September 12: Minister for Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation Jeevan Ram Shrestha shared that the incumbent government had introduced the concept of 'Tourism Decade 2023-2032' for development of sustainable tourism.    
Speaking at an interaction with the stakeholders on Sunday, Minister Shrestha said that this concept was visualized to revive the tourism industry of Nepal battered by the COVID-19 pandemic.    
Stating that tourism was one of the mainstays of national economy, Minister Shrestha pledged to facilitate the tourism entrepreneurs and also promised policy reforms for the development and promotion of the tourism sector.    
Similarly, Tourism Secretary Suresh Adhikari shed light on the concept of the Tourism Decade and said that the concept was put in place to earn foreign currencies in the long run.    
The government aims to attract as many as 3.5 million foreign tourists in Nepal by 2032, according to Adhikari.    
Likewise, Nepal Tourism Board’s (NTB) CEO Dr Dhananjay Regmi shared that Nepal would reap a lot of benefits from tourism if there was proper coordination among the concerned bodies.    
Former State Minister for Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation Yankila Sherpa urged the government to accord high priority to coordination and collaboration with the private sector for implementing programmes related to tourism promotion.    
HAAN President Shreejan Rana recommended the government to introduce action-plans to bring in as many as foreign tourists as possible in Nepal during the Tourism Decade. -- RSS