A new cross-border tourism pact between stakeholders in India and Nepal will seek to increase travel between the two countries, improve grassroots tourism services and build integrated sightseeing circuits across eastern Dooars and neighbouring destinations in Nepal.
The memorandum of understanding was signed between the Jhapa Tourism Forum of Nepal and the Eastern Dooars Tourism Development Association (ETDA) during a two-day Indo-Nepal Tourism Meet that began at the Nature Interpretation Centre in Madarihat, Alipurduar, on Tuesday. A 12-member delegation from Nepal, ETDA representatives, Alipurduar MP Manoj Tigga and additional district magistrate Aqibur Rehman attended the meeting.
Under the pact, the two tourism bodies will jointly promote travel between India and Nepal. They will also form a committee to organise training programmes for drivers and tourist guides working at the grassroots level, with the stated aim of improving service quality for visitors.
Uday Kumar Srestha, president of the Jhapa Tourism Forum, said Nepal’s recent floods had damaged parts of the country and that the route towards Manasarovar remained closed. He said the disruption had created an impression among some prospective visitors, including Indians, that Nepal’s tourism infrastructure had been affected across the country. However, Srestha said prominent tourist destinations outside the affected areas remained open.
The appeal to Indian tourists comes as tourism stakeholders in the region seek to strengthen visitor movement across the border. The discussions also covered integrated religious tourism circuits, with Nepalese visitors identified as a potential audience for temples and heritage sites in north Bengal. The destinations mentioned included Madan Mohan Temple in Cooch Behar, Makrapara Kali Temple and the Shiva temple at Baneswar.
The meeting also brought local infrastructure demands into the tourism conversation. ETDA secretary Biswajit Saha said the association had submitted a memorandum to the Alipurduar district administration seeking a ropeway to Totopara, the opening of the Bhutan Ghat area for tourists and infrastructure improvements at South Khayerbari mini zoo. These proposals would require decisions and implementation by the relevant state and district authorities and were not part of the tourism bodies’ bilateral pact.
Saha also said tourist inflow to Bhutan had declined since 2022 after the introduction of the Sustainable Development Fee, while Nepal had subsequently recorded comparatively higher tourist footfall. The statement places the proposed India-Nepal tourism cooperation within a wider competition among neighbouring destinations for regional visitors.
Tigga said he would take up the proposals with the state tourism department. He also called for a tourism circuit covering Alipurduar, Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri, linking the eastern Dooars with Jaldapara National Park, Buxa Tiger Reserve, Chilapata forest and Cooch Behar Palace. The proposals would need to move from stakeholder discussions to formal administrative decisions, funding and project execution before they can change visitor access or tourism capacity.
As part of the ongoing meet, the Nepalese delegation is scheduled to visit Jaldapara National Park on Wednesday. The proposed joint committee and the response of the state and district administrations to the infrastructure memorandum will determine the next steps for the cooperation announced at Madarihat.
