Tourism operators demand tourism industry to be operational

Kathmandu: Tourism operators have demanded the government to make tourism industry operational by adopting safety protocols.

Associations aligned with more than two dozen of tourism operators Friday met with Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Yogesh Bhattarai and demanded that the tourism industry which has come to a grinding halt be made operational soon by adopting safety measures.

The tourism operators told the Minister that they were preparing for resumption of the tourism activities by calling their staff on leave, but they were hopeless to see how the government’s earlier decision to resume operation of flights from August 17 were rescinded and flights further suspended until August end.

The chairman of Nepal Association of Tour and Travels (NATTA) Achut Guragain said Nepal government should allow resumption of tourism activities by applying safety measures which include conducting prompt PCR test for the arriving tourists at the airport by arranging a separate room.

He also said a negative image of Nepal was being spread in the global market as Nepal is still reluctant on resuming its tourism sector while other neighboring countries are gradually resuming tourism sector.

An conglomeration of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN), Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), Nepal Association of Rafting Agents (NARA), Society of Travel and Tour Operators (SOTTO), Himalay Rescue Association, Village Tourism Promotion Forum, Tourist Bus Association of Nepal, Kailash Travel Association, Thamel Tourism Development Council met with the Minster Bhattarai.