Release of budget revitalises NTY campaign

SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, NOV 26 -
The budget has finally come out allowing the government and the private sector to start work on programmes to promote Nepal Tourism Year 2011. A line-up of actions is to be tabled at a meeting scheduled to be held on Sunday, a government official said.

“We have been allocated Rs 230 million for the promotion of NTY, and budgeting has to be done,” said Tourism Ministry spokesperson Laxman Prasad Bhattarai.

Although the NTY 2011 implementing committee and the government had planned to launch a massive campaign at the domestic and international levels, they had been hamstrung by a delay in the budget. “Now that the budget has been issued, the money will be spent on national and international promotion, capacity building and inaugurating the much-waited day on Jan. 14,” Bhattarai said.

The government has decided to launch advertising and promotional activities to make the NTY 2011 campaign a success and attract one million tourists in 2011, “We could not start international promotion without the budget. The budget may have been late, but it has brought cheer,” said Ranjit Acharya, member of the NTY 2011 promotion committee. According to him, a large chunk of the budget will be spent on international promotion.

The NTY 2011 promotion committee plans to focus on India and China. In India, NTY will be promoted through television and print advertisements. However, considering the high costs of conducting a publicity campaign in China, the committee has planned to do it through public relations, online and web-based programmes. News conferences, brochures and official websites will be used to attract Chinese visitors.

Apart from the neighbouring markets, NTY has targeted Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore in East Asia, Acharya said. In Europe, promotional campaigns will be launched in Germany, the UK, Switzerland and Denmark. “In the US, we are planning to do SMS and online campaigning,” he added. Likewise, the committee also plans to go to Qatar and Dubai.

“It is important to have coordination and communication with private stakeholders for a proactive and professional approach. In this regard, the private sector will focus on the trade aspect,” Acharya said.