KUALA LUMPUR — The Nepali Embassy in Malaysia will be launching a special tourism programme early next year to attract more Malaysian visitors to the republic.
Nepal’s Ambassador to Malaysia Udaya Raj Pandey said the programme is part of the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign aimed at attracting more than two millions tourists worldwide next year.
A landlocked nation with a population of 26.5 million people and a stunning mountainous landscape, Nepal is famed for its magnificent Mount Everest, drawing in thousands of climbers and trekkers worldwide in their bid to attempt the world’s highest peak.
The country is also an important destination for Buddhist devotees where many of them make their annual pilgrimages to pay homage to Buddhist holy sites including Lumbini, the birth place of Buddha and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Nepal is also home to three other UNESCO World Heritage sites, namely the seven monuments of Kathmandu Valley, as well as the Chitwan and Sagarmatha National Parks.
According to Pandey, some 20,000 Malaysians have visited Nepal last year compared to 26,000 Nepali tourists who came to Malaysia in the same period.
— BERNAMA