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People from government and other different sectors have made their journeys to touristic district Mustang taking the festive vacation as a right opportunity, according to RSS.

This week only, as many as 10,000 domestic tourists reached beautiful places of Mustang. People coming from various parts of the country visited famous pilgrimage site, Muktinath, and other tourism sites of Mustang.

Such number of domestic tourists never visited Mustang for trekking and sight-seeing in Dashain vacation, according to the Hotel Entrepreneurs’ Association, Myagdi.

source: http://www.nepalnews.com

The main focus of the rally is to generate awareness about Nepal as a destination for tourism and showcase its cultural and ethnic diversity, according to the press release issued by Nepal Tourism Board.

More than twenty seven organizations working for Nepal are set to participate in the rally.

The rally is set to distribute brochure containing information relating to Nepal, travel information, tourism destination and tourism related activities.

Source: nepalnews.com

The committee has stopped all the promotional activities of NTY in the international market as the foreign company chosen for the promotion of NTY is found to be not efficient as expected for the promotional activities.

Now, the committee is looking forward to move with new process for the promotion in the international arena at the earliest.

The committee has also decided to utilise the allocated budget of Rs. 130 million of last fiscal year in the current fiscal year for the promotion of NTY while the government has also allocated Rs. 120 million for the current fiscal year.

According to the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, the budget will be utilized for the promotion of tourism year 2011/12.

The Ministry is also set to organise the promotional activities though the BBC and CNN.

source: nepalnews.com

Despite the objection of Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), hotels have implemented the salaries of the workers due to the stern protest from Maoist affiliated All Nepal Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union (ANHRW).

On Tuesday, the Hotel Radisson in the capital and the Riverside Spring Resort at Kurintar, Chitwan agreed to implement the new salary and daily wages of the workers fixed by the government. Similarly, other star hotels and resorts in the capital have also already increased the salary of workers.

Some ten fringe trade unions on Tuesday had also announced intensification of their protests to pressurize the hoteliers including five-star hotels that are refusing to raise salary and daily wages.

The trade unions affiliated to various political parties have been staging series of protest from July 21 following the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) opposition over the newly hiked salary and daily wages.

As per the writ filed by FNCCI, the apex body of business community, the Supreme Court had directed not to implement the hiked salary and daily wages of the workers until final verdict.

The government has hiked the monthly salary of the workers to Rs. 6,200 and daily wages to Rs. 231 on May 24.

Meanwhile, HAN has also urged the trade unions not to stage any strike terming it is against the court orders as court is yet to release its final verdict on this issue.

Source: nepalnews.com

Nepal’s ambassador to the USA, Dr Shankar Sharma, inaugurated the tourism promotion campaign at the bus park at 44th Street in Washington DC on Monday. Local community leaders, poster designer Sanjip Pradhan, singer Sarisma Amatya, members of the media and staff of the Nepali embassy were present on the occasion.

The campaign has been launched focusing on tourists visiting main landmarks in the Washington DC including Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, White House, Capitol building and museums during the summer holidays. Some 15 million tourists visit Washington DC every year.

The posters depict rich natural and cultural heritage of Nepal, said a statement issued by the Nepali embassy in Washington DC.

source: nepalnews.com

Amid a function held in lakeside organised by Western Regional Hotel Association on Saturday, Biplop Poudel, chairman of the association said that all tourism entrepreneurs are ready to pay tax “but it needs to be practical”.

The association has also planned to organise public announcement and operate special programmes in media, hold discussion with industrial association along with stakeholders regarding the amendment of this prevailing tax for property in the city.

The entrepreneurs and stakeholder during the programme also said that there should be favourable system to pay tax citing that this prevailing system would even lead to property loss.

According to Narayan Prasad Poudel, adviser of the association, only 10 percent of the population in the city are paying tax as per the metropolitan’s fixed rate.

He also urged the government to amend the tax payment provision in the city to bring all into tax network.

He also said that property worth more than Rs. 21.4 million in the main roads of lakeside have to pay Rs. 321,000 yearly as per the prevailing provision.

source: nepalnews.com

According to the figure released by the Immigration Office, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) revealed that visitor arrivals have increased by substantial growth of 37.9 percent to 37,226 in the month of June compared to the same month last year.

All regions have shown positive growth in the sixth month of 2011.

In aggregate, the South Asian segment has registered a positive growth of 52.4 percent. India which constitutes the major market of Nepal, has recorded healthy growth of 59.3 percent. Also, arrivals from Pakistan and Sri Lanka have increased by 23.1 percent and 46.5 percent respectively. However arrivals from Bangladesh have declined by 12.5 percent.

Arrivals from Asia (other than South Asia) have also recorded positive growth of 31.9 percent in aggregate. The visitor arrivals from China doubled with 105.4 percent growth compared to the same month last year.

Similarly, the arrivals from Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand have also increased by 18.9 percent, 6.3 percent, 35.9 percent and 2.9 percent respectively. However the arrivals from Singapore have declined by 54.9 percent.

An overall positive growth of 10.9 percent has been observed from the European markets with arrivals from major generating markets such as the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Russia up by 11.8 percent, 11.2 percent, 28.6 percent, 34.8 percent, 18.3 percent, 35.3 percent, and 47.3 percent respectively.

However, the arrivals from the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Poland have declined by 11.7 percent, 27.4 percent, 39.3 percent and 16.4 percent respectively compared to the same month last year.

Tourist arrivals from Australia and New Zealand have increased by 38.9 percent and 170.4 percent respectively while the arrivals from USA also increased by 24.3 percent. However arrivals from Canada decreased by 3.8 percent.

Between January to June 2011, international tourist arrivals to Nepal have risen by 25 percent to 245,363 in aggregate, stated Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).

Source: nepalnews.com