Kathmandu: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has called on tourism authorities to ensure a seamless experience for tourists visiting Nepal by eliminating any legal and administrative hurdles. During the National Tourism Dialogue, organized by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation at Singha Durbar, he focused on the need for comprehensive reforms to remove existing obstacles and accelerate the development of tourism infrastructure.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the Prime Minister emphasized the importance of addressing unnecessary challenges faced by tourists, such as issues at immigration, loss of luggage, and harassment at land border checkpoints. He stated, “Let us take tourism ahead as a basis for prosperity without any shortcomings in the facilitation work required from the concerned authorities.”
The Prime Minister also pointed out the EU ban on Nepali aviation service providers and instructed relevant authorities to meet the necessary conditions and criteria to lift the ban. This includes dividing the aviation regulation authority into separate licensing and regulatory agencies.
The dialogue highlighted several key areas for improvement, including the timely construction of major highways and roads such as Kathmandu-Muglin-Pokhara and Butwal-Palpa-Pokhara, enhancing ease of entry for tourists through border checkpoints, establishing direct air connectivity to European countries, and branding Nepal on the global stage. Other focus areas included developing a master plan for tourism promotion, restructuring Nepal Airlines Corporation, implementing conclusions from the Sagarmatha Dialogue, ensuring quality investment, managing human resources, facilitating tax and currency exchange, cleaning the Himalayas, expanding digital efficiency, and boosting inter-agency coordination.
The event was attended by federal ministers, provincial tourism ministers, high-ranking officials, and private sector representatives. An action plan, formulated based on suggestions from the private sector regarding current challenges and solutions in the tourism sector, was presented for discussion at the dialogue.