provides information such as trekking routes, trail waypoints, accommodation, emergency contacts, and other information on a single platform. Currently, the app is in operation and its field test has been completed in various trekking routes, according to the company.
The company said it is developing more smart features to provide real-time information about weather, trail conditions and potential hazards in the coming days.
According to tourism experts, such digital solutions can help make Nepal’s trekking tourism safer, reliable, and more competitive in international markets.
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