World Tourism Day is being celebrated in Nepal

The day is going to be celebrated with various tourism promotion programs to keep the country's tourism sector, which has been weakened by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Maniraj Lamichhane, director of Nepal Tourism Board, said that the day is going to be celebrated in Nepal with the slogan of 'Rethinking Tourism' to make the post-Covid tourism recovery effective.

On the occasion of the day, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and its subordinate agencies and concerned organizations celebrated the day by holding various programs. To celebrate the day grandly, the 43rd World Tourism Day Main Celebration Committee has been formed under the chairmanship of the Tourism Minister.

Director Lamichhane informed that the day was celebrated by organizing various programs in tourist destinations such as Kathmandu, Pokhara, Lumbini.

In the morning on the occasion of the day, Prabhatferi is organized in Thamel, the tourist area of the capital Kathmandu. Under the leadership of Thamel Tourism Development Council, organizations from various tourism sectors are participating in Prabhat Feri.

Similarly, in the morning, under the leadership of Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), foreign tourists arriving on the first flight were welcomed at Tribhuvan International Airport.

In collaboration with Nepal Tourism Board and Kageshwori Manohara Municipality of Kathmandu, a tree planting and sanitation program has been organized in Gagal Phedi located in Kageshwaridham Ward No. 1. According to the board, there will be participation of the Ministry of Tourism, subordinate agencies and high officials of the board, heads and representatives of leading organizations in the tourism sector.

In the afternoon, a formal ceremony will be held in the board's auditorium and there is a program to honor the company that brings in the most tourists.

World Tourism Day is celebrated on September 27 every year with the theme 'Tourism for All: Promoting Accessible Global Tourism'. On the occasion of the day itself, Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) organized blood donation, futsal and Bungmati heritage travel program.

Mohan Lamsal, Secretary General of Nepal Mountaineering Association, said that the day will encourage the development of tourism by broadening the partnership between the government and businessmen to make the post-Covid tourism revival program effective.

He mentioned that it is necessary to promote Nepal's tourism in the world market on the basis of nature, adventure and culture to make the tourism sector sustainable.

Nilhari Bastola, president of TAAN, said that a planned program should be introduced to quickly revive the tourism sector and felt that the day would be relevant to convey the message that tourism is running.

Due to the covid pandemic, a significant number of tourists could not come in the last two years. According to the statistics of the Tourism Board, 230,085 foreign tourists have come to Nepal in 2021. Pre-Covid i.e. in 2018 and 2019, about 1.2 million foreign tourists entered Nepal.

In the last eight months of 2022, more than three lakh foreign tourists have visited Nepal. The tourism sector is now in the rhythm of revival after Covid. Tourist activities have increased. The arrival of foreign tourists is also improving.

Meanwhile, the government has decided to celebrate Nepal Visit Decade to make the tourism sector sustainable. The recent Cabinet meeting has decided to celebrate 2023 to 2033 as the Decade of Tourism. Earlier, the government had celebrated the year 2020 as the Year of Visiting Nepal and aimed to bring in 2 million tourists during that period.

However, due to the covid pandemic, the tour was postponed this year. In order to promote the tourism industry, which is the most affected by the Covid-19, the government aims to coordinate and collaborate with the private sector to increase foreign tourist traffic by celebrating the Decade of Tourism.