Bhattarai becomes 35th tourism minister

Nepal Commusit Party (NCP) lawmaker Yogesh Bhattarai has been appointed as the Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation on Wednesday. He is the 35th minister to lead the Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has been in charge of the Ministry for the last 5 months following the death of the then minister late Rabindra Adhikari, on February 27, 2019 in a a helicopter crash in Taplejung.
The Ministry had been expecting the appointment of Minister Bhattarai, as he had been working under the Prime Minister as the prospective Minister. According to the newly appointed Minister Bhattarai, “Prime Minister has appointed me with this duty and position in the office upon consulting with all of the senior Ministers present.”
Remembering the late minister Adhikari, Bhattarai — the late Adhikari’s successor — said that he will complete the dreams of late Adhikari. He further elaborated on how late Minister Rabindra Adhikari helped shape the development of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation. He also mentioned that a performance agreement will be conducted between him and the Prime Minister shortly, due to which he will be committed towards carrying out development works according to his capability.
Bhattarai has however been appointed when the Visit Nepal Year 2020 is just 5 months ago, and Nepal needs to complete the homework to host 2 million tourists next year. He also has a challenge to turn the financially bankrupt Nepal Airlines (NAC) into a profitable institution. Likewise, Bhattarai also needs to focus on Gautam Buddha Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa, Pokhara Regional Airport and second international airport at Nijgadh, which are the game changer projects for Nepal.