Make sure tourists face no hassles: PM

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, May 27: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that tourists visiting Nepal be welcomed with warm hospitality and not subjected to any legal or administrative hassles.

At the National Tourism Dialogue organised on Monday by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation at Singha Durbar, Prime Minister Oli called for bold reforms to remove existing obstacles and advance good governance and development. 

He emphasised ending practices such as causing unnecessary trouble to travellers at immigration.

He also clarified that if there are any obstacles to business and work due to the Public Procurement Act or other regulations, the government is ready to amend them.

“We are making efforts to increase tourism along with infrastructure development. Connectivity has been expanded. Nepal is no longer remote. Apples from Jumla are now reaching Kathmandu and finding a market,” he said. 

“Fourteen border points with China have been opened, and a bridge is currently under construction at the Kimathanka border,” said Prime Minister Oli. 

He added, “In places where nothing exists, building everything at once takes time. Let us promote tourism as a foundation of prosperity, ensuring no lapses in facilitation from the responsible agencies.”

Prime Minister Oli directed the concerned authorities to immediately separate the two aviation bodies and fulfil other criteria as required, noting that although Nepal’s airspace is safe, it remains on Europe’s blacklist.

The discussion stressed the timely construction of major roads such as Kathmandu–Muglin–Pokhara, Butwal–Palpa–Pokhara, and Kathmandu–Dhulikhel, facilitation of tourist entry at border points, direct air links with European countries, Nepal’s branding on global platforms, formulation of a tourism promotion master plan, restructuring of Nepal Airlines Corporation, implementation of commitments made during the Sagarmatha Dialogue, quality investment, human resource management, ease in taxation and currency exchange, Himalayan clean-up, expansion of digital capacity, and increased inter-agency coordination. 

Speaking at the same event, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Badri Prasad Pandey said that it was necessary to identify key issues in the promotion and development of Nepal’s tourism sector and bring forward focused plans for their resolution. 

He said, “Tourism stands as the backbone of Nepal’s economic prosperity. The government is implementing various policy reforms and innovative programmes.” 

The programme saw participation from seven federal ministers, including Minister for Information and Communication Technology, Prithvi Subba Gurung, Minister for Home Affairs Ramesh Lekhak, Minister for Labour Sarat Singh Bhandari, Foreign Minister dr. Arzu Rana Deuba. 

Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Tourism Board, Deepak Raj Joshi, presented a working paper titled ‘Unveiling Nepal’s Tourism Potential’, highlighting the need for tourism development in Nepal.