Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) has announced to penalize against fake rescue of mountaineers and trekkers after the probe committee of MoCTCA submitted the report on fake rescues on 30 July 2018.
Rabindra Adhikari, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation stated that the action will be taken according to the report and every individual found guilty in the report will be flash out shortly.
Minister Adhikari also said that the government will not accept anybody involved in illegal activities which will affect tourism industry.
As per the committee suggestion, the rescue operation in Nepal will be conducted through the Nepal Police from September 2018 to ensure safety and reliability and to stop any such scams. Nepal Police should abide by Public Procurement Regulation while selecting helicopter companies and hospitals for the rescue and treatment of tourists.
It is widely believed that Government’s action to stop the Heli Rescue Scam will boost the travelers’ confident to visit Nepal with proper insurance at its best cost thus the country will be able to meet its target to welcome 2 million travelers on the Visit Nepal year of 2020.
The Investigation committee had report has urged the government to investigate the transactions of eight travel, trekking and rescue agencies, four hospitals and three helicopter companies for quoting exorbitant rates and making claims against tourist insurance policies. The committee has suspected that they may be involved in tax evasion. The fact-finding panel probed 10 helicopter companies, six hospitals and 36 travel, trekking and rescue agencies following complaints filed by tourism entrepreneurs.
