Kathmandu, September 24:

A two-day exhibition on new local tourist destinations, jointly organised by Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Programme (TRPAP) and Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) concluded in Pokhara

yesterday. Organised to mark the 26th World Tourism Day, TRPAP-developed six new tourism

sites and NTB promoted five tourism sites were displayed at Pokhara’s NTB office. Yankila Sherpa, assistant minister for culture, tourism and civil aviation inaugurated the exhibition. She applauded the achievements of TRPAP for developing various new tourism products in six districts. Sherpa stressed on the need to coordinate efforts of the private sector to develop tourism in Nepal. Shanker Prasad Koirala, joint secretary at MoCTCA and TRPAP national programme director underlined the need for packaging the TRPAP and NTB promoted new tourism products better, especially in Dolpa, Lumbini, Chitwan, Khaptad, and Tansen by private tourism entrepreneurs of Pokhara.

Tek Bahadur Dangi, chief executive officer of NTB highlighted the new tourism products developed by the board and requested Pokhara’s private sector to promote and package the newly-developed tourism products in their package. Rabi Jung Pandey, national programme manager of TRPAP, made a presentation on the TRPAP activities and achievements in six different districts namely Taplejung, Solukh-umbu, Rasuwa, Dolpa, Rupandehi and Chitwan. Documentaries on Lumbini and Chitwan were also screened on the occasion. Ramesh Bahadur

Bhattarai, chairperson of Kaski DDC committee requested to replicate the rural tou-rism programmes in as we-ll, since the districts have many tourism attractions. Ganesh Bahadur Bhattarai, chairperson of the Pokhara Tourism Council, expressed his commitment to market the newly-promoted tourism products at the national and international arena. He also requested the government to create a favourable environment.