July 8: Nepal’s ambassadors serving in various countries have recommended the government to considering opening up itself for foreign tourists citing the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines and the gradual revival of international tourism.

At a virtual interaction organized by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) on Wednesday, Nepal’s ambassadors to the USA, Canada, Brazil among others univocally spoke of the need for reviving tourism sector by adhering to health safety protocols.    
During the interaction, Nepal’s envoy to the USA Dr Yubaraj Khatiwada said that the Board should devise a special tourism promotion package for foreign tourists beyond India and China. Dr Khatiwada, who is also a former finance minister, suggested the NTB to coordinate efforts among the federal, provincial and local governments to address the budget crisis for tourism promotion related programmes.

"Tourism activities are almost nil due to COVID-19. At such times, the federal government is bound to experience budget constraint. But the provincial and local governments have budget for tourism. We could carry out tourism promotional programmes utilizing those budget," he suggested.    
According to him, efforts were underway to forge collaboration with Hollywood to promote cine tourism between Nepal and the USA.    
Likewise, Nepali ambassador to Canada Bhrigu Dhungana backed the views of Dr Khatiwada and said that Nepal should be ready to attract foreign tourists adhering to all health safety protocols against COVID-19. Dhungana said that they were collaborating with the Canadian stakeholders to attract Canadian investment to Nepal apart from inviting Canadians to Nepal.    
Similarly, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Nepalese Embassy in Brazil Bharat Khanal pointed out the need to produce promotional materials in various international languages including Brazilian to lure as many Brazilians and other foreign tourists to Nepal as possible. "The promotional materials should be either digital or traditional," he advised to the Board.    
The executive counselor general at Nepal’s Consulate Office in New York, Bishnu Prasad Gautam, said that the number of people visiting Nepal from New York was on the rise lately. He opined that Nepal should enthusiastically welcome foreign tourists from the USA in the wake of vaccines against COVID-19 working effectively to prevent the pandemic.    
CEO of NTB Dr Dhananjaya Regmi said that the Board was working towards promoting tourism considering reforms at policy level, bolstering inter-agency coordination and budget limitation. He said that it is imperative to expand tourism destinations in a new and attracting manner to make Nepal a holiday destination for people of all walks of life and for all season. "There is no choice expect for moving ahead with tourism revival programme," he said. -- RSS