Preparations for VNY in full swing: Minister Bhattarai

Kathmandu, December 14

Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Kumar Bhattarai said preparations for Visit Nepal Year 2020 were in full swing.

Visit Nepal Year will formally kick off on 1 January 2020. President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will inaugurate the event amidst a grand ceremony at Dasharath Stadium.

It will also be simultaneously inaugurated from all seven provinces. Visit Nepal Year 2020 is a national campaign to promote tourism in a bid to ensure the country’s economic prosperity.

According to Minister Bhattarai, the ministry has invited dignitaries, including tourism ministers from 40 countries at the inauguration. The government aims to attract two million visitors during the Visit Nepal Year. He said the recently concluded 13th South Asian Games had also contributed to some extent in promoting the campaign abroad. He also claimed that the 13th SAG had been a grand success in terms of management, infrastructure and players’ performance. He said success of the 13th SAG was an example that Nepal was capable of organising any kind of international event.

“Meetings and discussions held before, during and after the 13th SAG had greatly helped prepare for Visit Nepal Year,” he said, adding, “I had informal meetings with the representatives of international sporting bodies during the inauguration and closing ceremony of SAG.”

He said most of the representatives of sporting bodies were well aware about Visit Nepal Year and they pledged their support to the event.

He said the officials of National Sports Council and Nepal Olympic Committee had also informed sports officials of participating countries about the Visit Nepal Year. Similarly, Prime Minster KP Sharma Oli’s concluding remarks during the closing ceremony of SAG had also helped promote Visit Nepal Year. Taking about preparations for Visit Nepal Year, Bhattarai said, “Now we will move ahead with the slogan ‘A Decade for Tourism’ in Nepal and formulate plans accordingly.”

“Visit Nepal Year will kick off outside the country from 7 January 2020. At present, we are mainly focused on inauguration ceremony.” He shared that he had also been holding discussions and interactions on a regular basis with several stakeholders regarding preparations for Visit Nepal Year. “Visit Nepal Year Secretariat, Nepal Tourism Board and the Ministry of Tourism are actively involved in the preparations for the mega campaign. We have concentrated all our attention on this,” he informed. Bhattarai further said various promotional materials for the campaign had been prepared for international media that had been invited to the inauguration ceremony.

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