The government is planning to make Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), sole international airport of Nepal advertisement free zone.
Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) has initiated to remove the advertisement boards from the airport area.
According to the airport officials, the hoarding board will be removed by the end of April.
Krishna Prasad Devkota, Secretary of Ministry stated that the hoarding board has made airport area unpleasant. “With the beginning of 2076, TIA will be free of advertisement and hoarding board, he added.”
Devkota informed that Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and airport official are working on removing advertisement, signboard from the airport area.
Prime Minister KP Oli has also planned to make TIA as one of the boutique airport in the world, Devkota said. “The hoarding board of advertisements should also be removed for the beauty of the airport, he added.”
Currently, airport office earns NRs. 2-3 crores annually from the advertisement. However, Devkota argued that the income does not matter comparing to the beauty of TIA.
The aeronautical revenue in Foreign International Airport is 30 per cent and non-aeronautical is 70 per cent whereas in Nepal’s context, the aeronautical income is 90 per cent while the non-aeronautical income is just 10 per cent, this needs to be changed change. Non-aeronautical income of airports relates to the lease or operation of duty-free and specialty retail outlets, restaurants and other airport services such as currency exchange or luggage wrapping.
The government is planning to replace advertisement with the promotion of natural beauty of Nepal. According to the plan, 5 big hoarding boards promoting tourism destination will be placed.
Previously, the government had shaped a task force to organize a policy regarding publishing advertisements on Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) including other airports around the country.
Rabindra Adhikari, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation decided to post advertisement which makes Nepal’s identity visible and tourism-friendly.
