BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Dec 16:Assistant Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Narayan Singh Pun said today that Nepalese tourism entrepreneurs must take the advantage of the global communication network and must promote Nepal’s tourist destinations through the internet.

“As the economic development of Nepal largely depends on how the country goes about developing the tourism sector, the government is determined to boost tourism,” Pun said.

He handed over certificates to around sixty trainees of “Marketing Sales” and “Kitchen Management” here today.

The training was conducted under the joint aegis of the Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management, Salzburg, Austria, Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management, Eco Himal, Austrian Development Cooperation and the Hotel Association Nepal.

Citing the success story of Austria in the tourism sector, Pun said Austria, which has a population of seven million people receives 15 million tourists every year. The per capita income of Austria is $ 1900, the credit of which goes to the success of the tourism industry, he said.

Pun said Nepal too could increase its per capita income if the vast potentials of tourism were tapped.

He said that the Ministry of Tourism aimed to increase the number of tourists beyond the imaginable number for which trained manpower to cater to the needs of tourists is indispensable.

Pun said that the Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management needs to expand its training programme in order to provide training opportunities to an additional number of people.

It is essential for every Nepali to receive some sort of training in any discipline besides the academic results so as to be sellable in the competitive job market, he said.

Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Barun Prasad Shrestha said that the partnership approach among the national and international institutions to impart training on different disciplines affiliated with tourism was a positive sign.

The collaborative approach to impart tourism training would in the long run provide the required manpower for the tourism industry, Shrestha said.

Executive Director of the Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management, Meena Khanal said that the role of the tourism industry in the economic development of the country was increasingly becoming significant.

She said that the role of trained manpower comes foremost when talking about the sound development of tourism.

First Vice President of the Hotel Association Nepal, Narendra Bajracharya drew the attention of the Minister towards the problems impeding the development of tourism.

He said that the garbage accumulated in the streets of the valley had been giving a negative impression on the tourists coming to Nepal.

The poor treatment given to tourists at the airport by the immigration officials and the cab drivers have been imparting a negative impression upon tourists, Bajracharya said.