Sources for Tourism Promotion: From Hi-tech to International Conference

In order to revive Nepal's tourism sector, which is in crisis due to the Corona epidemic, it has been recommended to provide additional budget of Rs. 196 million for promotion in the budget of the coming Fiscal Year.

The National Tourism Revival Committee has stated that additional budget has been demanded for the promotion and dissemination of Nepal's tourism nationally and internationally and for spreading the message that Nepal is open for tourists. The technical committee formed under the chairmanship of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Prem Ole has suggested to attract more tourists by promoting Nepal in difficult times through publicity. According to Rajaram Giri, coordinator of the technical committee, it has been emphasized that the publicity should be done in a more creative way than the traditional way.

 To achieve the same goal, an international tourism summit has been organized in September. High-level delegations from more than 20 countries are expected to attend the conference. The Minister of Tourism of the country with the highest number of tourists visiting Nepal will be invited. Ministers of Tourism from South Asian countries and experts working in the field of tourism will be invited to participate in the conference.

According to Giri, the conference is being attended by international mountaineers, hikers and personalities who have contributed to Nepal's tourism. The committee is confident that the conference will spread the message that Nepal is open, tourism friendly and 'come, visit Nepal' worldwide. The process of inviting world famous celebrities has started. Famous Turkish celebrity has arrived in Kaski. Similarly, the committee has set a target to bring Nepal to the center of global discussion by inviting artists, athletes and mountaineers from other countries.

Similarly, the committee is going to make 'Tourism Digital Map' with the information of every tourist area of ​​Nepal. The goal is to include the 'One Village One Tourism Area' campaign in the same digital map. That work will be done by Nepal Tourism Board. New as well as old tourist destinations will also be added to it. Tourists will know about the tourist area of ​​Nepal as soon as they see the map. Giri said that Rs. 5 million has been prepared for the project.

Some adventure sports and trekking promotion programs will also be taken forward in coordination with the tourism related organizations. The target is to spend Rs. 2 million for that work. A program has been decided to invite invited journalists from abroad, media and travel collectors, bloggers and writers to tour Nepal and have their articles and interviews conducted. The target is to spend Rs. 10 million for that.

Construction, operation and management of international standard toilets, tourist information center, resting place and other information providing place will be done. It has been decided that the work will be implemented at the local level and the state government will provide assistance. The work of beautification and standardization of the main tourist destination, city is also in the priority of the committee. By spending Rs. 2.5 million, a website, app dedicated to the type of interactive tourist will be created and operated. In such websites and apps, small audio-visual materials providing information about Nepal's tourism sector will be made available in various international languages. Tourists who want to come to Nepal can get the necessary information from it.

 Will be able to have the necessary curiosity and interest. Excessive use of social media and necessary promotion programs are also in the priority of the committee. Necessary arrangements have been made in all the seven states for the search, identification and training of new manpower who want to come in the tourism sector. Due to Corona, seven lakh out of one million workers directly connected to the tourism sector have become unemployed. The goal is to bring them back to the area and create new manpower.

Free high speed Wi-Fi service, information will be provided through digital medium and heritage sites will be provided free of cost in 10 major tourist destinations. Similarly, it has been decided to mobilize tourist experts, informants and volunteers to provide information about Nepal at the international level, said Giri.