2074 has really been the year of transformation for Nepal as evident in the developments the country has witnessed during the period.

Wish You a Happy New Year 2075 Nepal!

A Unique Aspect

New year for Nepal is something different from that of others as the country follows its traditional Hindu calendar called Bikram Sambat.

Nepali New Year falls in the month of Baishakh as per Bikram Sambat.

With more than 60 ethnic groups with respective cultures, languages and traditions, Nepal celebrates nine different new years in different parts of the year, reflecting its nature of unity in diversity.

However, the one that comes in the month of Baishakh is considered as the national new year and the country’s official calendar starts on that particular day which usually coincides with April 14 of the Georgian calendar.

Bikram Sambat derived its name from the Indian Emperor Vikramaditya and has been the official calendar of Nepal since times.

Now, let’s take a closer look at some of the interesting events and celebrations on the eve of Nepali New Year 2075:

PM Address to Nation

Marking the eve, the new Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli has scheduled his first public meeting for Nepali New Year 2075 from Rara and inaugurated the Karnali Rara Tourism Year in Rara Lake.

Karnali Province

On the eve, the Karnali Province has also decided to observe the New Year 2075 as the Rara-Karnali Visit Year-2075. Towards this end, the Karnali Provincial Government has called on all domestic and international tourists to make a visit to Rara to experience the beauty of Karnali.

My New Year 2075

As part of the national health program ‘My Year 2075’, by the Ministry of Social Development ‘My Year 2075’, Province 1 i.e., Biratnagar has planned a health awareness campaign under the theme ‘Responsible for Health, Basis for Prosperity’.

Tilicho Lake

Tilicho Lake of Manang District is increasingly gaining popularity as the most-sought destination for new year celebrations.

Hundreds of people reaches out to the Lake as part of new year celebrations, every year. According to the Annapurna Conservation Area, Manang, 2074 saw around 500 domestic tourists at the lake for new year celebrations.

The number is expected to be higher for 2075, says the Chairperson of the Tourism Entrepreneur Association of Manang Binod Gurung adding that the hotels in and around the place remain packed during new year time.

Tilicho Lake is known as the world’s highest lake for its size and is a popular trek destination in the Annapurna Circuit trek.

Bhairahawa Street Food Festival

Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has also planned a sponsored street food festival in Bhairahawa on the eve of the new year.

The festival to be held along the Belhiya-Butwal trade road is being held for the third time consecutively since the last three years at the entrance of Lumbini in Bhairahawa.

Narayangadh Food Festival

For the first time, Chitwan has hosted the ‘Narayangadh Food Festival’ on the occasion of New Year 2075. The festival that began on April 13, 2018 will continue till April 16, 2018. As many as 60 food stalls have been placed with varieties of food items. Around Rs 2.5 million is estimated to be spent during the festival.

Special Concerts

Marking the 2075 celebrations, a special musical program has been planned in Bardaghat of Nawalparasi District on April 14, 2018.

The concert will present special musical performances by various special performances by Reds Band of Chitwan, T Seven Dance Group of Sunawal, Thai DJ C Quain, Dubstar Michaeil Dancer from Kathmandu, DJ Atit from Butwal and other local artists.

For Hilly Areas

The West Bengal Newar Development & Cultural Board has planned various celebrations in the hilly areas of Nepal on the eve of the New Year 2075.

“Almost everyone in the Hills often talk about the Lakhey dance. The people know that it is a Newari dance ritual, but there are several other rituals or programmes like the Bhalakhey and the Bhucha-khacha. Our cultural unit will perform and showcase the different cultural items on the occasion of Nepali New Year-2075 on April 14 in Kurseong,” said Sunil Pradhan, Chairman of the Board.

The Board is also planning to bring Nepali Newari experts to teach different Newari traditions and culture to the people living in the hilly areas.

NRNA Portugal

For the first time in Portugal, the Non-Resident Nepalis Association (NRNA) Portugal has planned for special celebrations marking the arrival of New Year 2075 promoting Nepali folk and art.

According to the Chairman of NRNA Portugal Kuber Karki, the event is also aimed at promoting Nepali tourism in European countries.

As part of the event, various stalls promoting Nepali garments, handicrafts, products and Nepali dishes, among others will be held.

Fewa New Year Festival

Prior to the arrival of the New Year 2075, a five-day 15^th Fewa New Year Festival has begun on the banks of Phewa lake, Pokhara on April 11, 2018.

“The main attraction of Pokhara, Fewa lake is shrinking year by year due to pollution and other reasons. The festival seeks to promote tourism here by spreading awareness about the conservation of the lake at the same time,” says the Western Regional Hotel Association Pokhara (WRHA) General Secretary Ganeshraj Pahari, informing that the festival is expected to witness over 100,000 visitors.

Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) is promoting the event.

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Fighting back the major challenges posed by natural disasters in the recent past, Nepal’s tourism is on the path of recovery and hoping big this time.

Even though Nepal has been the right destination for tourists across the world, the country’s tourism sector has been facing some key issues.

Over the years, the country has allocated various resources for external tourism and as a result, large scale of outbound tourism was observed from the country. However, the domestic tourism on the other side, could not get its required attention.

Addressing such concerns, this time, NTB has decided to boost domestic tourism on par with the external tourism by promoting various local tourist destinations.

Proper tapping of the opportunities created by the increasing disposable income and spending power of Nepalis can give enough boost to the growth of the domestic tourism, opines NTB.

For this, the country’s tourism sector also expects the stakeholders to do their part in addressing key challenges such as infrastructure and investment, promotion and disaster management, and proper marketing, among others for the expansion of domestic tourism.

Towards this end, the Government of Nepal also declared Nepali year 2073 as the Nepal Travel Year and NTB has also allocated Rs 2 million for implementation of promotional activities.

NTB Hopeful of This Season

NTB has planned big for the Nepal Tourism Season 2017.

“Last year, there was an exponential growth in the domestic tourism sector as around 4.5 million internal tourists visited different parts of the country. We are hopeful that this year, more number of domestic tourists will visit different parts of Nepal,” says Deepak Raj Joshi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), NTB.

According to Deepak Joshi, the board is carrying out various promotional activities in this regard to boost the domestic tourism activity during this season.

“For the development of domestic tourism, NTB is currently continuing the last year’s Travel Nepal programs and we have also added other programs such as Photo Nepal for advocating Nepali tourism through photography, Safa Nepal to promote cleanliness around heritage sites and Chulo Nepal to promote Nepali food along with food hygiene,” he informed.

Besides, NTB is also organizing programs to support home-stay services through capacity building, market linkage and other training schemes.

“NTB is only promoting Nepal in international platform. It must introduce programs to promote domestic tourism within Nepal. Furthermore, it should also engage in dialogue with the private sector and allocate budget for programs after discussions and consultation,” says Dilip Mainali, President of Chitwan Tourism Development Committee.

Seasonal Trends and Related Concerns

The domestic tourism in Nepal is majorly dependent on seasonal trends. On the flip side, these trends are also posing serious challenges to the industry players in the Nepali tourism sector.

With the tourists flocking to major domestic tourism spots only during the peak season, the tourism entrepreneurs of the country are finding it difficult to safeguard their business interests and investment through dependence on tourism.

“Due to Dashain-Tihar vacation, there is an enormous inflow of Nepali tourists. As a matter of fact, Manang is currently crowded and we are facing problems in accommodating the arrivals. On an average, we are receiving 400-500 domestic tourists per day,” says Binod Gurung, Proprietor of Hotel Yeti and President of Tourism Traders Association (TTA), Manang.

Pokhara, Manang, Mustang, Lumbini, Chitwan, , Tilicho Lake, , Rara Lake and Ghandruk are among the major tourist destinations during the peak season.

It’s Time to Identify New Destinations

Lack of a strong chain network of tourist destinations is being considered as one of the major reasons hindering the growth of domestic tourism in Nepal.

While most of the key domestic tourist spots in Nepal fall under rural parts of the country, tourism industry stakeholders pitch on the need for development of more new destinations.

Stressing on the need for promotion of domestic tourism, Bijaya Amatya, President of Kora Tours, says,” The involvement of youths in adventure tourism is very positive for the industry. However, we need to work on new destinations for adventure tourism. It is not feasible to rely on the old form of adventure sport.”

Amatya calls for a significant involvement of local communities in the initial phases of promoting rural areas as tourism spots under domestic tourism.

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