Kathmandu, October 3:

A delegation of Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO) met with Dev Gurung, a politburo member of CPN-Maoist and requested him to ensure smooth and free movement of tourists during strikes.

During the meeting, Gurung assured NATO that his party does not have any intention to harm tourists during protests and is very positive and supportive towards promotion of tourism industry. “Our party did not harm a single tourist even during the insurgency. Neither do we have any strategy to hamper tourists and disturb their movement in the days to come as well,” he said. Gurung also underscored the need to achieve a political stability to create an enabling atmosphere to flourish tourism industry. On the occasion, the NATO delegation informed Gurung that with an announcement of fresh protest programmes by Maoist, foreign tour operators and visitors have become nervous and are in dilemma of going ahead with their planned visits to Nepal.

The team also showed serious concern over the possible cancellation of trips by tourists.