Tourist receive warm welcome at TIA

REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, Jan 1: Marking the beginning Nepal Tourism Year, Nepal Tourism Board amidst a function on Saturday welcomed tourists at Tribhuvan International Airport.

The official inauguration of NTY 2011 is scheduled for January 14 at Dasharath Stadium in the capital.

Sarad Pradhan, media consultant at NTB informed Republica that NTB gifted tourists with white scarf and a post-card of Mt Everest undersigned by Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Sarat Singh Bhandari. Similarly, members of Nepali Hotel Entrepreneurs also welcomed the tourists at TIA.

On the eve of New Year 2011, the new gate of the TIA along with the newly built sterile zone was also inaugurated. After the operation of new sterile zone, additional 400 passengers can be accommodated.

Previously the zone could only accommodate 300 passengers.

The newly constructed helipad at TIA was also inaugurated on Friday.

NTY kicks off at tourist hubs outside Valley
(SANTOSH POKHREL/CHANDNI HAMAL)

POKHARA/CHITWAN: With the beginning of Nepal Tourism Year (NTY) 2011, tourism promotional activities have begun at major tourist destinations outside the capital.
Tourism entrepreneurs in Pokhara Saturday unveiled different activities to be carried out in the lake city during the tourism year.

Biplav Poudel, western regional coordinator of the NTY implementation committee, launched the activities, which include opening an information counter at Pokhara airport, celebrating mountaineering day, publication of an information directory, organising a tourism fair and tourism festivals and cleaning up Fewa Lake.
Likewise, Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATA) is to launch a promotional tour in different countries including close neighbors India and China and some countries in East Asia.

NATA is also conducting different activities including a cycle race, trainings for tour guides and cabbies and sight seeing. The Restaurant and Bar Association (REBAN), which have been conducting a road festival every year, is to organize the festival every month throughout this year.

The Trekking Agents Association Nepal (TAAN) is organizing promotional activities including a Kaligandaki Valley promotional tour, exploration of the Dhaulagiri trekking route and mapping a Kathmandu-Pokhara route.

“We have a host of additional activities on the cards to promote tourism during NTY 2011, in addition to the regular promotional events. We are committed to promoting local tourism on our own,” said Poudel.

Tourism entrepreneurs in Pokhara have set a target of bringing in more than 500,000 visitors to the tourist city along with the target of extending their average stay to three days from one and a half days and making each tourist spend US$ 100 per day, up from the exising US$70.

Speaking at the NTY launch, Tourism Minister Sarat Singh Bhandari said he was campaigning to develop Pokhara as a tourism capital.

Marking the beginning of NTY, tourism entrepreneurs in Chitwan welcomed 58 tourists including six foreigners at Bharatpur airport on Saturday. Finance Minister Surendra Pandey was among the domestic visitors getting a warm welcome at the airport on the first day of NTY. Tourists landing at the airport were exited to be accorded a wonderful reception with the placing of garlands around their necks to the strains of the Naumati-- a traditional Nepali band. Upon arrival at Bharatpur airport, Minister Panday appreciated the way people in Chitwan district welcomed tourists and urged all to respect tourists to uplift Nepal´s image in the international market. Chief District Officer of Chitwan Basata Raj Gautam underlined the need to forge meaningful coordination among tourism entrepreneurs to meet the target of bringing 300,000 tourists to Chitwan during NTY.

Road Festival concludes

POKHARA: The five-day 12th Road Festival organized at Lakeside, Pokhara concluded Saturaday with a turnover of over Rs 300 million. The festival was organized to promote local tourism, culture and arts. Pokhara chapter of Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal (REBAN) organized the annual event.

According to the organizers, over 600,000 visitors attended the festival held around the theme, ´Let´s eat on the street, dance on the street, enjoy ourselves on the street.´ Around 200 restaurants set up their stalls during the fair.