KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) has said it does not have the required funds to conduct safety audit of tourist sites following the devastating earthquake of April 25 and subsequent powerful aftershocks.

The ministry’s comment has come at a time when concerns related to safety of tourist attractions — monuments, cultural heritage sites, trekking trails and mountaineering sites, among others — are mounting.

In a meeting of the Development Committee of the Legislature-Parliament, Tourism Minister Kripasur Sherpa informed that the ministry has requested the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to release necessary funds to conduct safety audit of the tourist attractions.

MoCTCA has prioritised safety audit of the Khumbu region (where the world’s highest peak Mount Everest is located) and Manaslu circuit (Manaslu to Rolwaling) by hiring national and international experts to check the safety of the peaks.

As per the preliminary assessment of MoCTCA, 150 kilometres of trekking trail has been completely damaged due to the earthquake. The expert team will check the probability of landslides and sinkholes in a bid to protect tourists from possible catastrophe in the respective areas.

Subsequently, safety checks of the World Heritage Sites have also been prioritised, as per the minister. Some of the heritage sites, namely, Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square and Basantapur Durbar Square were recently reopened for tourists after removal of debris and rapid safety assessment.

The parliamentary panel, today, asked MoCTCA to conduct proper safety audit of the World Heritage Sites and instructed MoF to release adequate funds for the same.

The parliamentary panel has also instructed MoCTCA to disseminate positive message and organise effective marketing campaigns in source countries, as some nations have marked Nepal as an unsafe destination in their travel advisory notices.

Some European countries, namely United Kingdom, Germany, France and the Netherlands have marked Nepal as an unsafe destination to visit in the travel advisory notices issued to their citizens, after the earthquake. In this regard, Minister Sherpa said that he will talk with the envoys of the respective countries to revise the notices.