Under the sponsorship of the Nepal Tourism Board, a helicopter tour will be organized to promote the Badimalika region of Nepal’s far-west region. According to the press conference held on Friday at NTB by the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), the tour will be organized in the first phase for 10 days beginning February 13th with various packages.
The package will be organized in collaboration with NTB, Far Western Province Government, NATTA Far Western Province, Manten Helicopter Pvt. Ltd., Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry as well as Hotel Professional Federation of Nepal, Far Western Province, Dhangadhi and Mahendranagar to Zigrana, Dipayal Badimalika Dipayal, Dipayal Khaptad Badimalika, and Sanfebagar Badimalika Sanfebagar. According to the organizers, depending on the location, 12,000 to 40,000 packages will be distributed to passengers.
Board member of NTB, Krishna Shah stated at the press conference that domestic tourism must be mobilized for economic development. Hikmat Singh Ayer, senior director of the board, stated that Indian tourists could be brought to the event because the cities of far-western Nepal are connected to various cities in India. He also stated that the board planned to organize a travel mart in the region to promote tourism in far west Nepal.
According to NATTA President, Mr. Achyut Guragain, the Far- Western region is a “virgin land” for tourism, and the program will help promote tourism in the region. Similarly, NATTA Far-Western Province Advisor Narendra Dev Bhat stated that there was a lot of potential for tourism in the region and that it is necessary to be promoted for economic development. Mountain Helicopters’ general manager, Dil Bahadur Oli, stated that the company has brought tour packages and cost prices to promote tourism in the region rather than for profit. The program, according to NATTA Far-West Chairperson Maya Prakash Bhatta, will benefit tourists who want to visit the region because it is still snowy in places such as Khaptad Badimalika, a major tourist destination. According to NATTA Secretary Shivahari Pandey, the goal is to bring at least 350 domestic tourists to Khaptad and Badimalika within ten days.