Speaking at a function organized in the capital to discuss key tourism campaigns to revive tourism in Nepal, Indian Ambassador Ranjit Rae said that notification about the three new routes will come very soon through a formal letter but they cannot be unveiled right now.
According to a high ranking official at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA), India has agreed to provide three new air entry points at Janakpur, Biratnagar and Nepalgunj."We were about to finalize the new entry routes but because of the earthquake we could not do so; it will be finalized soon," said the official, adding that this will help bring in more Indian tourists.
Rae said the opening of new routes from Nepal to Indian cities will benefit Nepal at a time when regional international airports in Pokhara and Bhairahawa and a second international airport in Bara are under construction. We will also facilitate the opening of shorter routes and entrepreneurs should take optimum benefit from it," Rae said.
At present, the Simara route is the only one allowed for aircraft flying to Nepal from India.
Nepal is also working to open a new route via Mahendranagar that will connect to China as well. MoCTCA has already held talks with China on this issue and both China and India are positive towards it, according to the ministry official.
Tourism entrepreneurs say that opening of an air route to India from Pokhara, the renowned tourist destination, will greatly help in the recovery of the tourism industry.
Rae also consented to lend his support in inviting celebrities from the cinema, sports and corporate fields for the recovery campaigns.
"The recent decision of the government of India to allow Leave Travel Concession (LTC) for its staff to travel to Nepal will also help in the tourism recovery," said Rae.
At the 18th SAARC Summit held in Kathmandu in November last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had emphasized the need for enhancing connectivity in the region.
The Civil Aviation Ministry of India has given its nod to a proposal to provide LTC for government staff in April to fly to Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives and Sri Lanka via Air India to boost tourism in the region. Pakistan and Bangladesh were also in the scheme but were later excluded for security reasons.
Suman Pandey, chairman of Pacific Asia Travel Association Nepal chapter, explained the recovery measures taken to date and the marketing campaigns lined up for the recovery effort.
Ambassador Rae expressed his solidarity with the campaigns and marketing schemes and suggested to tourism entrepreneurs to focus on heritage, cultural tourism and meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) from India.
Sugat Ratna Kansakar, managing director of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC), informed about NAC's plans to begin flights to Mumbai and Bangalore in the near future.
Rahul Barwa, secretary general of the South Asia Foundation, highlighted their plans to support the initiatives of Nepal's tourism industry for inviting celebrities including AR Rahaman, Amitabh Bachhan and Shantanu Moitra.
Related story
New air-entry routes: India’s harmful dilly-dallying
