KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation on Thursday formed a technical panel for the revival of COVID-19-hit tourism sector.

At a time when the Nepali tourism sector is adversely affected by the global coronavirus pandemic, the government has started the work of reviving the tourism sector.

The committee is formed under the coordination of tourism entrepreneur Rajaram Giri of Sindhupalchowk, who has been active in the sector for two decades.

The committee formed under the chairmanship of Tourism Minister Prem Ale has been asked to work for the revival of tourism sector, explore new possibilities, identify and promote the sector and create a conducive investment environment for the tourism sector.

The committee comprises of Undersecretary-level representatives of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Tourism Department, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nepal Tourism Board Deepak Raj Joshi, Director-level representatives of Nepal Tourism Board and representatives of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.

Similarly, captains of Nepal Airlines, Uddhav Ghimire and Suraj Bhandari, Executive Director of Lumbini Museum Sunima Udas, CEO of PATA Nepal chapter Suresh Singh Budel, and Undersecretary of Tourism Promotion section of the Ministry are also members of the ‘tourism sector revival technical committee’.