The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) has decided to submit a proposal to the Cabinet outlining two days of leave in a week for civil servants.
A meeting by MoCTCA on Thursday made the decision in a bid to address the demands made by tourism entrepreneurs who have been lobbying the two-day leave in a week system to promote domestic tourism.
Thursday’s meeting also formed a task force in coordination of Joint Secretary of MoCTCA, Pradip Kumar Koirala, Rudra Singh Tamang, director general of Department of Tourism (DoT), and Dhananjay Regmi, CEO of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) to conduct a study on the possibility of such a provision for government employees and submit their report at the earliest.
The task force will also comprise of a representative each from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of General Administration.
As the tourism industry grapples with the aftereffects of the months-long lockdown on the face of COVID-19, even a recent survey conducted by NTB had recommended the government to implement two-days a week leave policy. NTB’s study had also suggested the government to provide allowance to civil servants for domestic travel.
The meeting also decided to prepare health safety protocols to reopen Pashupatinath Temple, Lumbini and museums for the public. The protocols will be submitted to the COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre (CCMC) to acquire permission to open the aforementioned places for public visit.
