Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign formally kicks off

Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Friday inaugurated the mega Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign, which aims to attract two million foreign tourists to the Himalayan nation this year.

Amid a special event organized at Dasharath Stadium, she launched the campaign by lighting the flame of unity and unveiling the Yeti mascot, reports Xinhua news agency.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Bhandari said that tourism was an integral element to achieve prosperity, and appealed all for cooperation to make this campaign a grand success.

Over one million foreign tourists visited Nepal in 2018, with India and China being the largest markets.

Tourism contributes to around 3 per cent of total of Nepal's GDP.

Echoing the president's statement, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai said that tourism was the main pillar of Nepal's economic development, and this campaign is the point of beginning.

Mentioning the major features of Nepal including mountains, natural and religious sites, cultural richness and diversity, the Minister said that the country was ready to welcome the world community.

The third of its type tourism campaign aims to promote Nepal as a renowned tourism destination among the international tourists.

Earlier, the country had hosted Visit Nepal 1998 and 2011.