Nepal launches tourism drive

Rebel attacks have scared tourists away

By Sushil Sharma BBC correspondent In Kathmandu

Nepal has launched a major drive to revive its ailing tourism industry.

The move follows recent peace moves aimed at ending a bloody Maoist rebellion.

Nepal's main attraction: Mount Everest

Visits to the kingdom have plunged in recent years due to security concerns caused by the seven-year conflict.

Nepal's Tourism Board says it hopes to lure tourists back with a range of cut-price deals.

The authorities say they are expecting a dramatic reversal of present trends after the government and the rebels declared a cease-fire two weeks ago.

Deals

A little over 200,000 tourists, down 27%, visited Nepal last year, which witnessed an unprecedented surge in Maoist violence.

The guns are silent for now

A senior official of the Nepal Tourism Board said that the number was expected to grow by at least 25% this year following the improvement in the security situation.

Mr Tek Bahadur Dangi told a news conference that a number of steps including major concessions on travel, accommodation and visa expenses had been initiated.

Although no date or venue has yet been set for peace negotiations, both sides say they are optimistic the talks will succeed.

This has raised hopes among tourism entrepreneurs.

A leading hotelier, Yogendra Shakya, said the industry would pick up soon.

He said that international tour operators had responded enthusiastically to the cease-fire and the improved prospects of lasting peace.

Revival 'crucial'

The recent poor performance of the country's key industry has been blamed on bad international publicity resulting from the security situation.

Seven thousand people have been killed since 1996, when the Maoists began their struggle to replace the monarchy with a communist republic.

Although the rebels had vowed not to attack tourists, a series of bomb blasts and general strikes across the country kept many foreigners away.

The authorities said that a slump in world tourism following attacks in New York and Washington in September, 2001, also affected tourism in Nepal.

The authorities are optimistic that the promotional drives they have launched will help improve the situation.

Tourism is a major source of foreign currency earnings and employment in Nepal.

Its revival is crucial to the country's battered economy which last year shrank for the first time in 20 years.