KATHMANDU, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Nepali government has decided to reopen the country for foreign tourists and tourism activities even though the Himalayan country has been seeing a continuous rise in COVID-19 cases, a Nepali cabinet minister said.
"The cabinet meeting on Wednesday decided to provide tourist visas to all the foreigners," Yogesh Bhattarai, minister for culture, tourism and civil aviation told Xinhua on Wednesday evening. And those flying to Nepal will have to present a negative PCR test obtained within 72 hours prior to arriving Nepal and stay in quarantines for seven days in hotels in capital Kathmandu."
He said that the decision would be implemented within a few days.
Kamal Prasad Bhattarai, spokesperson at the tourism ministry told Xinhua on Thursday morning that the ministry was preparing a working procedure regarding how to facilitate travels of foreign tourists in Nepal.
The Nepali government's decision to reopen the country for foreign tourists has come at a time when the Himalayan country has been seeing a continuous rise in coronavirus cases.
On Wednesday, Nepal reported 1,948 new cases as total coronavirus cases in the country reached 226,026.
Nepali tourism entrepreneurs have long been asking the government to reopen the country for foreign tourists as the industry has been hit hard by the pandemic, leading to the loss of thousands of jobs in the sector.
Meanwhile, Nepal's cabinet also decided to reopen scheduled international flights for all the countries, according to Bhattarai. Enditem
