Modi asked Indians to curb overseas travel. Nepal seeks to draw them across the border

Nepal's Embassy in New Delhi is actively working to boost its tourism sector by inviting Indian vloggers, YouTubers, podcasters, and digital content creators for a familiarization trip. This initiative is part of a public and cultural diplomacy campaign designed to counteract misleading narratives about traveling to Nepal that have circulated in some sections of the Indian media. The Nepali Embassy announced the call for applications on social media platform X, setting a deadline of May 30 for Indian social media influencers to apply.

“

We have received over 200 applications in just three days, and the numbers are growing.

The response has been remarkably strong, with the embassy receiving over 200 applications within just three days of the announcement. Mainstream Indian media outlets and influencers have shown significant interest, and five-star hotels and airlines in Kathmandu have offered to support the initiative by providing packages for selected influencers. Surendra Thapa, the chargé d’affaires at the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi, expressed enthusiasm about the overwhelming response, anticipating over 1,000 applications by the deadline.

This marks the first time the Nepali government has extended such an invitation to Indian social media influencers for tourism promotion. The embassy plans to select five influencers who will be hosted by the Nepal Tourism Board. They will tour various parts of Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Chitwan, experiencing the country's diverse tourism offerings. The selection criteria will focus on content relevance, quality of previous work, audience reach and engagement, creativity, storytelling ability, professional reputation, and effective communication with Indian audiences in English, Hindi, or regional Indian languages.

“

We expect over 1,000 applications by May 30.

Nepal anticipates that these social media influencers, with their millions of followers, will generate engaging digital content highlighting the country's rich natural beauty, cultural heritage, spiritual sites, and hospitality. The goal is to encourage Indian travelers to visit Nepal for leisure, pilgrimage, adventure, wellness, and family trips, emphasizing the ease of travel even to remote areas. This effort follows past familiarization trips organized for Indian journalists, which were paused years ago and often focused on political and social issues.

“

The visit is expected to generate engaging digital content and encourage Indian travellers to visit Nepal for leisure, pilgrimage, culture, adventure, wellness, and family travel.