Ilam, Jan 1 (RSS):   
Five hotels in Ilam, the district headquarters, each provided accommodation to a tourist for 1 rupee a night. The discount package including a square of meal for Re 1 was offered to a tourist who first booked the hotels on Tuesday, the eve of New Year, 2020.    
The drive aims to generate publicity about Visit Nepal Year, 2020 throughout the world through the tourists availing the discount, said Devi Poudel, chairperson of the hotel entrepreneur association, Ilam. Five lucky foreign tourists including Japanese tourist Yukid Mitamura availed the offer.    
Chiyabari Cottage provided this offer to Mitamura. Other hotels that offered the service include Green View Hotel, Summit Hotel, Hamro Pokhreli Hotel and Green City Guest House. The tourists were also presented with certificates, and declared as goodwill ambassadors for Ilam's tourism industry.    
Proprietor of the Cottage, Thewa Tamang said he was happy at having welcomed the tourist availing the service.    
The foreign tourists who took advantage of the offer also pledged to involve in tourism publicity including that of Ilam.    
Suvechha Travels travelling between Ilam and Kathmandu offer to transport a foreign tourist for free travelling to Ilam from Kathmandu. The offer aiming to attract tourists to Ilam lasts for seven days beginning today. Publicity rallies and corner meets were organised in Ilam bazaar on the initiatives of students, police, Nepal Army and local people. On the occasion, speakers, Ilam municipality mayor Mahesh Basnet, tourism entrepreneurs and representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ilam among others invited domestic and foreign tourists to visit Ilam.