Nepal has reels of tourism potential, but much more need to be done to develop packages and products comment industry stalwarts. The scope of activities is too limited which instantly limits the appeal of Nepal as a destination. In order to fuel growth of the industry innovation is necessary.Veteran tourism entrepreneur and Chairman of Soaltee Crowne Plaza Prabhakar, SJB Rana, said that Nepal holds a lot of tourism prospects due to its natural beauty and cultural diversity. However, he went on to say; “We only talk about possibilities and scopes of tourism, but we have not paid due attention towards developing innovative packages for attracting more tourists from different source markets.” Rana expressed the view while addressing a gathering organised by the Nepal Economic Forum (NEF) in Kathmandu last week.
Similarly, Paul Steven, senior tourism advisor of SNV Nepal, highlighted the importance of the tourism industry in Nepal. Paul said that the tourism industry, the third largest source of foreign currency earnings for Nepal, has alone contributed INR15.76 billion to the national coffer and provides employment to more than 83,000 people. “Nature and Culture are the assets of a country and the people should utilise them to take maximum benefits,” he suggested. “Along with nature and culture, development of new products and innovations is key to luring more tourists from various markets.”
Chairman of NEF Sujeev Shakya said that the government has allocated a total of INR230 million to carry out promotional activities for the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 (NTY 2011). Over the past one year, the inflow of tourists into Nepal has increased but the income from tourism has not been so encouraging. To sustain this growth and encourage spending, more products need to be made available to encourage visitors to travel to Nepal, stay longer and spend more.
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