A group of 16 senior Afghan government officials, conservation leaders and private sector operators from Bamyan visited Nepal this week to learn from Nepal’s tourism experience and understand tourism models that involve the private sector and the community. The group visited Bandipur, Pokhara and Kathmandu.
“Nepal serves as a positive example for us,” says Amir Foladi of the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), Afghanistan, who is leading the study tour. In 2009, he led a group of Afghan officials to Nepal to introduce them to tourism.
Foladi says that the tour has allowed the group to understand that development of tourism with the involvement of the private sector and the community can be highly beneficial. “We saw that the local people were very involved in tourism and that this helps the tourists to get acquainted with the area’s culture firsthand,” says Foladi. “We also saw that local traditions have been incorporated into the hotels and tourist centres, allowing tourists to experience something different and at the same time be comfortable.”
Ismailimail 