Different umbrella organisations related with tourism have demanded vaccine against coronavirus to entrepreneurs, employees and staffs deputed in frontline at tourism destinations within 30 days. Issuing a joint press release on Tuesday evening, the tourism-related organisations urged the government to open all tourism sectors by taking initiative for creating trustworthy environment in the international tourism sector by providing vaccines against COVID-19 to all citizens at the earliest for the revival of tourism business hit hard due to COVID-19. They also demanded immediate implementation of policy and programme related with tourism announced in the budget of the current fiscal year 2020/21 and making arrangement for tourists visiting Nepal and innoculated with full dose of vaccine against coronavirus so that they need not stay in quarantine as well as arrangement of PCR test at airport and other entry points, said General-Secretary of Nepal Association of Rafting Agencies (NARA), Shishir Khanal.

Similarly, implementation of free visa immediately to implement ‘visa on-arrival’ system in an easy manner through online visa service system in order to encourage tourists to visit Nepal only through hotel/agents has also been demanded. The joint press statement also asked the government to make arrangement of nation-wide training and monitoring mechanism in order to make health safety protocol implementation effective, to ensure representation of chairperson of main umbrella organisation related with tourism in the CCMC and to make arrangement of separate number of embossed number plate for tourism related vehicles.

Chairperson of Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), Khum Bahadur Subedi, said that arrangement should be made of minimum authorized capital of worth Rs 2.5 million without any collateral at zero per cent interest in order to sustain the business like trekking, tour and rafting. Loan should be provided to tourism transport entrepreneurs at three per cent interest rate and tax and fines on vehicle inspection and pollution tests should be waived for one year, said Tourists Bus Association of Nepal (TBAN), Ishwor Sharma. Different organisations–TAAN, TBAN, Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATA), Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO), Himalaya Rescue Association (HRA) had issued the joint press release.