Canyoning entangles abseiling, climbing, jumping, swimming and sliding down steep canyon walls and waterfalls to deep pools below through close passages of twisted rock and powerful blasts of water.

Mr. Lal Kumar Shrestha, while opening canyoning, member of Nepal Tourism Board and chairman of Bimalnagar Siddha Cave Development Committee said, “Such a game gives much amusement and fun”.

Mr. Birendra Thapa, Police Inspector of Area Police Office, Aabukhaireni said, “Canyoning will help promote tourism in the western region.”

On the opening ceremony of canyoning, along with journalists, local people and security personnel participated.

Secretary of MoTCA, Mr. Kishore Thapa said, “The home stay idea has been started with a working policy of five years, the rule for home stay would be concluded only after 5-10 years.

Spokesperson of MoTCA, Mr. Laxman Bhattarai said, “The operating policy of home stay will be efficient from August 17, 2010, for Nepal, home stay is a new tourism idea that supplies economical adjustment to foreign tourists.

The prime aim of home stay is to enhance rural people’s participation in the tourism sector. It will also aid self employment possibilities to increase in rural areas. In behold of upcoming year, long crusade Nepal Tourism Year (NTY) 2011, the government has validated the home stay idea for Nepal.

For catering to tourists in the utmost season comprising the extra flow of tourists as part of NTY 2011, the government agencies are creating awareness and giving training in home stay to the rural population.

Under the home stay idea, anybody who has a home with at least 4 rooms can use the empty rooms for tourists’ home stay. The household should be able to give a taste of the local culture and food. As per the government rules for home stay, any house owner who would like to function home stay at his home should register at the Local Home stay Management Committee. The house owner must be able to give hygienic and well facilitated rooms and services.

A home stay is a cultural exchange in which a person visiting or temporarily staying in another country lives with a family in the host country. There are home stays for short periods (one night or a weekend) and for longer periods.

Chief executive officer (CEO) of the academy Ram Prasad Ghimire said the training is aimed at producing sufficient manpower so that there is no shortage of trekking guides during the tourism year.

He said the demand for trekking guides has gone up and the academy plans to train trekking guides in line with the government policy to make the tourism year a success.

He said the academy has provided training to trekking guide candidates from eight districts including Mugu, Sindhupalchowk, Baglung, Syangja and Dolakha and is planning to hold training in eight more places. The academy is providing the training in association with Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN).

It said the demand for guides has gone up by 50 per cent. The academy said 80 persons got tour guide training and 400 got trekking guide training last year. In the current fiscal, 150 persons have taken tour guide training and 750 trekking guide training. Ghimire said there could be demand for 150 more tour guides and 1,000 trekking guides in the tourism year.

Nepal is looking for a ten-million tourists in NTY 2011, and to make it a success, trained manpower and infrastructuture is a must. More institutions should produce trained manpower and government should inprove basic infrastructure.

Source: The Himalayan Times

Visit Nepal 2011

The most anticipated and highly expected Tourism campaign of Nepal, Nepal Tourism Year (NTY) 2011 is set to officially launch on February 26, 2010. With an aim to attract one million tourists, tourism entrepreneurs are urging to celebrate this campaign as “Year of Celebration”.

NTY Secretariat announced the program will formally begin with the illumination of the peace torch brought from Lumbini by Hon Prime Minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal at Tundikhel amidst a gala festival along with parades from six different place of the valley. Similar programmes will be organised from East to West — Biratnagar, Janakpur, Birgunj, Chitwan, Pokhara, Bhairahawa, and Nepalgunj. NTY 2011 programme implementation committee national coordinator Yogendra Shakya, in was hopeful to re-brand Nepal as a peaceful country by making the programme a great success. He added there will be written commitments from all major parties’ leaders. NTY 2011 secretariat has asked people to host national flag at their homes and workplaces from February 19 to mark the programme.

“Nepal will not have an accessibility problem from 2011,” said Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) secretary Nagendra Prasad Ghimire on Wednesday. Speaking at a press meet, Ghimire said that observing the surge of both national and international airlines by 2011 there will be a total of 32 airlines with international flights. According to Ghimire, a number of international airlines are showing interest in operations here. “Spirit of Manila and Oman Air are new applicants while Malaysian Airlines and another Malaysian airlines Air Asia are doing feasibility studies,” he said adding that currently there are 25 international flight operators. MoTCA recently issued a 45 days’ notice to domestic operators to apply for international operations. Airlines that active for five years and with five aircraft are eligible.