2025 will be observed as 'special tourism year'

Kathmandu, May 19: The government has announced to observe 2025 as a 'special tourism year'. 

Presenting the policies and programmes for the fiscal year, 2080/81 at the joint meeting of the federal parliament on Friday, President Ram Chandra Paudel made such announcement.

The decade of the 2080s will be marked as the 'Visit Nepal decade' and 2025 a special year for tourism. The tourism sector which witnessed a huge dent from the COVID crisis is slowly recovering.

Nearly 100 thousand tourists are visiting Nepal monthly since the beginning of 2023. As per the latest statistics maintained by Nepal Tourism Board, Nepal recorded the arrival of over 326 thousand foreign tourists in four months of 2023.

Previously, the government had announced to observe 2020 as a 'visit Nepal year' which was later canceled in the wake of the COVID crisis.

Similarly, the President announced that timely revisions would be made to tourism-related law. The tourist destinations would be popularized in the international community and necessary infrastructures prepared accordingly. 

New tourist destinations would be identified in all seven provinces and each province will be a cultural village, the policies, and programmes mentioned.

New mountains would be opened for climbing. Security arrangements for climbers and tourists would be made more reliable. 

The President further announced that the concept of film tourism would be materialized and expanded and new dimensions added to adventure tourism.

With the collaboration of private sectors, 'Samarmatha Special Honour' will be conferred on foreign nationals considering their role in the promotion of Nepal's art, culture, language, and literature in the international arena.

Also stressed in the government policies and programmes are strict adherence to air safety standards and the development of Pashupati and Lumbini as centers of religious and spiritual study. (RSS)