Govt mulls free-visa regime in 2011 ::
Kathmandu: 3 August, 2010:

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 off 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.

Source: VA Media Dept.