Around 1 million people on the verge of losing job

Kathmandu: Around 1 million people in the tourism sector are on the verge of losing their jobs due to coronavirus.

“Nepal went into lockdown just a few months after Visit Nepal Year 2020 inauguration.   Due to the fear of coronavirus infection all the hotels, homestay, airlines and tourist vehicles are not into operation,” mentions the press release issued by various institutions engaged in the tourism sector.

The release further mentions that tourism is the most vulnerable sector and impact of coronavirus will be felt longer here.

“Due to this, now it is necessary to start few services to sustain ourselves,” reads the release.

“In this context, we request Nepal government to let us resume the service following the health protocol of WHO,” says the release.

They said that the passengers are also compelled to pay a high ticket price as there is no regular flight schedule.

According to the tourism entrepreneurs, the government should resume internal flights now, start operation of an international flight from August 15, 2020, open the borders, and allow operation of tourist vehicles following strict safety guidelines, and also gradually resume related activities to mobilise the tourism sector at least to a certain level, the tourism