Kathmandu, March 21

Minister for Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari today urged domestic tourism entrepreneurs to diversify tourism products in the country to attract notable number of tourists.

During his visit to Chandragiri Hills to observe the cable car services being offered to the public, Minister Adhikari stressed on the need to identify tourism destinations like Chandragiri Hills and offer multiple tourism products in the country to increase the tourist flow.

“Chandragiri Hills is doing a commendable job in promoting the country’s tourism. However, it is crucial to identify other new tourism destinations and introduce multiple tourism packages and products to woo more tourists,” said Adhikari.

Citing that it is the role of the private sector to ensure ‘diversification’ in domestic tourism sector, Adhikari expressed commitment that the government will facilitate private sector in terms of infrastructural development and policy reforms.

“Tourism industry across the world has contributed much to the overall development processes and the stake of the industry in national gross domestic product value is much higher. If we plan to make Nepal prosperous and achieve various economic and developmental goals, Nepal’s tourism sector should have a contribution of at least 25 per cent to the national GDP,” said Adhikari.

He also assured that the current government will work closely with the private sector for growth of the tourism industry in the country.

On the occasion, Chandra Dhakal, chairman of Chandragiri Hills, said that Chandragiri Hills has become one of the major tourist destinations in the country in a short span of time. Dhakal also committed to make Chandragiri Hills tourist-friendly by diversifying tourism services and products.