Sudurpaschim Province's budget on religious tourism reduced

KATHMANDU, Oct 14:The budget for marketing religious tourism in the Sudurpaschim Province has decreased significantly. The expenditure on infrastructure construction has reduced, according to a report published by the Nepal Rastra Bank on the opportunities and problems of religious tourism in the Sudurpaschim Province.

According to the study, 84.8 million rupees were spent in the fiscal year 2076/77; however, this sum has steadily fallen in subsequent years. In 2077/78, 63.2 million rupees were spent, whereas just 23.5 million rupees were spent in 2078/79.

Despite the government's announcements in every budget to promote religious tourism, the Sudurpaschim tourist destinations that are underperforming owing to a lack of infrastructure have not been updated. In such a case, the National Bank's report shows that infrastructure spending is steadily declining.