KATHMANDU, AUG 22 -
The government has invited tourism ministers of 21 Asian countries for the inauguration of Nepal Tourism Year (NTY-2011). NTY-2011 is scheduled to be inaugurated on Jan. 14, 2011 in Kathmandu.

“We have sent them invitation letters,” said Laxman Prasad Bhattarai, spokesman of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA). The government has planned to organise an extensive meeting with the ministers on Jan. 13 to strengthen bilateral ties and promote tourism in Asia. The same day, there will be separate meetings of tourism ministers of SAARC nations.

Prior to the meeting of ministers, Nepal will hold a joint secretary meeting of the SAARC Tourism Working Committee on Jan. 12 where discussions will focus on problems and barriers regarding tourism promotion, said spokesman Bhattarai.

The government has also invited the secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) to attend the grand launching of NTY-2011. The inauguration will be held at Dasrath Stadium, Kathmandu.

According to Aditya Baral, director and spokesman at the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the SAARC inter-government body will discuss the possibility of joint marketing, softening the visa regime, giving access to cross-border driving licenses, making Indian currency more flexible and increasing inter-SAARC movement by air by the national flag carriers of each country. “All these ministers will express their solidarity with the theme ‘We are together for tourism’ amid a gala function,” said Baral. He said that the NTB had proposed giving a public holiday to government staff on the day. The then Maoist-led government had announced the NTY-2011 campaign in October 2008 with the aim of bringing one million tourists in 2011.

Posted on: 2010-08-23 08:08

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