The Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO) has expressed serious concern over the series of nationwide protests being launched by the UCPN (Maoist).

The protest programmes have come at a time when Nepal's tourism industry had been showing signs of gradual recovery, read a press statement issued by NATO.

The release added that the agitation cast blight on this extremely vulnerable sector of the national economy that can only thrive in a stable political climate.

The private sector has worked very hard with each of the governments since the Constituent Assembly elections to try to regain the proper destination image at the international level, which had been soiled by frequent strikes and closures. As a result, the international community has only recently begun to look positively at promoting travel to Nepal, it said.

NATO has appealed to the UCPN (Maoist) and its sister organizations to refrain from any activity that could adversely cripple tourism activities and the movement of tourists. nepalnews.com