April 18: For Nepal, tourism revenue is important – especially now, as the nation faces one of the most severe foreign currency reserve drop. At such times, usually, it would make common sense to make the lives of tourists who bring in the much needed international currency easier – but not in Nepal. For the thousands of tourists arriving everyday through the Nepal’s sole international airport – Nepal’s immigration has issued a notice. Please bring $200 cash, or other cash equivalents to pay for their on-arrival visa fees.

Currently, there is just one ATM at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). Tourists should keep cash on hand “to avoid e-banking payment difficulties,” the notice reads.

Immigration officials said that some cards were not accepted by the only ATM at TIA, and that it was a good idea to bring cash to avoid any complications. Travelers have been facing difficulty in making the payment of visa fees through the electronic mode of payment, such as Visa, Mastercard, and others, at the time of arrival, the Immigration Office said in a statement.

Due to only one ATM machine available in TIA, ever-crowded situations, and several technical difficulties, travelers have been facing trouble in making the payment of visa fees through the electronic mode of payment such as Visa Card, Mastercard, and others at the time of arrival. As a result, travelers may be trapped in immigration for extended periods of time, and in some circumstances, may not even be able to obtain an entry permit due to a lack of cash to pay the visa fee, the statement continued.

“As a result, Nepal Immigration requests that all foreign visitors carry at least US $200 in cash or equal converted accepted currencies for their convenience and to avoid e-banking payment hurdles.”

Meanwhile, rather than focusing on ways to provide seamless visa processing to the foreigners who are the key source of our nation’s income, our Tourism Minister, who is extremely busy in preparing for Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s arrival, does not seem worried about this issue, and the inconveniences faced by thousands of tourists everyday due to lack of ATMS, lack of POS machines, and lack of interest in making visitors’ lives easy.

Prem Nath Thakur, the general manager of Tribhuvan International Airport, is interestingly opposing such a move. He described the Immigration Office’s warning as an “utterly ludicrous” proposal.

“The world has changed,” he added, citing the Immigration Office’s unilateral decision. “It’s absurd to expect passengers to pay their visa fees with cash. We were not consulted by the Immigration Office. It was a decision made by them. This statement is new to me today,”he added.

According to an immigration officer, the arrival section has a single Prabhu Bank ATM.  The ATM does not accept Mastercard. Tourists complained that they had to wait for hours at the arrival section to pay for their on-arrival visa costs,” said Pushpa Raj Shahi, top immigration officer at Tribhuvan International Airport.

“As a result, we released a statement urging that travelers bring enough money to secure an on-arrival visa if there is difficulty with the ATM,” informed Shahi.

The immigration office’s goal, according to Shahi, is to assist travelers who may have difficulty withdrawing money. At immigration, server failures and poor internet connections are common occurrences.

He further elaborated, “Carrying currency isn’t required, but we wanted to avoid huge lines at the airport. We don’t understand why the Prabhu Bank ATM does not accept Mastercard. “

After two years of inactivity while the pandemic took its toll, Nepal’s lone international airport has suddenly experienced a dramatic increase in passenger numbers, providing optimism to the country’s beleaguered economy.

In March, the country received 42,006 foreign tourists, the largest monthly number in nearly two years.

Now is the time to help travelers, not cause them problems. Rather than attempting to encourage tourists, the immigration notice is unscientific, resulting in increased national and international condemnation.