KATHMANDU: Nepal Tourism Year (NTY) 2011 coordinating committee will provide express service at various tourist destinations to provide economy travel packages. Informing about the tourist express service, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s tourism sector coordinator and member of NTY 2011

working committee Dhruba Narayan Shrestha said that the tourist

express service will be offered in economy packages.

“The service will charge minimum Rs 300 to Rs 1000 for domestic tourists and the charges will be far economical than what these would have been while travelling in personally reserved vehicles,” he said. According to Shrestha, the operation authority will be given to the local people at different tourist destinations and groups of people from the destination will operate the express service.

He added that they are trying to promote domestic tourism in the country and through the express service the domestic tourists along

with foreigners can get proper facilities to travel to different tourist destinations. “For full-fledged operation

of tourist express service, we

need duty free service to buy 300 private cars and 700 to 1000 buses with minimum 30 seats,” he said.

Major destinations for domestic tourist are Kathmandu, Pokhara,

Chitwan, Lumbini, Palpa, Makwanpur, Nagarkot, and Dhulikhel.

About 50,000 to 60,000 domestic tourists travel annually to Pokhara and Chitwan.

Official launch

KATHMANDU: On April 11, NTY coordinating committee will make its first official launch of NTY 2011 at Pokhara. According to Shrestha, after the official launch at Pokhara on April 11, the second will be organised at Nepalgunj on April 17. After the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 launch gala at Army Pavilion on February 26, the NTY 2011 campaign is set for its launch at different places outside the Valley. The official launch of NTY 2011 will be organised from East to West at five different places — Pokhara, Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa, Biratnagar, and Janakpur.