Nepal looks to provide a fillip for its tourism industry by looking southwards. In an attempt to tap the potential for religious tourism, the Nepal Tourism Board has embarked on a road show in Tier 2 cities across India to advertise the potential the hill country has to offer to a variety of travellers.

Nepal had remained a “soul-cleansing destination for Hindus” and the country had established itself as the gateway to Mount Kailash-Manasarovar. In 2011, the Nepal Tourism Year, the country attracted 5.44 lakh visitors by air, said Dhruba Rai of Nepal Tourism Board, while interacting with travel agents of Madurai on Wednesday.

Of them, 1.45 lakh tourists were from India, with 50 per cent of the arrivals from south India.

The objective of the road show in Madurai, he said, was to facilitate mutual growth in the tourism sector. He pointed out that south Indians, especially those from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, preferred to visit religious places. The Nepal Tourism Board was keen to promote Mount Kailash and Manasarovar, which fall outside Nepal, in south India, he said. He anticipated a gradual increase in tourist arrivals from this region in the years to come.

Speaking about what Nepal held for tourists, Mr. Rai said that it had a variety of tourist spots which would attract people of different age groups – from adventure tourism, religious tourism.

He described Nepal as the melting pot of Hinduism and Buddhism and the Tourism Board had declared 2012 as Visit Lumbini Year. There was no visa required to visit Nepal and it was enough if travellers carried their passport or voter identity card issued by the Election Commission of India. The cultural proximity and moderate climate, along with easy availability of Indian food, was bound to attract more tourists from here, he said.