The Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) has finally approved the Nepal Tourism Board’s (NTB) guidelines for managing expenses related to organizing programs abroad. This approval comes after nearly seven years, during which the NTB struggled to manage costs for international promotional activities due to the absence of official guidelines. With the approval now in place, the NTB can proceed with funding overseas promotional campaigns.
The NTB initially drafted the “Guidelines on Organizing Programs and Purchasing Abroad” in 2017 and submitted them to the PPMO for approval. However, the guidelines remained stagnant due to the PPMO’s lack of consent. As a result, the NTB was unable to carry out any international promotional activities in the fiscal year 2023/24.
After numerous attempts by the NTB, the PPMO approved the guidelines just two weeks ago, according to NTB CEO Deepak Raj Joshi. He emphasized that this approval would now simplify the process of conducting international promotional campaigns.
NTB’s assistant spokesperson, Mani Raj Lamichhane, noted that the issues preventing international promotional activities last year have now been resolved. He added that the NTB’s annual programs, which had been hindered by the absence of these guidelines, can now proceed more smoothly.
For the past six years, the NTB had been organizing international promotional programs based on past practices, as it lacked the necessary guidelines. Despite having a budget for such activities last year, the absence of approved guidelines made the process difficult.
As per Section 67 of the Public Procurement Act 2007, the NTB was required to have guidelines approved before conducting any overseas programs. After the Act was amended in 2017, all institutions, including the NTB, were subject to this requirement. In response, the NTB submitted its revised draft through the Ministry of Tourism in 2019, following an initial rejection from the PPMO.
The NTB has attended the World Travel Market (WTM) in London annually since its establishment. However, the lack of a budget and unapproved guidelines prevented NTB’s participation last year. For the current fiscal year, the NTB has allocated Rs 181 billion, with 60% earmarked for promotional activities.
