KATHMANDU, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has identified more than 10 new destinations suitable for rural tourism on Monday, reported China's Xinhua news agency.

The new destinations include Chum Valley, Gorkha, some 75km west of Nepali capital Kathmandu, Panch Pokhari, Sindhupalchok, some 40km west of Nepali capital Kathmandu, Bhairav Kunda, Sindhupalchok, some 40km west of Nepali capital and so on.

"The move to diversify tourist destinations was aimed at enticing 40 percent of the visitors expected during NTY 2011 to visit rural destinations," The Kathmandu Post cited Lila Baniya, manager of Sustainable Tourism Development of NTB, as saying.

Baniya said that the government of Nepal had allocated 20 million Nepali rupees to promote NTY 2011 but the funds had not been released due to a delay in endorsing the budget, adding that the government expected the private sector to invest in infrastructure development in these areas.

He said that selection of potential destinations, houses or resorts, providing training, making tour packages, farm trips and market promotion for the selected destination were underway.

"There are challenges as we need to launch new activities and products including the basic infrastructure that will determine the length of stay in the villages," he said.

According to him, the Nepali government initiated a pilot program to discover new potential destination last year.

Similarly, the Tara Gaon Development Board (TGDB) including other organizations was also studying on sustainable village tourism development across the country.

According to the NTB, villages like Sirubari, Ghalegaon, Nar Phu, Lumbini, Chepang, Pasgaon, Dhading, Sailung, Siklish, Siurung, Balanthali, Sivapuri, Bhujung, Gorkha, Ganga Jamuna and Nagarkot have already gained popularity for rural tourism.

Surya Prakash Shrestha, president of the Village Tourism Promotion Forum Nepal (VITOF Nepal), said that both international and domestic visitors were giving positive response for rural tourism.

"The potential of village tourism is gradually increasing, however, there is no support and priority provided by the government for tourism diversification," he said.

Shrestha said that village tourism was a promising way to diversify destinations and prolong their length of stay besides reflecting Nepal's indigenous communities and their culture, religion and ethnicity.

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