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Objectives

The general objective of VITOF-Nepal is to promote rural tourism, however, its specific objectives are as follows:

  • To aware rural/ local people for harvesting and harnessing village tourism activities
  • Encourage locals to preserve, conserve, revive indigenous cultural heritages and explore new sites or destinations
  • Bridge rural-urban linkage, divert urban centered tourism activities towards sustainable rural tourism
  • Attract neighbors, i.e., China and India as big market place for unexhausting tourists/visitors besides our international destinations- Mt. Everest, Lumbini and Hindu shrines and sites
  • What not to give a new thought or revive the century long culture of home stay, i.e. Atithi Devo Bhawa in SAARC region and in the global context in general.

Legal Status

After a couple of years ponder and discourse, the institution came into existence in 1997.  Formally, it got registered in Kathmandu CDO (Chief District Office) and Social Welfare Council. The institution is a product of few university academia and tourism entrepreneurs (about a dozen people). However, it was ultimately seriously realized by the government in 2067 BS (2010) and brought a Home stay regulation (2067BS) to manage the mushroomed home stays upheavalled across the country. Consequently, the concerned authority: ministry of civil aviation and tourism, Department of Tourism, Taragaun Development Board (TGDB) held first home stay work shop is Kapan, Kathmandu (29-30 March 2011) where the authority had invited about one hundred and half registered and non registered home stays but surprisingly about three hundred home stays spontaneously participated. Now there are more than 180 registered and more than three hundred non registered home stays are operating across the country. VITOF Nepal feels and takes pride and proud to have such big number of rural tourism entrepreneurs in this tiny country. The new home stays are upcoming with new aspirations and idea. However government and concerned authority have poor management capacity too streamlined these emergencies. So increased the members of VITOF Nepal from 17 to 600 in the two decades history one cannot imagine. It has won good relation collaborate partners such as NTB, NATHM, TGDB and Associations of tourism entrepreneurs, e.g. TAAN, HAN, SOTTO, NATOJ, NARA, CDO and SWC….Certificate.