2025 will be observed as 'special tourism year'

The government has announced 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 an announcement.

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

Nearly 100 thousand tourists have been visiting Nepal monthly since the beginning of 2023. As per 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 'visit Nepal year' which was later cancelled in the wake of COVID crisis.

Similarly, the President announced that timely revision would be made in 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 the foreign nationals considering their role in 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 development of Pashupati and Lumbini as centres of religious and spiritual study.