Everest heroes get rare Nepal honour

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal has bestowed a rare honour on pioneering climber Sir Edmund Hillary, who conquered Mount Everest along with Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, by installing their statues in Kathmandu.

New Zealand's Hillary, who died in 2008 at the age of 88, and Nepal's Tenzing Norgay, who passed away in 1986 at the age of 72, climbed the 8,850-metre Everest summit in 1953, a feat that helped open up Nepal to international tourism.

On Sunday, authorities unveiled statues of the two climbers and that of Russian hotelier Boris Lisanevich, who opened Nepal's first modern hotel in the 1950s, in recognition of their contribution to the country, Nepal Tourism Board chief Prachanda Man Shrestha said.

Tourism accounts for four percent of Nepal's GDP and employs tens of thousands of people in the impoverished mountainous nation.

Analysts said it was rare to put up statues of foreigners in public places in Nepal.

Nepal has already named an airstrip Hillary built at Lukla, gateway to the world's highest mountain, as the Tenzing-Hillary airport and the trekking route from there to Everest base camp has also been named after the two climbers.

(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Bappa Majumdar)