Kathmandu, September 21:

The Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) today welcomed the positive response of the government to its demands.

Before the budget was announced, HAN had demanded that the year 2011 be declared ‘Visit Nepal Year’ to attract 10 lakh tourists. It also called for naming either Nijgarh or Lumbini as a site for another international airport and to adopt effective tourism promotion policies.

HAN hailed the government’s decision to provide a guarantee of financial support for adding two more planes to Nepal Airlines Corporation’s fleet. It said that at least nine people get employed directly or indirectly with the arrival of a single tourist in Nepal. According to Kathmandu Research Centre, the tourism sector contributes 17.11 per cent to the GDP. HAN stressed on promoting public private partnership and said the economy would benefit if tourism sector is promoted.