Himal Press 
BUTWAL: A delegation from the Hotel Association Pokhara, Nepal, is touring western Nepal to promote tourism in Pokhara and Gandaki Province as a whole.
The campaign, which is being organized with the support of the Gandaki Province’s Ministry of Industry and Tourism, and Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Gandaki Province Office, will cover Butwal, Nepalgunj, Surkhet and Dang from June 12 to 16.
The visiting tourism entrepreneurs held an interaction with tourism entrepreneurs in Butwal on Friday. Speaking on the occasion, Chief District Officer of Rupandehi, Basudev Ghimire, recalled important initiatives like establishing a night market in Pokhara during his tenure as the Chief District Officer of Kaski. He urged the visiting tourism entrepreneurs to also promote Lumbini as a spiritual tourism destination.
Also speaking on the occasion, CP Shrestha, an executive member of the Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), said focus should be on attracting international tourists, given the small size of the domestic population.
Likewise, Laxman Subedi, coordinator of the ‘Let’s Visit Pokhara’ campaign, said he was hopeful that the campaign, which has been organized for the past two decades, will help promote domestic tourism.
Other speakers said tourism entrepreneurs from Lumbini, Butwal and Bhairahawa should learn from the ‘Let’s Visit Pokhara’ campaign.
According to Hotel Association Pokhara, the private sector has invested around Rs 500 billion in Pokhara’s hotel sector, which employs more than 20,000 people. Pokhara has 1,240 hotels capable of accommodating 40,000 visitors per night.
