KATHMANDU: A total 97 mountaineering expedition teams comprising 1,432 members from various countries have set out to different peaks including the world's highest Mount Everest, this season. Of them, 34 have set out to the Mt Everest.

According to Tourism Department's Director General Sudarshan Prasad Dhakal, despite the last year's devastating earthquake, the mountaineering tourism did not slide down and continued to attract tourists.

In fact, the teams that had cancelled their trip last year due to the deadly avalanche which occurred on the Mt Everest base camp were given royalty exemption for two years, he said.

The government has opened permission for the expedition to 476 different peaks.

It may be noted that the government through its new policy and programme that were presented by President Bidya Devi Bhandari before the Legislature-Parliament on Sunday declared the year 2018 as the 'Tourism Year' with a target of bringing in some one million tourists.