A top official of the Indian Embassy to Nepal recently accepted that some private Indian media presented misleading and exaggerated news of the recent blockade imposed by the Maoists. V.P Haran, Chargé de Affairs of Indian Embassy said that though some wrong news were published in Indian media during the recent blockade, the Embassy couldn't initiate definite control measures as the Indian media is free in their reportage. "However, the Embassy tried its best to ensure the accurate and precise dissemination of news about the recent incident from both the electronic and print media of India. But, things did not go as per our expectation," he said. He was speaking at the International Press Meet here recently, jointly organized by Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and the Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO). Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Culture, Civil Aviation and Tourism said that the frequently called blockades and strikes have adversely affected the tourism industry. "The government has recently formed a high level Crisis Coordination Committee to mitigate the crisis related to tourism," he said. He further said that the committee would formulate policy and regulations for the tourism crisis management and provide guidelines to different government and non-government organizations to resolve the crisis.

Lob Kumar Devkota, Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Civil Aviation and Tourism expressed dissatisfaction over the low contribution of tourism to the national economy. "Despite having immense potential, tourism's current contribution is a meager 4 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)," he said. Basant Raj Mishra, President of NATO, came down heavily on the recent sensationalized news reporting in the international media, especially Indian media. "Such news severely affects the tourism industry that is struggling for survival," he said. He further said that inaccurate reporting has also been one of the major obstacles on the growth of the tourism industry. "Nepali tourism industry is expected to lose revenue up to US$ 5 million due to the recent blockade and ongoing Maoists strike in 12 companies," he said. He also viewed that though the Maoists insurgency is dogging the country, it does not seem to be against the growth of tourism industry. "So, foreigners do not face any risk to visit the country," he said. Tek Bahadur Dangi, Chief Executive Office of NTB, meanwhile, said that despite the continued conflicts, tourism industry was picking up in recent months. "If current hotel and air ticket bookings are any indications to go by, the number of tourists visiting the country will remarkably climb up in the upcoming peak-season," he said.

OTHER NEWS

• Protected area management handover hits legal snag: Implementation of the government's controversial policy of 'handing over management of protected areas to non-government and other organization' has stumbled against a legal obstacle, after interested parties submitted proposals for managing these areas. The policy, adopted without amending the existing law, and brought forward through last year's budget announcement, aims to alleviate poverty and effectively manage 'protected areas' through involvement of interested parties in tourism development without impairing the environment and biodiversity of those areas.
  
  
• Export of manpower to Iraq continues: Even as the government has beefed up efforts to plug in entry of further Nepali workers in Iraq, foreign employment agencies in the Capital continue to export Nepali laborers to the war-torn Islamic country. A day after the government formally announced to take strong action against manpower agencies supplying manpower to Iraq, some of the agencies which had posted advertisement last week seeking workers for Kuwait-based companies are busy selecting the workers, which they openly accept would be sent to Iraq.
  
  
• Airlines seek permit for fuel surcharge: Airlines have demanded the government to permit them to levy additional fuel surcharge price with passengers, citing the recent price hike in fuel surcharge. The Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) had formally put forth the demand recently, meeting the Minister for Culture, Civil Aviation and Tourism, Deep Kumar Upadhaya.
  
  
• HAN to set up design center: With an aim to enhance weak competitiveness of domestic handicrafts in the international market by improving their designs and overture, Handicraft Association of Nepal (HAN), an umbrella organization of handicraft exporters, is all set to establish a Handicraft Design and Development Center (HDDC). Bikash Dhakwa, General Secretary of HAN said that the association is planning to bring the center into operation within next three months in Kathmandu.
  
  
  

By Hari Shrestha, Resident Representative in Kathmandu