It has also proposed making changes in NTB´s Financial Bye-Laws 1998 and deciding core and non-core functions and increasing Tourism Service Charge (TSC). The committee has also suggested to the government to ask NTB publish annual income and expenditure report and audit reports, among others.[break]
Suggestions:
Ø Increasing TSC to Rs 1,000
Ø Prioritizing promotional activities in India, China
Ø Making TIMS fund transparent
Ø Fixing criteria for board members
Ø Chiefs of travel trade associations to lead board members nominations committee
Ø Creating 16 new posts
Ø Forming a sub-committee for appointment of staff
The committee formed by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) on mid-May submitted it report on Tuesday. Purna Chandra Bhattarai, joint secretary at MoCTCA, was the coordinator of the committee.
NTB - the national tourism organization - has been without a CEO for the past two years. It also doesn´t have sufficient income.
“We have suggested to the government to increase TSC to Rs 1,000 per tourist, up from existing Rs 500,” Bhattarai said, adding that it will increase NTB´s revenue by 80 percent.
NTB collects TSC from every tourist visiting the country via air.
With the rise in income, NTB can work on tourism infrastructure development in different parts of the country in partnership with local bodies, the committee has said in its report.
In a bid to ensure the say of private sector in NTB, the committee has suggested forming a five-member Nominations Recommendation Committee to nominate members in the NTB board. The committee has suggested including four persons from among the chiefs of different travel trade associations in the recommendations committee which will be headed by a person named by the government. The recommendations committee will recommend 10 names for the five seats of private sector in the board, respecting the spirit of inclusiveness.
Besides, the committee has proposed to the government to prioritize tourism promotional activities in China and India, improve Trekkers Information Management System (TIMS) and make TIMS fund transparent.
It has also suggested criteria for board members at NTB. According to the committee, board members should have a Bachelor´s degree and 10 years experience in tourism sector. If a board member leaves without completing his tenure, the committee has suggested appointing new board members for the remaining tenure only.
According to the report obtained by Republica, the board of NTB will form a sub-committee which will work to fulfill vacant posts immediately, recommend promotion of existing staff members, and hire contractual, temporary and wage earner staff depending on requirement.
Similarly, the committee has proposed mentioning job description and specification of each department, regional offices and staff in the Employee Service By-laws 2008.
It has suggested hiring staff on permanent basis for core functions and contractual basis for non-core functions. It has proposed to the government to create 16 new posts - one manager, five deputy managers, one section officer, six assistant officers, two drivers and an office assistant.
According to Bhattarai, the committee held discussions with different stakeholders and finalized its report based on their suggestions.
“We, however, didn´t address travel trade people´s demand like converting the board of NTB into a council, appointing representatives from travel trade associations directly into the board, hiring directors on contractual basis, and establishing NTB´s office in Europe,” said Bhattarai.
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