Kathmandu, April 19
The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has organised a discussion programme to conduct direct air service from Yangon, the capital of Myanmar, to Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) in Bhairahawa, with the expectation that a direct flight from Myanmar, a Buddhist country, will help promote the country's tourism.
On Tuesday, the NTB held a high-level discussion here with stakeholders including Myanmar's ambassador to Nepal and the Nepali ambassador to Myanmar, high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, officials of the Lumbini Development Trust and the executive head of Myanmar National Airlines.
During the discussion, the Nepali side said that the country is ready to provide necessary assistance in the case where Myanmar is ready to start direct flight operations from Myanmar to Bhairahawa and requested the Myanmar team to accelerate the process further.
In the discussion programme, Metteyya Sakyaputta, vice-president of Lumbini Development Trust, mentioned that Nepal and Myanmar have good relations and said that if there is a direct flight, the number of tourists coming to Lumbini from Myanmar will increase.
In addition, Buddhisagar Lamichhane, joint secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, said that Myanmar National Airlines is ready to provide various discounts, facilities and other necessary support on behalf of Nepal for Myanmar National Airlines to fly to GBIA adding that both countries can benefit through tourism if there is direct air connectivity between the two countries.
Similarly, Nepali Ambassador to Myanmar Harishchandra Ghimire expressed his belief that the Myanmar team coming to Nepal will add strength to the connectivity in the context of ongoing discussions with the Myanmar government about the direct flight between Myanmar and Bhairahawa.
Likewise, Myanmar's Ambassador to Nepal Sen O stated that they are positive about the direct flights and promised to inform about new possibilities after studying its technical aspects.
Captain Kup Khanmung, executive head of Myanmar's National Airlines, said that he was positive about the direct flight between Myanmar and Bhairahawa, adding that a discussion will be carried forward with the necessary technical and business plan for this.
Chief Executive of NTB, Dhananjay Regmi said that the programme was organised at the initiative of the board to help promote religious tourism by flying directly from Buddhist Myanmar to Lumbini.
He also said that a way to further discuss new possibilities of direct flights, business and other aspects has been opened following the recent discussion.
"The airport has been built with a huge investment but there are no flights from Buddhist countries to Lumbini. In this situation, we have taken this initiative for airport operation and tourism promotion of Lumbini. As the discussion is positive, we are optimistic that it will soon open the door to new possibilities.'' he said.
In the discussion programme, stakeholders concerned also remarked that direct flights from Myanmar will increase tourism as well as other economic activities. The team from Myanmar, including the Ambassador Sen O will also meet with the Minister Sudan Kirati for further discussions.
A version of this article appears in the print on April 20, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
