Foreign mountaineers who have climbed Mount Everest and another peak will get free Nepali visas for two years, part of a scheme to boost tourism in the Himalayan nation, a senior government official said. More than 4,000 climbers have scaled the 8,850-meter (29,035 feet) Everest summit since the first ascent in 1953. Himalayan Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest, has designated 2011 as the year to boost tourism. Officials said nearly 200 foreigners who have climbed Mount Dhaulagiri, the world's seventh highest, would also get free visa this year and in 2011 as Nepal marks the 50th anniversary this week of the first ascent of Dhaulagiri by a Swiss-Austrian expedition. Climbers will also get a 50 percent discount in climbing fees for Dhaulagiri for the rest of 2010 and all of next year. Each foreign climber has to pay $5,000 to the government as royalty for climbing Dhaulagiri.
