Thursday, 08 December 2011 11:38

Ancient historical materials of Buddha’s time have been discovered in an archeological well, spreading in a close proximity to Panwar stream at Ramnagar Village Development Committee (VDC) of Nawalparasi district.

Priceless treasures of Buddha’s age including matters used for gambling and a ring have been detected in the well, locals told RSS.

The valuables found in the well resemble that of the materials kept at the museum in Tilaurakot of Kapilvastu.

According to locals, the archeological well including various historical materials of Buddha era were found of late in the area.

Locals have barred extracting sands and pebbles from the stream after the archeologically important well was spotted in course of collecting pebbles.nepalnews.com

The officials of Nepal Tourism Year 2011 (NTY-2011) Secretariat on Monday claimed the first seventh months of the NTY campaign was successful and able to attract more foreign tourists. Organising a press conference in Kathmandu today, NTY-2011 secretariat officials said the promotion campaign had played positive role in establishing Nepal as one of the best and peaceful tourism destination in the world. Speaking on the occasion, CEO of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Prachanda Man Shrestha, said the commitment from the political parties for not obstructing in the promotion of NTY-2011 also helped Nepal to disseminate the positive impression in the international market. However, he blamed the government for not doing enough for the promotion of the campaign. Similarly, joint-secretary at the tourism ministry Ranjan Krishna Aryal said the government has allocated over Rs. 120 million for the promotion of tourism for fiscal year 2011/12. Nepal has also organised promotion programmes in some three dozen places outside the country with the aim to meet the target of bringing 1 million tourists during NTY-2011, informed the officials. Over the past seven months, NTY have been promoted in India, Germany, Spain, US, UK, Japan, China, Australia among others. With the beginning of this year, the arrival of tourists via air is also witnessed increasing in the ratio of 25 percent which would be helpful Nepal to meet the targeted number of foreign tourists.
nepalnews.com

KATHMANDU, JUL 13 -

The Embassy of Nepal, London organised a Nepal Tourism programme in Dublin, Ireland on Saturday to boost the ongoing Nepal Tourism Year (NTY) 2011.

On the occasion, Nepali Ambassador to UK Suresh Chandra Chalise honoured Mt. Everest Summiteers, Michael Murphy, Clare O’Leary, Pat Falvey and. Basil Geoghegan by conferring them the title of an Honorary Goodwill Ambassador of NTY 2011 on behalf of the Government of Nepal. Felvey and Lennon also told the audience about their thrilling experience while climbing the Mount Everest. They also pointed out that they were amazed by the Nepali people’s humility and hospitality, according to the Nepali mission in UK.

The programme was attended by huge number of Irish people from various backgrounds. The Chief Guest of the programme was the newly elected Dublin City Lord Mayor Andrew Montague, who ranks third in the protocol hierarchy after President and Prime Minister, together with other special guests namely senior member of Irish parliament.

The programme was inaugurated by Chalise, Ambassador of Nepal to UK & Ireland, which was followed by a Nepali cultural dance.

Dr. Chalise, on the occasion, delivered a key note speech about Nepal-Ireland relations and the salient features of various facets of Nepalese tourism. He described small geographical size of Nepal as a competitive advantage for European and North American tourists most of whom opt for short holidays. He remarked, “Since Nepal’s tourist destinations are well connected by air and roads, one could, within a short span of time, enjoy all facets of tourism including wildlife safari.” Ambassador Chalise insistently emphasized Nepal as a pristine destination proffering adventure, pleasure and recreational tourism and yet for all age groups.

Lord Mayor of Dublin City welcomed the ambassador and hoped the bilateral relations between Ireland and Nepal strengthens in the days to come through economic co-operations.

During his visit to Ireland, Ambassador Chalise also attended the National Day of Commemoration on Sunday hosted by the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mr. Eamon Gilmore.

Ekantipur Report

KATHMANDU, JUL 05 – The government is planning to promote Nepal as the best tourist destination within 15 years, local media reported on Tuesday.

According to the Program and Policy for the fiscal year 2011-12 presented on Sunday in the House, the government will also continue to promote the national campaign Nepal Tourism Year 2011, apart from its 15 year planning.

“The policy of making Nepal as the best tourist destination within 15 years is a great move,” member of Nepal Tourism Year 2011 working committee Dhurba Narayan Shrestha was quoted by The Himalayan Times daily as saying. “We are hopeful that the policy will give new lease of life to the tourism sector,” he said, adding that Nepal needs a stable government and a committed leader to make Nepal the best destination.

According to the policy, the government will start construction of international conference center at western development region. The government has also planned to establish Tourism Zone for equal promotion of tourism region and establish community tourism service center at each tourism region.

For the year 2011-12, it also has plans to upgrade Gautam Buddha (Bhairahawa), Pokhara, Janakpur, and Surkhet to regional airports and infrastructure upgradation of Karnali Zone Airport apart from the second international airport in Nijgadh, Bara, in central Nepal.

Posted on: 2011-07-05 04:01

The European Union (EU) has agreed to extend grant assistance of Euro 22 million (approximately Rs. 2.23 billion) to Nepal for the implementation of support for ‘Stability and Peace Building Programme’.

The agreement to this effect was signed between Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Krishna Hari Baskota and Director of EU Directorate Asia and Central Asia Dirk Megank on 8th July.

The main objective of the programme is to contribute to peace and stability, sustainable development and ultimately towards economic progress in the country.

The activities under this programme includes providing compensation to the conflict affected persons and their families and the internally displaced persons as well as supporting in their reintegration including others, according to reports.nepalnews.com

In a bid to bring in more visitors during Nepal Tourism Year 2011 campaign, Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation has proposed the government to waive visa free for foreign visitors at least during the campaign period. Nepal has set a target to welcoming at least one million foreign tourists in 2011. More than half a million foreign visitors had visited the country in 2009. According to Tourism Ministry sources, the proposal has been forwarded to the Finance Ministry to incorporate it in the budget for fiscal year 2010/11. The sources further informed that the proposal to introduce visa-free regime was worked out by the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 National Coordination Committee. It is learnt that the Finance Ministry officials are positive about introducing free-visa regime in 2011. The government collects around Rs 200 million as revenue from visa fee. As a part of attracting more visitors to the country, the government has already offered free visa to Everest summiteers for two years.

Thank you!