I came across, the Gorkhapatra editorial on Nepal’s budget for the fiscal year 2006-07, titled Pro-People Budget [2006-7-14]. In this budget, Nepalese government allocated heavily on rural development and poverty alleviation. What really bothered me was that the government did not emphasize on the development of the tourism sector. I also came across another article in Reuters and there I could not find any inititative taken by the Nepalese government on tourism sector as well.
It is true that the government has to deal with many issues when making a budget but they should not have neglected the tourism sector. Why? Every year, lots of foreigners come to enjoy the natural landscape of Nepal. For this reason there are many hotels, motels, resorts, tourist shops and restaurants. Many people earn their livelihood by working in these organizations. The major problem of the tourism sector is shortage of tourists. Ashok Pokharel, Secretary, Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO) expressed his disappointment about government’s negligence regarding Nepal’s tourism sector. He said that the previous governments also made many promises but never fulfilled those.
In the absence of a strong private sector, only the government can help rebuild the tourism sector. Nepalese embassies in different countries can take various programs and activities to attract tourists. I wrote a post “Naturally Nepal-Once is not enough,” where I talked about a press conference, organized by the Nepalese embassy in China, to give the latest information about the country’s tourism sector. More programs like this should be arranged to attract tourists from different countries.
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» Who wants to go to Nepal? from SouthAsiaBiz
On july 14th, I wrote a post Nepal’s new “Pro-People” budget and the neglected tourism sector, where I expressed my concerns about the tourism sector of Nepal. Well today, I feel very happy to give you the good news. On... [Read More]
Tracked on: July 21, 2006 12:49 PM | Permalink to Trackback