Nepal aiming to get back on world tourism map after the devastating earthquakes

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Four and a half years after a devastating earthquake in April 2015 affected Nepal badly, the small hilly nation aims to get back its position on the world tourism map by attracting Buddhist pilgrims from India, Bhutan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka, besides countries like Japan, with a fully new international airport close to the birthplace of Buddha.

Among potential plans are new investments in tourism infrastructure like hotels, which are expected to increase employment generation in a country which is one of the poorest and slowest growing in Asia according to the World Bank.

Named as Gautam Buddha International Airport, the facility is being developed with financial assistance from the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB).

China’s Northwest Civil Aviation Construction Group is constructing the airport for which the ADB has provided $70 million. The airport is expected to be completed by March next year, before the fifth anniversary of the tremors that killed around 9,000 people, according to Prabhesh Adhikari, a senior official of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.

The upcoming airport is located in Rupandehi district, which is around 280 kilometers from Kathmandu; it will function as a second gateway to the country, which is home to some of the tallest mountains of the world, catering to tourists wanting to visit Lumbini.

India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Cambodia have already expressed interest in commencing airline operations from the upcoming airport.

Currently, the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu is Nepal’s only international airport.

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