Immediate actions to restore tourism sector: Minister Shrestha

The pandemic has affected the world and also has wholly affected the tourism sector in our country. The newly appointed Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Jeevan Ram Shrestha, has stated that he has started the work from the day he was reinstated to restore the work in tourism.

In a conversation with NepalNews at his office in Singha Durbar, he said that the study work on the reports given by the task force in the past to rehabilitate the tourism sector has already started. It has been directed to study the reports and submit them within seven days.  Shrestha informed that a task force has been formed to submit the works that can be implemented immediately.

Minister Shrestha said that he was committed to providing respect to the famous climbers who risked their lives to keep the name of the country. The Government of Nepal has awarded Nepali artists with identity cards. In which they have the facility to use a special room at the airport.

Stating that the honour given to the artists by Minister Shrestha was a good deed, he said that the state would spare no effort to honour the famous climbers.

Further, he adds that he has been raising his voice in the parliament to clarify the development model of Kathmandu Valley, and now that he is in charge of the Ministry of Tourism, he will focus on the promotion and protection of the heritage and culture of the Kathmandu Valley as tourists come to see the heritage of our archaeological sites and we have not been able to create conducive environments for that.

The government will study where heritage trails can be built on the heritage sites in the valley. He also said that he has emphasized on new branding in the world by linking Hanuman Dhoka and Swayambhu, two World Heritage Sites in his constituency, through heritage trials.

The program to build a trail from the World Heritage Site has also been included in this year's budget, and he has decided to start working on it after he is reinstated.

Some of our properties were destroyed by the earthquake in 2015. Some of them are still under construction. Shrestha informed that the reconstruction work will be taken forward by giving priority to these issues and he will focus on increasing the attraction towards the heritage of tourists.

Jeevan Ram Shrestha, a two-time member secretary of the National Sports Council, is currently the chairman of the Nepal Olympic Committee. He is in favour of increasing sports tourism after becoming the tourism minister. He said that he was in favour of developing and organizing nature-based games. He informed that sports tourism would be promoted in collaboration with the Ministry of Sports.