Government issues warning to travellers heading for Nepal

New Zealand groups offering travel to Nepal say it is business as usual, despite a Government warning for travellers to exercise caution when visiting the mountain kingdom.

Sporadic rioting erupted in the capital, Kathmandu, after King Gyanendra was crowned. King Birendra, Queen Aiswarya, Crown Prince Dipendra and six of their closest relatives died in a shooting incident at the weekend.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement last night that because of the potential for civil disturbance, New Zealanders should exercise caution and maintain high personal security awareness if they travel to Kathmandu.

New Zealander David Allardice, who with his wife, Louise, operates a lodge and bungy jumping operation about three hours north of Kathmandu, said yesterday that he was keeping in daily contact with his staff, which included one New Zealander.

However, communications were proving difficult, he said.

"It's business as usual, with caution. We're just doing business quietly.

"I couldn't get through to them [in Nepal] yesterday, all the lines in and out of Nepal were haywire."

At least two large American trekking companies had either cancelled trips or were routing trips around Nepal, saying the uncertainty of travel and safety was a cause for concern.

But Peter Gibbs, a director of Auckland-based Adventure Travel Company, which offers tours and visas to the Himalayan nation, said June was the end of the trekking season so most New Zealanders had left the country.

"There's not the biggest number of tourists there.

"There's still a few ... people using it as a base for Tibet and people just passing through Kathmandu."

Mr Gibbs believed there could be 100 New Zealanders still in Nepal, and about 800 visited every year.

The trekking season generally ran from October to April.

"At the peak of the season there are probably 200 or 300 Kiwis up there, working, trekking and doing other things."

Mr Gibbs' company represented six overseas-based companies offering trekking in Nepal, and he was unaware of the decision by some American groups to halt trips.

"But, because it's the end of the season, there's not many people going up to trek at this time as it's the start of the monsoon.

"It's getting warm and wet and it's not a pleasant time to be trekking," he said.

Mr Allardice said the royal deaths were devastating, and it was unbelievable that official reports suggested they were the result of "accidental" automatic weapon fire.

Those reports were an "insult to the Nepalese people," he said.

Mr Allardice said tourism in Nepal could be hit by the unrest.

- NZPA