Tourist Police will provide all its services from its Thamel-based office from Nepali New Year (mid-April) onwards.

The decision was announced in view of the government’s tourism promotion campaign, Visit Nepal 2020.

Thamel is the nerve centre of tourist activities in Kathmandu. If Tourist Police starts offering its services from Thamel, it will save foreigners the hassle of visiting the Bhrikutimandap office to file a complaint or avail to other services.    

“Whenever a foreigner required any service or assistances of Tourist Police, he or she had to travel or walk to Bhrikutimandap. This hassle will end after Tourist Police starts offering its services from Thamel,” said Dandu Raj Ghimire, director general of the Department of Tourism under the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation.

The department has already started renovating the Thamel-based office.

“The Thamel-based office will be providing all the services that are now being provided from the central office at Bhrikutimandap. Tourists can come and file applications regarding their problems,” said Amrit Bahadur Basnet, in-charge of Tourist Police central office.

The Bhrikutimandap office will also continue to provide the services.   

Meanwhile, the department and Nepal Tourism Board has installed  40 security cameras in Thamel area to ensure safety of visitors.

“We are concerned about tourists’ safety and we want to make their stay in Nepal pleasant. Our new move will help send a positive message and make Visit Nepal 2020 a success,” said Basnet.

The government has set a target of bringing two million tourists in 2020.  

Tourist Police was initially started in 1979, as a special unit of Nepal Police working under Tourism Department with only one inspector and six constables. It now has 227 officers across the country in five provinces. In the Kathmandu Valley, out of 99 officials, 75 have been deployed to resolve safety and security related issues of the tourists.

The Kathmandu Valley has 10 tourist police units at Bhrikutimandap, Thamel, Basantapur, Pashupati, Swayambhu, Tribhuvan International Airport, Mangal Bazar, Bhaktapur, Nagarkot and Bouddha.