VNY 2020 preparations unsatisfactory

Kathmandu, August 4

Lawmakers expressed their dissatisfaction with the preparations for Visit Nepal Year (VNY) 2020 campaign today with newly appointed Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai.

During the first meeting with Minister Bhattarai lawmakers urged him to take immediate action on VNY preparations as there are only five months left for the campaign to kick off but the work progress has been rather slow.

“Recently we visited the VNY secretariat and had a discussion regarding VNY preparations. However, we were not satisfied with the preparations,” said committee member Dibyamani Rajbhandari.

He further said that the promotional activities and coordination with stakeholders also seem to be weak for the VNY 2020 campaign. “We are still not ready for the campaign,” he added.

Meanwhile, another committee member, Chand Tara Kumari, said that the VNY committee lacks coordination with the international market.

“Hence, it would be better to work with Nepali embassies of respective countries to promote VNY 2020 campaign in those particular countries.”

Likewise, Pabitra Niraula Kharel, chairperson of the committee, said that the major challenge for Minister Bhattarai will be to make VNY 2020 campaign successful. “The campaign will not be successful with the current pace of work as 2020 is fast approaching and we have very less time,” she said, adding that from budget allocation to programme implementation, work progress has not been adequate.