Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, March 2:

A senior government official has informed Bangladesh that Nepal has already set a precedent by providing free visas to Bangladeshi tourists upon arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), which he hoped, would attract more tourists to Nepal.

Dr Bhoj Raj Ghimire, secretary at the ministry of culture, tourism and civil aviation, part of a delegation, was speaking at a programme held yesterday in Bangladesh aimed at promoting Nepal. Ghimire said that Nepal’s participation at Dhaka Travel Mart – 2005 is part of its commitment to develop partnership with our neighbours, said the statement issued by Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).

The Dhaka Travel Mart 2005, would review the response to identify the areas of future cooperation in trans-boundary tourism so as to motivate more and more tourists from Bangladesh to visit Nepal, said the secretary.

Ghimire assured that air services agreement (ASA) between the two countries will be reviewed soon, which would lead to more flights by airlines between the countries. Royal Nepalese ambassador to Bangladesh, Bhagirath Basnet, addressing the function said that Nepal remains a very safe and secure destination where tourists have never been harassed. He said that Bangladesh already holds the second highest position in terms of trade relations with SAARC states and more inflow of tourists from Bangladesh will help streng-then economic relations between the two countries.

Tek Bahadur Dangi, CEOof NTB, hoped that GMG Airlines, which is likely to follow Cosmic Air soon, will further help boost tourist arrivals. He said that Nepal would emerge as a preferred tourism destination for Bangladeshis. The recent SASEC meeting held in Dhaka will further strengthen tourism marketing initiatives.