Kathmandu, December 31: The government is going to make international promotion and ‘digital’ marketing effective to increase the number of foreign tourists. Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey said that the government is working on policy transformation to increase tourist arrivals and guide Nepal’s overall tourism.
Speaking at a program organized here on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the Nepal Tourism Board, Minister Pandey said that the government is preparing a new tourism policy for tourism development and will complete it soon. He directed the tourism board to effectively advance international promotion programs and emphasize digital marketing by embracing the concept of Public Private Partnership (PPP).
According to the Nepal Tourism Board, 1,147,024 foreign tourists entered Nepal in 2024. In December alone, 89,765 tourists arrived. This is the data as of this morning. The board believes that with one more day, the number of foreign tourists will reach around 1,150,000 this year. Previously, the highest number of tourists was 1,197,000 in 2019.
Tourism Minister Pandey stressed the need to widely promote Nepal’s original tourism products in the international market. Stating that Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious, multi-cultural and geographically diverse country, he opined that the development and expansion of the tourism sector by preserving unity, tolerance and harmony amidst this diversity is the need of the day.
Minister of State for Tourism Arun Kumar Chaudhary said that Nepal’s economic development can be achieved through the development and expansion of the tourism industry, adding that cooperation from all stakeholders is necessary for this. Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Dr. Ganesh Prasad Panda, said that the board should emphasize on the development of infrastructure, extensive use of technology, and development of human resources required for tourism.
Board member Rishi Bhandari pointed out the need to make the Nepal Tourism Board, which bears the primary responsibility of tourism promotion, dynamic by involving all stakeholders.
Deepak Raj Joshi, Chief Executive Officer of the Board, said that Nepal’s tourist arrivals are gradually returning to normal and that the coming days will be more golden for Nepal’s tourism. He informed that a 97 percent ‘recovery’ has been seen in the global environment after Covid and that around 1.15 million tourists visited Nepal in 2024, indicating a 96 percent recovery in Nepal after Covid.
At the program, Board Employees’ Association President Kundan Mishra urged for initiatives for necessary policy reforms for internal strengthening of the organization. The annual mouthpiece ‘Infocus’ published by the board was released at the program and awards and certificates were given to the winners and runners-up of various sports programs organized on the occasion of the anniversary.
