The Far West Travel Mart was organized from 7th to 10th April to promote existing and potential tourism products and activities of Sudurpaschim Province (Far-West) of Nepal in Dhangadhi Sub Metropolitan City. The 3-day Mart, promoted with the brand “Beautiful Far-West: Shukla to Api Saipal”, was inaugurated by the Honorable Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale on Friday, 8th April 2022. More than 60 tour operators and media representatives from Delhi, Nainital, Rudrapur and other border cities of India participated in the Mart. Altogether 25 stalls were put up by Tour Operators, Hoteliers, Airline Operators and representatives from Provinces and Districts of the Far West. The Mart also had pavilions reflecting the tourist attractions of seven provinces, stalls of nine districts as well as attractive stalls of tour operators, hoteliers and tourism service providers. During the program, tour packages were exchanged among the tourism business representatives Read More
The first meeting of the Buddhist International Travel Mart (BITM) 2022 Main Organizing Committee was held at Nepal Tourism Board on 10th April 2022 which was chaired by Joint Secretary of MoCTCA, Mr. Buddhi Sagar. The meeting had the presence of the Presidents of various Tourism Associations who are members of the Main organizing committee. Senior VP of NATTA, Mr. Pramod Dahal has been nominated as the Member Secretary of Buddhist International Travel Mart 2022. A PowerPoint presentation regarding the updates and plans for BITM 2022 was presented at the Meeting. NATTA President Mr. Ramesh Thapa and IPP Mr. Achyut Guragain shed light on the BITM and said that the continual organization of BITM will be a milestone for Nepalese tourism, especially Spiritual Tourism. Committee members from different organizations suggested certain focuses and assured support from their side in making this event successful. This event will be the first International Read More
NATTA delegation led by President Mr. Ramesh Thapa had a courtesy visit to the Honorable Tourism Minister, MoCTCA Mr. Prem Bahadur Ale. In the meeting, the NATTA delegation apprised about the upcoming Buddhist International Travel Mart (BITM) and requested support from the Government in making the nation's event fruitful and successful. Hon'ble Minister assured for his support and showed eagerness to work together in BITM which can be an effective tool for the revival of the tourism industry after COVID along with the progress and development of the entire Nepal Tourism industry.
An interaction program was organized by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism from Bagmati Province inviting all the major tourism associations of Nepal on 4th April 2022 at Hotel Yellow Pagoda. The interaction was organized to discuss the prospects, challenges, upcoming plans & policies for the tourism industry. NATTA as well submitted the suggestions to the Ministry for the productive results of the industry. Some of the suggestions included: To shift the Valley Tourism Office to an easily accessible location Continue refinancing services to the tourism industry Initiate the Travel Holiday program as declared by the Government in coordination with registered travel agents Separate Embossed Number Plate to be given to Tourist Vehicle Give importance to the Cultural and Heritage sites in their management and preservation Organize different Skill Development Training Update the tourism entrepreneurs about the suggestions given to the Ministry and continue the interactions for the implementation and resolve the Read More
The 2nd Annual General Meeting and Election of Banke Chapter was held at Banke on 2nd April 2022. Along with Annual General Meeting, Election was held unanimously under the leadership of Mr. Shreeram Sigdel. Adding, Mr. Dilliraj Regmi as Vice President, Mr. Jhabilal Sharma as General Secretary, Mr. Bhagiram Oli as Secretary, Mr. Ram Bahadur Shrestha as Treasurer, Mr. Paras Shah as Joint Treasurer were announced. NATTA Immediate Past President Mr. Achyut Guragain was present at the AGM and Election representing NATTA Central.
The 55th Annual General Meeting and Election of the New Executive Committee of Nepal Association of Tour & Travel Agents (NATTA) was held on the 31st March 2022 at Hotel Radisson in Kathmandu. At the inaugural Ceremony, Awards for several categories were distributed to the awardees. 25 Years of Award for the twenty-five years of continued affiliation with NATTA were awarded to Sunny Travel Services Pvt. Ltd., Heritage Tours & Travels Pvt. Ltd., Visit Nepal Travel & Tours Pvt. Ltd., Trips Out Pvt. Ltd., Rising Travels Pvt. Ltd. A special award was given to IPP Mr. CN Pandey for his perseverance resulting in productiveness to NATTA. Admin Manager of NATTA Ms. Urmila Maharjan was conferred with a Letter of Appreciation for her two decade long dedicated commitment to the NATTA Secretariat. Ms. Maharjan also received a special gold coin from NATTA. Felicitation was given to Ms. Yubika Bhandari, Joint Treasurer in Read More
On 30th March 2022, NATTA XXIII Convention was held at Radisson Hotel Kathmandu. The theme of the celebration was "Rejuvenating Through Spiritual Tourism" to bring a special focus on spiritual tourism. In addition, NATTA also organized a preparatory event for Buddhist International Travel Mart (BITM). The event was organized as a preparation for the second edition of BITM going to be held at the end of May 2022. The event organized together with the Convention was conducted to publicize and familiarize it with a wider network of tourism industry around the world. Honorable Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Mr. Prem Bahadur Ale inaugurated the XXIII Convention and BITM Preparatory Event amidst the presence of national dignitaries, diplomats, media personalities, high ranking Government Officials, dignitaries from International and National Airlines, Presidents of Tourism Associations, Past Presidents, NATTA Executives from Provinces and Office Bearers of NATTA, members from tourism fraternity, Read More
After the formation of the new NATTA Executive (2020-2022), a series of Welcome programs had been hosted. Gurung Tourism Entrepreneur's Association hosted a program on 21 June 2022 in welcoming NATTA Executive Members who were newly elected on 31st March 2022 at 55th AGM and Election. On this occasion, the President of NATTA expressed gratitude and committed to working jointly in every way for the tourism industry.
After the formation of the new NATTA Executive (2020-2022), a series of Welcome programs had been hosted. Gurung Tourism Entrepreneur's Association hosted a program on 21 June 2022 in welcoming NATTA Executive Members who were newly elected on 31st March 2022 at 55th AGM and Election. On this occasion, the President of NATTA expressed gratitude and committed to working jointly in every way for the tourism industry.
A three-day Western Travel Mart on the theme: Nepalgunj Gateway of Karnali successfully concluded in Nepalgunj, Banke from March 10 till March 12 2022. Western Travel Mart was an initiative of the Nepal Tourism Board and Nepalgunj Sub Metropolitan City Office, in the coordination of NATTA Banke Chapter, Tourism Development Forum-Banke and HAN Banke. A Western Travel Mart has been organised for the first time in Nepalgunj to promote the tourism destinations of western Nepal and also to increase the tourism activities by promoting tourism in Nepalgunj City and its adjoining areas as well as Karnali. The Mart had more than 150 tourism entrepreneurs from India and Nepal participated in the program. The entrepreneurs visited from Mumbai, Gujarat, Punjab, Lucknow, Kanpur, Delhi, Jaipur and other places of India and all the Provinces of Nepal. Chief Guest of the event, Chief of the local Raute community, Mr. Surya Narayan Shahi Read More
Nepal Association of Tour & Travel Agents (NATTA) and Nepal Tourism Board along with ten private sector delegates attended the Bangladesh- Nepal Tourism Exchange and B2B organized and hosted by the Bangladesh Tourism Board to revive tourism and encourage arrivals between both countries. The two day event was officially launched on March 2, 2022, at Hotel Intercontinental, Dhaka. The first half of the event was a plenary session with a destination presentation by the CEO of Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) Mr. Javed Ahmed and Sr. Director Ms. Nandini Lahe-Thapa of Nepal Tourism Board.
Tara Air has started operating regular flights to Ilam’s Phalgunanda Sukilumba Airport. Starting Wednesday, Tara Air will use a Twin Otter plane to operate two flights a week to the airport. It would take 55 to 58 minutes to fly to Ilam from Kathmandu. The Twin Otter plane can be used for the flight could carry 14 passengers while flying to Ilam and 17 passengers while returning to Kathmandu. Meanwhile, residents of the district, and especially those who had provided their land for the construction of the airport, are happy about the beginning of commercial flights. To this effect, Ilam Municipality has taken some steps. The municipality is said to have reached an agreement with Tara Air to pay for the seats that go unoccupied for the next 12 weeks. It has allocated Rs. 1 million for that. Locals said that the beginning of regular flights to Ilam will also Read More
NATTA Executive Committee appointed Mr. Uttam Prasad Devkota as the new Chief Executive Officer of NATTA from 13th February 2022. A committee had been formed for the appointment of the new CEO under the Chairmanship of Secretary General Mr. Sudhir Kumar Upadhyay with the committee members; Mrs. Jiswan Tuladhar Shrestha, Secretary, Mr. Kumar Mani Thapaliya, Treasurer, and Executive Members Mrs. Laxmi Karki Adhikari and Mr. Bharat Jung Pandey. The vacancy had been announced previously via Merojob.com. After gathering the number of candidates via merojob round of Interview Sessions were held.
Under the sponsorship of the Nepal Tourism Board, a helicopter tour will be organized to promote the Badimalika region of Nepal’s far-west region. According to the press conference held on Friday at NTB by the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), the tour will be organized in the first phase for 10 days beginning February 13th with various packages. The package will be organized in collaboration with NTB, Far Western Province Government, NATTA Far Western Province, Manten Helicopter Pvt. Ltd., Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry as well as Hotel Professional Federation of Nepal, Far Western Province, Dhangadhi and Mahendranagar to Zigrana, Dipayal Badimalika Dipayal, Dipayal Khaptad Badimalika, and Sanfebagar Badimalika Sanfebagar. According to the organizers, depending on the location, 12,000 to 40,000 packages will be distributed to passengers. Board member of NTB, Krishna Shah stated at the press conference that domestic tourism must be mobilized Read More
As received the information from French Embassy, France has decided to temporarily require the Nepali nationals holding an ordinary passport to possess an airport transit visa for transits carried out on the European territory of France starting from January 13.
The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) on January 9 held discussions with organizations and individuals concerned with the tourism sector due to the rise of the new variant Omicron of COVID-19. In the program, private sector organizations and tourism entrepreneurs have suggested making tourism viable by following the health standards. They also urged the government to take such a decision saying that the country’s tourism sector collapsed in the past due to the sudden lockdown. They emphasized the need to vaccinate all to keep the tourism sector alive. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Dhananjay Regmi, CEO of NTB, said that the board conducted various programs in the past despite the contagion of COVID-19 and limited resources. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Achyut Guragain, President of NATTA, said that there is no alternative but to increase booster vaccines against COVID and make tourism viable by adhering to health standards. Other participants also Read More
NATTA projected to organize a tourism Sales Mission in Colombo, Sri Lanka promoting with a special focus on pilgrimage and leisure tourism from 15-18 November 2021. A group of nineteen Nepalese tourism stakeholders was led by NATTA comprising tour operators, trekking agencies and hoteliers to participate in the Sales Mission. The main event was held on 16th November 2021 at Ramada by Wyndham, Colombo where a B2B session was organized followed by Nepal Night Program. The program had the participation of Sri Lankan tour operators, officials from the Embassy of Nepal in Sri Lanka, officials from Sri Lankan Tourism Promotion Bureau, Former President of TAASL and UFTAA Board Director, an official of Sri Lankan Airlines and media people. During the B2B session, tourism fraternities from both countries enhanced their mutual contacts and shared their business prospects and possible areas of cooperation for the benefit of both sides. As Sri Lanka is Read More
Newly appointed Secretary of Tourism, MoCTCA Mr. Maheshwor Neupane visited at NATTA Secretariat on 16 December 2021. At the meeting, Mr. Neupane was welcomed by the Executive Board of NATTA and had a short goodwill discourse regarding the recommendations on tourism. During the meeting, there had been discussions on the upcoming Tourism Act, Tourist Bus Terminal, Leave Travel Allowance, Dollar Exchange, participation in national and international Travel Fairs and NATTA's one of the coveted event Buddhist International Travel Mart (BITM). Present in the meeting were Senior Vice President Mr. Binay Basnet, Secretary General Mr. Sudhir Kumar Upadhyay, Treasurer Mr. Kumar Mani Thapaliya, Jt. Treasurer Ms. Yubika Bhandari and Officiating CEO Ms. Shradha Chhetri. Mr. Neupane assured to support the travel trade sector in the progression of tourism in Nepal and showed eagerness to work together with NATTA in the coming days.
Association of Buddhist Tour Operators (ABTO) celebrated its 4th International Convention on December 10-12, 2021, in Bodh Gaya with a three-day conference on the Theme ‘2,566 Years of Buddhism: Its Relevance Today. Representatives from Nepal Tourism Board, NATTA, TAAN and HAN participated in the event. While addressing the event, the delegation from Nepal participating in the event emphasised the formulation of a common action plan to promote religious tourism between Nepal and India that will benefit both countries as they share a centuries-old close bond and similar culture and religion. He emphasised cooperation to promote religious tourism in the countries as both Nepal and India are connected to issues related to Lord Buddha. And it would help with the economic and social development of both the countries. At the convention, experts tabled various working papers and a business-to-business session was also organised during the event. The program was coordinated by Read More
A Joint Meeting with the Executive Board of NATTA and Nepal Airlines Executive Committee was held at Nepal Airlines Office. On the occasion, NATTA also congratulated the newly appointed Executive Chairman of Nepal Airlines Mr. Ubaraj Adhikari. The meeting was a get-together for mutual relation-building and idea-sharing. President of NATTA, Mr. Achyut Guragain, on the meeting, emphasized that the national flag carrier's connectivity should be given priority to make the promotional programs of Nepal a grand success. Mr. Guragain highlighted the importance of a strong national flag carrier to promote Nepal as a tourism destination. He suggested NAC operate services to other tourist generating cities in India and China and long hauls traditional markets like Europe, Japan and Australia. He also focused on aggressive promotion, joint marketing strategy, packaging and expanding reliable domestic services as well. Lastly, Mr. Guragain and Executive Members wrapped up the meeting by highlighting the major Read More
