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The ‘Bandipur Visit Year, 2025’ is being organized to promote tourism, identify new tourist destinations, create employment opportunities, and stimulate economic activities in Bandipur through tourism promotion.

At an event held in Kathmandu, Bandipur Rural Municipality Chairperson Surendra Bahadur Thapa announced that the Rural Municipality has formed a 21-member Visit Year Secretariat, coordinated by tourism entrepreneur Baish Gurung, to ensure the Visit Year’s success.

Thapa shared that the Secretariat includes representatives from the Hotel Association, Restaurant and Bar Association (REBAN), Tourism Development Committee, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Homestay Federation, among others.

“The Bandipur Visit Year has been organized with the vision of creating a prosperous and culturally vibrant Bandipur through responsible tourism, while conserving and developing its natural and cultural heritage. Our goal is to increase tourist arrivals to 200,000 annually,” he said.

Secretariat Coordinator Baish Gurung explained that the initiative aims to double the number of tourists by promoting Bandipur both domestically and internationally during the Visit Year. “We plan to attract 100,000 domestic and 100,000 international tourists in the Visit Year,” he said. “Our target is to reach 800,000 tourists annually within the next three years, using the Visit Year as a foundation.”

According to Gurung, tourists will typically stay for an average of three days. Foreign tourists are expected to spend an average of $75 daily, while Nepali tourists are expected to spend Rs 3,000 daily. Currently, Bandipur has 75 hotels and four homestays, with the entire rural municipality offering 120 hotels and 12 homestays, which can accommodate 1,700 people daily.

To achieve this, necessary infrastructure will be developed, and new destinations will be identified, developed, and promoted. Gurung emphasized that the Visit Year will create additional employment and self-employment opportunities in the tourism sector, increase investment in hotels and restaurants, and position Bandipur as a major tourist destination in Nepal.

Tourism expert and President of Heritage Nepal, Harish Gurung, noted that they expect to promote cultural, religious, and rural tourism circuits while preserving the area’s cultural heritage.

To attract tourists during the Visit Year, the rural municipality plans to create tailored packages based on tourists’ age and interests, along with promoting the slogan “Let’s earn in the village, enjoy in the village,” to encourage public participation in environmental protection.

The rural municipality estimates that a total of Rs 44.35m will be needed to make the Visit Year successful. The estimated expenditure includes commitments expected from the federal, provincial, and local governments, as well as various national and international government and non-governmental organizations.

Tourist arrivals to Nepal via air surpassed the one-million mark for the second consecutive year in 2024 but remained below pre-covid levels.

According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), 1,055,533 tourists visited Nepal in the first 11 months of 2024, compared to 1,014,882 in 2023. Since Nepal welcomed 91,491 foreign tourists till Dec 30, arrivals in the last month of 2024 are estimated to reach around 95,000, marking a year-on-year growth of over 13 percent.

Nepal first recorded over 1m foreign air arrivals in 2018, with 1,173,072 visitors, and the number rose slightly to 1,197,191 in 2019—the highest ever. However, the Covid-19 pandemic caused a drastic decline, with arrivals plummeting to 230,085 in 2020 and further to 150,962 in 2021, the lowest since 1977 when 129,329 tourists visited the country.

Tourism began to recover as the effects of the pandemic waned, with arrivals rebounding to 614,869 in 2022 and crossing the 1m mark again in 2023.

In 2024, Nepal received the highest number of tourists in March with 128,167 arrivals. October came second with 124,393 foreign tourists, followed by November (114,501) and April (111,376).

Government officials and tourism stakeholders were expecting foreign tourist numbers to return to pre-covid figures in 2024. However, tourist footfalls fell short of the target yet again. Officials of the Nepal Tourism Board and private sector entrepreneurs say one factor that affected tourist numbers over the last two months of 2024 was the closure of Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) during nighttime hours. The closure of the airport in the peak tourist season disrupted international flights and impacted tourist arrivals, they added.

A closer look at arrival figures of 2024 reveals the impact of the airport closure. Between January and October, tourist arrivals increased 16 percent compared to the same period in 2023. However, growth slowed to just two percent in November and December compared to the same months of 2023.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal implemented nighttime closures of TIA starting
Nov 7. 

Meanwhile, international tourism is on track for full recovery by the end of the year with spending growing faster than arrivals. According to the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), international arrivals reached 98 percent of 2019 levels in January-September 2024. An estimated 1.1bn international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) were recorded in the January-September period of 2024, about 11 percent more than in the same period of 2023.

Arrivals in the Middle East and Europe have exceeded pre-pandemic levels by 19 percent and one percent, respectively, while Africa has reached the pre-covid levels. According to the UNWTO, the Americas recorded 97 percent of 2019 levels and Asia and the Pacific 85 percent in the January-September period.

Armed Police Force Inspector Bijaya Kumar Tuladhar died after being hit by a passenger bus in Sarlahi on Tuesday.

The deceased has been identified as Bijaya Kumar Tuladhar.

He was on duty at Border Out Post in Balara Municipality-9, Chhautauna when the bus (Bagmati Province 01-006 Kha 2004) hit him last night.

APF SP Binod Raj Khanal informed that he died on the way to the Provincial Hospital in Malangawa for treatment.

Police have arrested three persons, including the bus driver, from the spot.

Tenzing Gurung was born in 1945 in Ngawal, Manang. A few months after his birth, his mother took him to Shillong, India, where his dark, sunburned complexion earned him the affectionate nickname “Kalu” among the Nepali diaspora—a name that stayed with him throughout his life.

At the age of 11, in 1956, Tenzing lost his father, who passed away in Brunei. This marked the beginning of his journey into the business world. From Manang, he traded herbs, Tibetan Mastiffs, and yak tails in Kathmandu. The proceeds were used to purchase Nepalese handicrafts, which he sold in Calcutta at a handsome profit. With these earnings, he bought Burmese precious stones, which he sold in markets across Asia, including Singapore and Hong Kong. By the late 1960s, Gurung and his friends from Manang even ventured to Vietnam, selling goods to American GIs during the Vietnam War.

In 1965, King Mahendra’s decree allowed Nepali citizens to obtain passports, with the people of Manang being among the first to receive them. Along with the passports came trading privileges, including tax benefits. By the late 1970s, many popular products in today’s Nepali market—such as jeans, Wai Wai, chocolates, and pharmaceuticals—were initially introduced by the enterprising Manange traders. Their knack for identifying arbitrage opportunities set them apart from other businessmen in Nepal. However, due to their limited education and understanding of global business operations, larger, more educated business houses took over the agencies for these products, turning them into major revenue-generating ventures.

Recognizing education as a key to remaining competitive, Gurung founded Kathmandu Valley School in Maharajgunj in 1986. It was the first private school in Kathmandu owned by a member of the Himalayan Buddhist community and among the first to recruit teachers from Darjeeling. The school continues to award scholarships to around 300 students annually, primarily from Manang and the upper Himalayan regions. To date, the school has provided over 10,000 scholarships to deserving students, many of whom would not have been able to afford an education without Tenzing’s support.

Gurung’s contributions extended beyond education. He funded the construction of numerous monasteries across Nepal, which currently house thousands of monks. In 1978, he built his first home in Thamel, which was later converted into Ngawal View Guest House in 1984, one of the oldest hotels in the area. He also co-founded ventures like Nepal Colour Lab in Thamel, the Janakpur and Lalitpur Brick Factories, and Experience Travel and Tours, which was one of Kathmandu’s largest travel companies until the early 2000s.

Gurung was also among the pioneers of today’s land development and plotting industry where he developed and sold hundreds of ropanis of land in Kathmandu since the 1980s.

His philanthropic efforts were vast and impactful. He helped hundreds of prisoners by posting bail for those unable to afford it, allowing them to regain their freedom. He also provided financial assistance to economically disadvantaged individuals from Manang and Mustang, covering their visa and travel expenses and securing employment opportunities abroad. Many who benefited from his generosity are now well-settled in foreign countries.

By 2005, Tenzing had retired from business and dedicated his time to his family and the Manang community in Kathmandu. His health began to decline in 2015, requiring frequent medical trips to hospitals in Kathmandu and Delhi. Gurung, 80, passed away at 5 am on Saturday, Dec 28, at HAMS Hospital.

He is survived by his wife, Yanki Dolma (Sunar), his children; Tashi, Sonam Wangma, Karma Tenzing and Mukhiya; and his grandchildren; Samdup, Sangay, Tenzing Dolma, Rewa Tsomo, Jordan, Nurpa, Yonten and Kunsang.

Tenzing Gurung

Birth: 1945, Manang

Death: 28 Dec 2024, Kathmandu

President Ram Chandra Paudel has appointed Harka Raj Rai of Jhapa as the Secretary of the House of Representatives.

On the recommendation of Speaker Devraj Ghimire, the Head-of-the-State appointed Rai, a resident of Shivasatakshi Municipality-2 in Koshi Province, to the post.

The appointment was made in accordance with Article 106(1) of the Constitution, according to the Office of the President. 

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 1,000 per tola (11.66 grams) in the Nepali domestic market on Tuesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association, the gold is being traded at Rs 149, 600 per tola. It was traded at Rs 150, 600 per tola on Monday.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,765 per tola. It was traded at Rs 1,795 on Monday.

The Madhes Province Policy and Planning Commission released a report on Sunday highlighting the high poverty rate and deteriorating Human Development Index (HDI) in Madhes Province. The HDI encompasses factors such as education, health, employment, and infrastructure development that directly impact human life.

According to the report, the multidimensional poverty rate in Madhes is 24.02 percent, compared to the national average of 20 percent. Issues such as food insecurity, inadequate shelter, lack of clothing, and inability to afford medical treatment are categorized under multidimensional poverty. Madhes Province ranks second in both multidimensional poverty and economic poverty, with an economic poverty rate of 22.53 percent.

Despite some improvements, Madhes remains at the bottom of the HDI rankings among provinces. The overall poverty rate and multidimensional poverty rate in Madhes were 27.7 and 47.9 percent respectively in the base year 2018/19. By 2022/23, these rates had improved to 22.53 and 24.02 percent, but they fell short of the target to reduce the overall poverty rate to 21 percent.

Similarly, the HDI increased from 0.421 to 0.519 during the same period. However, Madhes still lags behind other provinces, with Mahottari and Rautahat performing the worst. The first periodic plan aimed to raise per capita income to $1,000, but only $875 was achieved by 2022/23. The plan also targeted an average annual economic growth rate of 9.0 percent, but the actual rate was limited to 2.5 percent due to internal and external challenges.

The report cites the global Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and rising commodity prices, including petroleum, as key factors disrupting supply chains and hindering economic growth. The economic growth rate for Madhes was just 1.5 percent in 2022/23, with a per capita GDP of $868. For the fiscal year 2023/24, growth is estimated at 3.8 percent, with a per capita GDP of $892.

Breaking from the tradition of overly ambitious growth targets, the second periodic plan has adopted a nonlinear least square model to set realistic and achievable economic growth projections. Based on the GDP of 2022/23, the plan forecasts an average economic growth rate of 6.8 percent, with sectoral growth targets of 4.4 percent for the primary sector, 8.8 percent for the secondary sector, and 7.3 percent for the tertiary sector.

Regarding implementation, 60 percent of strategies and 57 percent of action plans have been executed under interrelated and overarching subject areas. Out of 143 proposed programs, 57—or 40 percent—have been implemented. Progress has been observed in only 70 of the 129 set indicators, with no sub-sector apart from forestry and environment exceeding 50 percent progress. Notably, data management and human resource development sub-sectors show no progress, and there is little coordination between climate change initiatives, disaster risk reduction, and indicator achievements.

Nepali band Kandara is set to embark on an exciting global musical tour in 2025, beginning with a grand performance at the prestigious O2 Arena in London on Jan 4. This milestone marks the first time a Nepali band will perform at the iconic venue, following in the footsteps of Nepali artist Sajjan Raj Vaidya. Lead vocalist Bibek Shrestha expressed the band’s excitement, calling the O2 a dream venue for any artist and describing this opportunity as a proud moment. After their London debut, the band will continue their tour with performances in Dubai, Qatar, and Hong Kong later in January.

Adding to the excitement, Kandara is releasing a new song titled “Hunecha (The Song of Hope)” on 1 Jan 2025, as a New Year’s offering. Known for themes of love, nature, and cultural stories, this track carries a unique message of hope and positivity, aiming to inspire listeners to embrace optimism in the coming year. Drummer Sunil Thapa, a founding member of the band, has penned and composed the song, which encourages individuals to foster positive change through their actions and behaviors. Notably, former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has extended his best wishes for the song’s success.

Kandara has been actively engaging with fans through performances, including a recent themed concert, “Home Country, Then Abroad,” held at the LOD Club in Thamel, Kathmandu. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the band has also delivered successful concerts across Gandaki, Koshi, and Bagmati provinces.

The current lineup features Bibek Shrestha on vocals, Sunil Thapa on drums, Dev Lama on lead guitar, Pankaj Jha on bass guitar, Avinash Gayak on madal, and Umesh Thapa on keyboard. Sunil Thapa, a founding member, continues to play a pivotal role in the band’s journey. With a legacy spanning three decades, Kandara remains a beloved name in Nepali music, blending meaningful lyrics, rich melodies, and a deep connection to its roots while expanding its presence on the global stage.