KATHMANDU, JULY 15

The Department of Tourism (DoT) has successfully tested online tracking system developed to trace tourist activities.

Just before the lockdown, the department had developed online tracking system to trace the activities of tourists via online system. As per the department, the system can trace all online activities once they check into the hotel and access the internet.

“The system can trace the locations of tourists, hotels they are staying at and the trekking trails and other areas they are on,” said DoT Director Surendra Thapa.

According to him, the system has been developed aiming to provide security to the tourists and for the government to collect records of tourist activities. The department is preparing to bring this system into operation as soon as possible.

So far, the department had successfully tested the system on 35 ‘participating’ tourists. After the government imposed the lockdown on March 24, the department had tested the system on 35 tourists staying in different places while the government was rescuing foreigners and sending them back home.

According to the department, the system has to be connected with the hotels, Tourists’ Information Management System (TIMs) card distribution centre, tourists and other concerned authorities. The system can trace the tourists via their passport numbers.

“It will be helpful to know travel history of tourists as well,” he said, “It can be especially helpful to track someone in crisis or if they are involved in illegal activities.”

The system is also expected to be useful during natural calamities.

Meanwhile, the government is also developing tourists’ records app to maintain the data of tourist arrivals.

In association with the Department of Immigration, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) is preparing this application through which the details of each tourist can be found in the same platform. Till date no such integrated system of keeping records of tourist arrival has been implemented.

The government is currently dependent on the details compiled by the immigration department.

The government does not even have the exact data of tourists arrivals each year via both air and land routes.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 16, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.