Country's economy becoming viable: NRB Governor Adhikari

Kathmandu, Sept 13: Nepal Rastra Bank's Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said that the country's economy was becoming viable and business environment was being enabled.     

Addressing the Hotelier Summit organized by the Capital Nepal Business Magazine here today, Governor Adhikari highlighted tourism's role in earning foreign currency and job creation.     

He expressed his confidence that the addition of star hotels in the hospitality sector of the country would contribute to development of tourism infrastructures.     

Similarly, parliamentarian and industrialist Binod Kumar Chaudhary viewed that the entry of international chain hotels into Nepal had attracted attention from the world.     

"Tourism and hotel infrastructures are major sectors to change the face of the Nepal. We should work by giving special priority to these industries to make Nepal an attractive destination in the world," he said.     

Hotel is one most invested sectors in Nepal in the recent times. Tourist-oriented hotels were opened in Nepal since Nepal issued visa for foreigners in 1951, it was shared.     

According to official statistics, there are altogether 182 five-star hotels in Nepal while the number of lodge and resorts stands at 1,234. At present, 31 international airlines are operating their flights in Nepal.     

Prior to two years before the COVID-19 pandemic, over one million tourists had visited Nepal while similar number of tourists arrived Nepal in the last fiscal year, the statistic showed.     

Nepal fetched an estimated Rs 68 billion as an income from foreign tourists in 2023, it was told.     

The average stay of a tourist in Nepal is 13.2 days and average spending is 41 USD per day. Most of the tourists visit Nepal for holiday, entertainment, trekking and mountaineering purpose.     

The budget statement of the current fiscal year 2024/25 has incorporated plans and programmes to promote tourism sectors.     

The plans include identifying new tourist destinations and promoting the existing ones, service-delivery to tourists from one-door system, automation system to be implemented for issuing permit for mountaineering and promote tourist destinations as wedding destinations and facilitating tourists visiting Nepal for marriage among others.(RSS)