NTB approves Rs 1.6bn budget for FY 2025/26

KATHMANDU: Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has approved a budget of Rs 1,599.97 million for fiscal year 2025/26, Rishiram Bhandari, Coordinator of the NTB’s Budget Drafting Sub-Committee, announced today.
 
Bhandari said the funds aim to boost Nepal’s image internationally by developing safe, reliable and attractive destinations, and to increase tourist arrivals by 15%.

NTB Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Deepak Raj Joshi said timely approval will significantly boost tourism promotion, supporting business development, expansion and marketing to drive national output, foreign exchange earnings and employment.

Key priorities include promoting Nepal ASEAN Tourism Year 2026, targeting high-quality arrivals, running programmes in at least 50 source markets, training 5,000 tourism professionals and developing 25 new tourism infrastructures.

Seventy per cent of the service-expansion budget is earmarked for international marketing, and the NTB plans to open an office in India, which sent over 400,000 visitors in 2024.

The budget allocates Rs 436.1 million for market management, Rs 129.5 million for public relations, Rs 26.7 million for research and monitoring, Rs 186.35 million for heritage development, Rs 116.6 million for provincial offices and Rs 46.2 million for special events including travel marts.

Under the slogan ‘Nepal: Lifetime Experience’, campaigns will run in the USA, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand and Europe. Domestic promotion will target emerging destinations in Sudurpashchim, Karnali and eastern Nepal.

Funds are set aside for digital infrastructure, research and data systems, human resource development, international fairs, digital campaigns, cine-tourism, diaspora engagement, branding and influencer initiatives. Destination development will focus on infrastructure projects, trail improvements, namaste centres, Buddhist site promotion, mountain region training and green hospitality certification, while the NTB's Pokhara office will host the Travel Mart, street festivals, trekking route promotions, training courses and museum promotion.

The budget emphasises the Tourism Information Management System, a disaster-management fund, climate-change measures and international cooperation to underpin sustainable tourism development over the next decade. “This budget is not just a calculation of money; it is a roadmap for Nepal’s tourism revival,” said CEO Joshi.

NTB Chairman and Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation secretary Hari Prasad Mainali added that the ‘Smart Tourism Nepal’ concept will be implemented through private-sector participation, local coordination and international partnerships.

(With inputs from RSS)