Envoys from 10 countries on Sunday visited Nepal’s popular tourist hub Pokhara in Gandaki province on the invitation of the provincial government as part of its efforts to boost tourism in the Himalayan nation, following a drop in the coronavirus cases over the past few weeks.
In their two-day visit, the foreign diplomats will take part in several adventures like hiking, boating and flying ultra-light aircraft, Gandaki tourism secretary Gyanendra Poudyal said.
The envoys from Bangladesh, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and UAE arrived Pokhara to participate at a special programme organised at the initiative of the Gandaki provincial government to boost local tourism, he said.
Some other high ranking officials from different embassies and international organisations based in Kathmandu will also join them, Poudyal said.
The diplomats will attend various programmes organised by the Pokhara Tourism Board on the occasion of the World Tourism Day on Monday, he said.
Provincial foreign minister Mani Bhadra Sharma welcomed the guests as soon as they landed at the Pokhara airport.
The purpose of the event is to convey the message that Pokhara is safe for tourism activities, Sharma told reporters. Pokhara is famous for its spectacular mountains, lakes and is a perfect place for hiking and flying ultra-light aircraft.
Pokhara’s Tourism Board chief Kasiraj Bhandari said the envoys’ visit will send a positive message to the tourism sector.
Meanwhile, Nepal on Sunday recorded 834 new cases of COVID-19, taking the nationwide tally to 881,939, while nine more fatalities due to the disease were reported, pushing the death toll to 11,087.
There are currently 19,142 active COVID-19 cases across Nepal, the health ministry said
