By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Sept. 28: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has expressed the government’s commitment to help the tourism sector to build infrastructure, identify new tourism products, and facilitate the private sector, and help recover from the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Issuing a message on the occasion of the World Tourism Day on Monday, Prime Minister Deuba said that the government would give tax subsidies, provide vaccines and support the stakeholders’ efforts to develop Nepal as a safe and attractive tourism destination.

He also informed that the government had begun the process of providing business insurance and setting up a tourism risk fund to enhance this sector’s ability to withstand crises.
In line with this year’s theme ‘Tourism for Inclusive Growth’, the Prime Minister noted the role tourism could play in promoting inclusive economic development by providing employment and boosting the livelihoods of local communities.

Meanwhile, our Pokhara correspondent adds: Ambassadors of 10 countries stationed in Nepal have reached Pokhara on the eve of the World Tourism Day.
On the invitation of the Gandaki Provincial Government, ambassadors of the European Union, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Germany and Malaysia arrived in Pokhara on Sunday.
The ambassadors’ team also included other high-ranking officials from the diplomatic missions of their respective countries.

This visit by the diplomats is expected to convey the message that Pokhara is safe for tourists.
The ambassadors will stay in Pokhara for two days where they will participate in the special Tourism Day programme being held in the city on Monday.

They will also visit the city’s cultural and natural monuments, hike to Kashyap Lake and boat in the Fewa Lake. Chairman of the Pokhara Tourism Council Gopi Bahadur Bhattarai told The Rising Nepal that the ambassadors’ visit would tell the world that Pokhara is open for business.