Kathmandu, Jan. 19 -- A meeting of the board of directors of the Nepal Tourism Board scheduled for Sunday evening was abruptly cancelled due to a "power play", said sources familiar with developments. The meeting was going to appoint the chief of the country's tourism promotional body.

The chief executive officer of the tourism board, which has an annual budget of more than Rs1 billion, is one of the most lucrative posts in the country due to the nature of its operations to promote Nepal in the overseas markets.

The board meeting, chaired by Tourism Secretary Kedar Bahadur Adhikari, was scheduled for 4:30pm on Sunday and the new CEO was expected to be announced by 6pm.

Multiple officials the Post spoke to said that the chief executive ...