Nepal tourism budget 2019/20

Just three months into the end of 2018-2019, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) has begun preparing budget plans for the next fiscal year.

As the country hosts the Nepal Year 2020 (VNY) Campaign, the 2019-20 fiscal year will be more campaign-oriented.

The VNY campaign was announced in 2018 when the government focused on two million tourists by 2020. In addition to international arrivals, the ministry will also focus on programs for domestic tourists, said ministry spokesman , Ghanashyam Upadhyaya. “Domestic tourism has increased in recent years. Whereas we are proposing several programs of coordination with national authorities to meet the demands of domestic tourists,” he said.

The ministry is preparing programs for inclusion in the next budget, based on the 15th Five-Year National Plan, he added. According to Upadhyay, the budget for the next budget will be essentially devoted to the continuity of programs launched under the existing budget policy. “We will use the budget allocated to us in the next tax program for the development and promotion of destinations,” he said, adding: “The work related to the assistance to 100 tourist destinations designated by the government will have continuity “. In addition, we will also focus on supporting the Himalayan tourist route, developing infrastructure and creating a favorable environment for tourists.

In order to extend the stay of tourists, the ministry introduced 100 new destinations in the 77 districts of November 2nd. The selected destinations have been handed over to local governments for protection and promotion. Upadhyaya added that promoting new destinations for trekking and tourism would be another aspect of the tourism budget. “The Gautam Buddha International Airport will be operational in the next fiscal year. And then the progress at Pokhara International Airport is also good,” he added.

“Upadhyaya said that the ministry has always been criticized for not meeting its infrastructure development goals. Therefore this will be in a high alert priority as well.  During the current fiscal year, the government allocated a budget of 5.2 billion rupees to the Ministry of Tourism. But in the first quarter, the ministry had spent only 20% of the total allocation. “We will try to fully use the budget allocated to us in the next fiscal year,” he said. added Upadhyaya.