Kathmandu, January 18:

Tourism industry people are already scared that the strike — called by seven-party alliance from February 5 to11 — might incur approximately Rs 30 million loss in revenues each day.

Issuing a press statement, Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO), said today that they have appealed all the political parties to pay a serious heed for the safety of tourists’ — during the strike — as tourism industry has shown some signs of improvement in recent days.

On behalf of the tourism industry, president of NATO, Basanta Mishra has said that the ailing tourism sector needs a strong back-up from the entire political sector as the sector contributes substantially in generating foreign currency to the national coffer. He said that Nepali tourism sector might loose around Rs 30 million in a day, which is a huge amount for a least developed country like Nepal, as we is struggling hard to survive in a free market.

“Tourists are our guests and they need protection and encouragement when they are here to visit our wonderful land, which are rarely found elsewhere in the world,” he appealed. “During the protests, assurance from all sections of the society is needed to ensure that tourists or tourists vehicles would not be harmed anyway.”