POKHARA, Feb 17: Tourism entrepreneurs in Pokhara have quizzed Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Sudan Kirati on various issues related to tourism, including the operation of international flights from the Pokhara Regional International Airport.
They put up various queries to the Minister in the course of an interaction on tourism organised by the Pokhara Tourism Council. The tourism entrepreneurs asked questions to the minister as to why the federal government has not taken initiatives for conducting international flights and when such flights will be started.
International flights have not been so far operated at the Pokhara International Airport since its inauguration on January 1.
On the occasion, Minister Kirati said that he has been taking initiatives for the commencement of international flights from Pokhara.
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Describing Pokhara as an outstanding destination and a tourism university, he said he has taken much interest in its development. He added that he would familiarize himself with the process of the operation of international flights from Pokhara and forward works accordingly.
The tourism minister also reiterated that he was positive about resolving the problems seen in the tourism sector.
Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Chief Executive Officer Dhananjaya Regmi said that the board members have not presented the agenda of infrastructure development for tourism promotion and hence the amount allocated for tourism promotion was left unspent.
He was responding to the tourism entrepreneurs' questions about NTB' failure to spend the amount allocated for tourism promotional activities due to its inability to prepare the work procedures.
Tourism entrepreneur Ganesh Bhattarai said the government hastily inaugurated the international airport in Pokhara without completing the necessary homework for starting international flights to and from the airport. He urged the federal government to take the necessary initiatives to that end.
NTB Gandaki chief Kasiram Bhandari clarified that there was problem spending the allocated amount for tourism promotion as he was not authorized to release the amount in the absence of the work procedures.
Pokhara Tourism Council Chairperson Pom Narayan Shrestha said that the level of enthusiasm of the tourism entrepreneurs of Pokhara after the inauguration of the Pokhara International Airport has now dampened with the delay in starting international flights from this airport.
Among other problems facing the tourism sector, he pointed out a lack of concrete tourism policy on the part of the government and the hefty interest rate charged by the financial institutions and the pressure they are exerting on the tourism entrepreneurs.
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