Kathmandu, June 13 -- On 21 March, the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed an agreement to launch the Sustainable Tourism Project (STP), a $5 million endeavour that aims to improve Nepal's tourism infrastructure, workforce, and destinations to generate employment and livelihood opportunities for local communities.

The project, with set metrics to achieve its goal by 2028, aligns with Nepal's Sustainable Development Goals, which emphasises commitments to environmentally sustainable and inclusive tourism efforts.

Sustainability-related buzzwords are pervasive in the STP's broadly outlined goals, which in its broad terms are agreeable, but until clear regulations, standards, and methodologies ar...