Kathmandu, July 20
Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil
Aviation, Jiban Ram Shrestha, informed on Wednesday that the government was set
to announce a tourism rehabilitation plan.
"The tourism rehabilitation plan will be
announced soon, and it will be formulated in consultation with the private
sector," he said while addressing a Symposium on 'Partnership for
Resilient Tourism' jointly organised by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).
Earlier in April this year, a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) was signed between the FNCCI and Nepal Tourism Board (NTB)
to cooperate in tourism development.
Minister Shrestha said that efforts should
be put in to promote domestic tourism as it has given some relief to the tourism
sector which is among the businesses most affected by the pandemic.
He also suggested to attract quality
tourists from the South Asian countries and other regions. Meanwhile, he
maintained that there was a need for the adoption of clean and renewable energy,
green financing and green banking solutions.
Tourism was one of the most affected sectors
during the COVID-19 pandemic, it hit the country while it had just launched the
Visit Nepal Year 2020 to promote tourism and set to welcome about 2 million tourists
that year.
Shekhar Golchha, President of the FNCCI,
demanded that the relief offered to the tourism sector should be continued in
future as well.
He made a call to the government to develop
infrastructure to boost tourism sector growth. "Private sector can develop
infrastructure like hotels, cable cars, adventure products but we can't clean
up the cities and develop public infrastructure. Hence, we want the government
to become pro-active in terms of creating resilient and reliable public
infrastructure to spur tourism sector growth," said Golchha.
Accessibility to key tourism attractions in
the country is poor, taxi service and airport services are below standards.
While we are promoting cities in the Kathmandu Valley as cultural cities,
tourists face challenges like mobility and sanitation in these areas, stated
Golchha.
"If the new wave of the pandemic does not
create additional challenges, things are moving in a positive direction and the
country has begun to welcome about 50,000 tourists in a month recently,"
he said.
He also suggested ending disrespect to
Indian tourists and pilgrims.
Dr. Bindu Nath Lohani, former
vice-president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), suggested that Nepal should
introduce retirement visa – it can bring knowledge and skill as well to the
country. "It could be a controversial proposal but in the long run, it
will support in the promotion of tourism and transfer of skills," he said.
He also said that scientific data should
support the business operation measures in the 'new normal'.
Stating that there was not enough
development of infrastructure in the past, Dr. Lohani stated that aviation
sector development is fundament for tourism growth and development. Nepal needs
to forge strategic partnership with the foreign companies for it, he suggested.
Maheshwor Neupane, Secretary at the
Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, said that the COVID-19
pandemic has caused a drop in investment and shortage in human resources.
"There is a need of cooperation
between the government and private sector to reduce the challenges/constraints
for the tourists. We must guarantee the basic services such as road and travel,
food and accommodation, entertainment and refreshment and the like," he said.
Chief Executive Officer of the NTB,
Dhananjaya Regmi, said that policy stability is the primary condition for the
promotion and development of tourism.
"Private sector has a feeling that the
government has not paid serious attention to the formulation of effective
policies. All policies that are not business-friendly should be amended or
replaced," he said.
Chairperson of the Tourism and Air
Transport Committee at the FNCCI, Jyotsna Shrestha, stressed on public-private
partnership for the quick revival of tourism and hospitality sector.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 21 July 2021.
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