Plan to promote Nepal tourism at BTM

TT,  Siliguri: Nepal tourism board has decided to promote some tourists spots of the country at the Bengal Travel Mart (BTM) be held in Siliguri from Tuesday.

The representatives of the board -- a body of the Nepal government that works for development and promotion of tourism in the neighbouring country -- who were here on Monday said they would promote areas of Nepal close to the Darjeeling district so that an integrated tourist circuit, covering north Bengal and Nepal can be promoted among tourists.

"We get highest number of tourists every year from India. Last year, around two lakh tourists had visited our country, which is higher than the turnout of Indian tourists in 2017, when 1.60 lakh Indians had visited Nepal," said Surya Thapaliya, manager of the Nepal tourism board.

According to the board members, they want more In- dians to visit the Himalayan country from north Bengal, the Northeast and also from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. " We are planning to draw up new travel itineraries, which will cover some popular and some new spots to attract more tourists," said a board member.

"Pokhra is one of the major tourist spots in Nepal which is provided ample opportunities for adventure sports lovers. Tourists can take up bungee jumping, trekking, cable car ride and para-glid- ing. Also, in eastern Nepal, people can see the mountain ranges of Mount Everest, Mount Kanchenjungha and Makalu. We also have the Everest National Park and Makalu Barun National Park and host spots for pilgrims in this part of our country. We want to highlight these attractions and sites," said Bhupal Raj Shrestha, a member of the board.

To promote tourism in Nepal, around 35 members of the board would participate at the Bengal Travel Mart.