Monkey temple: Swayambuhunath lords it over on a Kathmandu hilltop.Nepal is busy gearing up for its first ever Visit Nepal year with a big launch and inauguration ceremony planned for January 1st in Kathmandu. Nepal's King Birendra will give the opening message and mountain climbing celebrities such as Chris Bonnington and Sir Edmund Hillary, and author Peter Mathieson have been invited to attend.
Kathmandu is also readying itself for a tourism carnival the same day to celebrate the launch. The streets will be closed to traffic from 8am to 10pm to make way for a large procession of floats representing all sectors of the tourism industry. The event culminates in an evening fireworks display.
In order not to shy away from the problems of environmental degradation, an issue for Nepal, the theme for Visit Nepal '98 is "A sustainable habitat through sustainable tourism" while the year's slogan is "Visit Nepal '98 - A world of its own."
National co-ordinator Karna Sakya is visiting 11 key tourist destinations to mobilise people in the provinces.
Visit Nepal '98 aims to increase tourism arrivals to half a million next year. With a recent surge in Indian tourists, hotels in Kathmandu are now running full. Arrivals last month hit a total of 400,000. Tourism officials are confident of reaching the projected target.
"We have been concentrating our efforts on emerging markets, rather than the traditional markets of Europe and US," said Ministry of Tourism director general Prachanda Shresthra.
The focus on tourism next year also provides an opportunity for Nepal to spruce up its image and galvanise the tourism industry, the country's major foreign exchange earner.
Nepal has already passed legislation for the setting up of a new tourism board to replace the existing government-led structure, emphasising more private sector participation.
Nepal was a closed country up until the 1960s when it opened to a few thousand visitors. Tourism has been growing by around seven to eight per cent annually. Visitor arrivals for 1996 totalled 393,000.