23 May, Kathmandu : Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey pledged to establish Nepal as a centre for Buddhism, spiritual tourism. Minister Pandey said so while inaugurating the Buddhist International Travel Mart (BITM) organized by the Nepal Tourism Board in association with the Nepal Association for Tour and Travels (NATTA) here today.
Minister Pandey reaffirmed the government’s commitment to attract as many as spiritual tourists by establishing Nepal as a centre for Buddhist cultural heritage. The Minister also urged to spread the message of peace that originated in the birthplace of Buddha-Lumbini- to the world. According to him, priority has been accorded to promotion of Buddhist tourism by focusing on the major Buddhist circuits such as Kapilvastu, Ramgram, Devdaha and Tilaurakot among others. He revealed the plan to establish Lumbini as the International City of Peace.
He highlighted the government’s ongoing efforts to operate regular flights to and from the Gautam Buddha International Airport for the promotion of Buddhist tourism. He also mentioned that emphasis was laid to expand effective access of road network in the Province housing the birthplace of Lord Buddha. While he appraised of the ongoing dialogue with the UNESCO’s representatives not to enlist Lumbini in the endangered list, the Minister also informed the gathering of tourism entrepreneurs that initiatives were being taken to include Tilaurakot in the list of the UNESCO’s World Heritage Site. Similarly, Koshi Province’s Minister for Industry, Tourism and Environment Sadananda Mandal said that development of infrastructure was high on priority of the Koshi Province government. Likewise, Nepal Tourism Board’s CEO Deepak Raj Joshi remarked that Nepal is not only a touristic destination, it is a beginning point for a spiritual journey of peace. He acknowledged the importance of such programmes in reestablishing Nepal as the centre for Buddhist Tourism. NATTA’s President Kumarmani Thapaliya, President of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Chandra Prasad Dhakal and Lumbini Development Trusts’ Vice-Chairperson Dr Lharkyal Lama among others univocally expressed their confidence that the three-day event would be useful in Nepal’s tourism promotion. On the occasion, Minister Pandey honoured former Presidents of the NATTA- CN Pandey, Achyut Guragain and Ramesh Thapa. A souvenir was also unveiled on the occasion. More than 100 tourism entrepreneurs from Nepal, India, China, Bangladesh, Sri Lank, Thailand, Myanmar and Bhutan among others are participating in the event.
