KATHMANDU, June 10: Nepal India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI) have highlighted the need to implement the India-offered Leave Travel Concession (LTC) scheme to boost and promote bilateral tourism.
Speaking at a program organized in Kathmandu on Thursday, NICCI officials said that though the Indian government has approved a proposal to allow more than two million government employees to travel to Nepal along with Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka on LTC, the scheme has not been executed properly by both the governments.
Nepal-India officials discuss border management issues
In the similar manner, NICCI has also recommended Air Space Agreement and improved air connectivity between the two nations to enhance tourism. Currently Nepali carriers are permitted to fly to 21 destinations in India.
NICCI has also urged the government to encourage India for low cost carriers to create direct flights from other Indian cities like Amritsar, Lucknow and smaller cities.
According to NICCI, currency is also a problem hindering tourism growth with India. Nepalis travelling to India face issues of currency exchange as ATM withdrawal limit has been set at IRs10,000 per day, and often there are issues of card being unaccepted,” NICCI officials said.
The event saw participation of high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Indian Ambassador to Nepal among other stakeholders.
