On January 11, tour operators of Nepal were together at the NATTA Secretariat to discuss several key issues affecting the travel and tourism industry. The main topics of discussion were tour guide remuneration, transportation fare adjustment, heritage site fee increment by government agencies, and the new rule requiring police clearance for managing directors of companies for renewal of NRB permits. We believe such discussions with entrepreneurs will surely pave the way to resolving the challenges.
On 8th January, the President of UFTAA Mr. Sunil Kumar Rumalla visited the Secretariat of NATTA today and held discussions with the Executive Board of NATTA. Recalling the friendly relationship between UFTAA and NATTA for many years both NATTA and UFTAA reminisced about the mutual tourism benefits and welfare. NATTA also submitted some concerns to the President of UFTAA that were raised by NATTA members during the APJC Meeting held in Kathmandu in July to take the lead in addressing these issues. Mr. Sunil Kumar expressed his positive thoughts on tourism potential in Nepal and assured NATTA that he would look into the possibilities of assisting NATTA in whatever way possible in the days to come.
A Joint meeting with the representatives of GDS along with their technical lead, IATA, and APJC Committee Members was organized on 6th January 2023 at NATTA Secretariat to discuss the current ongoing issues, especially the Cyber Security of each Global Distribution System (GDS). Certain issues were discussed on the current state of cyber security for each GDS, threats, and vulnerabilities that the GDSs are facing, measures that have been taken to improve Cyber Security, and plans for future cyber security improvements. Also, there were serious discussions on any relevant industry standards or regulations that apply to the GDSs, as well as any best practices that have been identified for improving cybersecurity in the global travel industry. It was agreed to provide coordination and communication between the GDSs and NATTA members on cyber security matters. GDS's need to have strong Cyber Security measures in place to protect against cyber attacks, as Read More
Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) in coordination with the Nepal Tourism Board is organizing BITM in Nepal to promote Nepal through the BUDDHIST travel mart on 11-13 May 2023, in Lumbini, Nepal. MoCTCA is involved as Chair of the main organizing committee. Nepal Tourism Board is working as an organizing partner, whereas NATTA is working as an implementing partner, together with major tourism-related stakeholders.
The inauguration of the Pokhara Regional International Airport, built in the drop back of the Annapurna Mountain Range, was held on the 1st of January. In a special ceremony held in Pokhara, Hon'ble Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal officially inaugurated the international airport. Deputy Prime and Finance Minister Mr. Bishnu Paudel and stakeholders were also in attendance. Pokhara Metropolitan City declared a public holiday on Sunday to celebrate the inauguration. The government signed a $215.96 million soft loan agreement with China in March 2016 for the construction of the new airport in lake city. NATTA Executive Members also participated in the inaugural flight of Pokhara International Airport (PIA).
Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) completed its 24 years of operation. A program was organized in Kathmandu to mark the 24th anniversary on 31 st December 2022. Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and Chairman of the NTB, Mr. Suresh Adhikari, opinioned that a new strategy was needed for tourism promotion in the changing global environment. On the occasion of the anniversary, the Nepal Association of Tour & Travel Agents (NATTA), Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), Nepal Association of Rafting Agencies (NARA), Nepal India Chamber of Commerce and other organizations were honored who contributed institutionally to revive tourism in Nepal. Similarly, IPP Mr. Achyut Guragain and the President of NATTA Banke Chapter Mr. Shreeram Sigdel received special acknowledgment for their contribution to tourism. At the ceremony, certificates were distributed to the employees working in NTB as excellent employees, and Read More
NATTA expressed its Condolences on the demise of the different personalities joining in their mourning period. NATTA offered a Condolence Letter visiting their residence to the Late Surendra Bahadur Basnet, founder of Buddha Air, Late Hon. Captain Kul Bahadur Gurung Koney, Father of Former NATTA Treasurer Mr. Narayan Prasad Gurung Koney, Late Illa Kumari Gautam Mother of Former NATTA Gandaki Province President Mr. Dilli Prasad Gautam, Late Dropada Devi Upadhyay Mother of Former NATTA Gandaki Province President Mr. Kedarnath Sharma, Late Keshari Bashyal Mother of NATTA Member Mr. Chabi Lal Bashyal (Jharana Travels) . Over the sad times, NATTA expresses its deepest condolences to the bereaved family and prays that the Departed Soul Rest in Peace.
NATTA was invited by Nepal Rastra Bank from the Economic Research Department, Balance of payment and International Finance Division for an Interaction Program on Balance of Payments Statistics on December 28, 2022. Tourism is a major contributor to a country having a strong balance of payments. There is a great interrelationship between the tourism sector and the balance of payments. The significant contribution of international tourism appears on the balance of payments account under the entry of international services as well. Secretary General Mr. Kumar Mani Thapaliya participated in the interaction to speak about the challenges in tourism faced by tourism entrepreneurs in finance and advised NRB to ease the tourism entrepreneurs and adopt the policies that encourage the entrepreneurs to contribute more significantly in foreign currency earning.
NATTA is in full swing in preparation for FITUR 2023. In conjunction with Nepal Tourism Board, NATTA is coordinating Nepal’s participation in FITUR-2023 which is being held from January 18-22 2023 in Madrid, Spain, Nepal will be showcasing its tourism products in one of the coveted Fairs in Europe. In this regard, a Briefing Session with participants of FITUR was held at NATTA Secretariat on 23 rd December 2022. The meeting was held to discuss the details of the Nepal Pavilion in FITUR, the Preparation of the Special Edition of the FITUR Book published by NATTA and certain norms to be applied during FITUR participation. During the session, stalls of participants were allocated by lucky draw. FITUR is a regular event in the annual calendar of NATTA. It is a global meeting point for tourism professionals and the leading trade fair for inbound and outbound tourism markets. NATTA has been Read More
On 22nd December, Thursday, NATTA formally concluded a series of training programs under the Sustainable Tourism for Livelihood Recovery Project (STLRP), a joint venture of UNDP Nepal & Nepal Tourism Board which began from August till December with the goal of re-skilling and upskilling human resources in the hospitality industry. In the context of the global outbreak of Covid-19, the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) started its essential training programs for skilled manpower and enhancing the capacity of the old manpower to re-operate the tourism business of Nepal in all seven provinces with the support of UNDP under the Nepal Tourism Board. The training programs included "Airlines Ticketing", "Tour Product Development", and "Customer Service Training" which were held at Biratnagar of Province-1, Simara of Madhesh Province, Kathmandu of Bagmati Province, Pokhara of Gandaki Province, Butwal of Lumbini Province, and Nepalgunj for Karnali Province and Sudurpaschim Province. This training program benefitted around 400 participants. The event officially started by presenting the Khada to the Chief Guest Read More
On the occasion of the Nepal Sales Mission in Malaysia, NATTA and NTB Executives had the opportunity to have a productive meeting between the executive members of The Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA) with its President Datuk Tan Kok Liang, Vice President Mr. Ganneesh Ramaa and Melaka Chapter Chairman Mr. Goh Hock Gin and NATTA Secretary General Mr. Kumar Mani Thapaliya, and Secretary Ms. Yubika Bhandari at Kuala Lumpur on 17th December 2022. NATTA had a long-standing relationship with MATTA dating back to 2004 and is proud to continue this legacy. NATTA is looking forward to continuing to work with them and strengthening the partnership between our two associations. Dr. Dhananjay Regmi, CEO of NTB played a big part at the meeting, which is a positive sign for the potential for future collaboration. It's important to maintain strong partnerships and relationships with other associations in the tourism Read More
Nepal Association of Tour & Travel Agents (NATTA) in coordination with Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), to promote Nepal as an exotic Himalayan holiday destination in Malaysia organized Nepal Sales Mission 2022 in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, from 16th - 19th December respectively. Nine travel-trade partners from the tourism sectors of Nepal. Nepal Sales Mission kicked –off in Kuala Lumpur on 16th Dec 2022. The program coordinated by Secretary General, Mr. Kumar Mani Thapaliya had the special presence of the Secretary of MoCTCA, Mr. Suresh Adhikari, Chairman of Nepal Airlines, Mr. Ubaraj Adhikari and CEO of Nepal Tourism Board, Dr. Dhananjay Regmi. On the occasion, Chief Guest His Excellency Mr. Dilli Raj Poudel, Ambassador of Nepal to Malaysia participated in the event of Kuala Lumpur and assured full cooperation from the Embassy for any kind of support to strengthen the relation between Nepal and Malaysia. Dr. Dhananjay Regmi, CEO of NTB, Read More
The Association of Buddhist Tour Operators with the support of the Ministry of Tourism, The government of India, successfully organized the 5th International Convention on Buddhist Circuit (ICBC) and International Buddhist Travel Mart (IBTM) 2022 concluded in Kolkata on 12th December in the august presence of the venerable monks, scholars, researchers, travel journalists, Buddhist tour operators and travel practitioners from 10 countries. There were participants from Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, Korea, Bhutan, the United States, Indonesia, and France. President of NATTA, Mr. Ramesh Thapa participated in the events as a Special Guest and presented a Special Presentation about the significance of Buddhist Tourism at large and how the concept of the Buddhist circuit binds the entire larger region of Asia and beyond. And also the mutual relationship between ABTO and NATTA. Likewise, various untapped opportunities were discussed and how country-to-country relations can be enhanced through Buddhist tourist exchange Read More
NATTA granted membership to its applicants as NATTA Members. President Ramesh Thapa handed over the Certificates with related documents. NATTA Executive Board Members also expressed their best wishes to the newly joined members. 1. Destinago Tours & Travels Pvt.Ltd 2. Apoorva Tours & Travels Pvt.Ltd 3. Fly Nepa Travels & Tours Pvt.Ltd 4. Green Line Holidays Pvt.Ltd 5. Guru Travels Pvt.Ltd 6. Mechi Kali Travels & Tours Pvt.Ltd 7. Mega Int'L Tours & Travels Pvt.Ltd 8. Neved Holidays 9. One Go Travel & Tours Pvt.Ltd 10. Royal Travels & Tours Pvt.Ltd 11. Sambat Travels Pvt.Ltd 12. Sitasma Travel & Tours Pvt.Ltd 13. Trips Select Pvt.Ltd 14. Varaman Holidays Pvt.Ltd 15. Yatra Holidays Pvt.Ltd The new members were honoured in the respective Board meetings held at NATTA Secretariat.
The training for the Tour Development Training and Airline Ticketing program involving a total of 30 participants was held in collaboration with ILO and FNCCI in November 2022. With 80 percent of practical and 20 percent theoretical, training started for Tour Product Development Training which also included practical excursions involving Hiking and Excursions in different touristic areas and workplace-based training. Likewise, Airlines Ticketing took place for one Week of Theoretical Classes delivered with the elaboration of the global distribution system (GDS) and the remaining days were work placed based Training. After the completion of training, the Evaluation was executed according to their performance feedback from the trainers and on-the-job training supervisors as well as the attendance of the trainees. The name of the companies supporting placing the participant in training as a trainee for real workplace learning in Kathmandu, Nepal. S.N. Company Name 1. Moon Sun Travels & Tours Read More
On 25 th November, a presentation on Manual for the Tour Development, GDS, and Customer Service including technical and soft skills was presented by Mr. Vinay Shakya under the Sustainable Tourism for Livelihood Project (STLRP). Likewise, in partnership with FNCCI and ILO one more Manual Presentation, as well as an Interaction program at Hotel Moonlight, Thamel on 16th November was held with the officials of FNCCI, ILO, NATTA, and those companies supporting the placement of the trainee for real work experience. There had been an exchange of views concerning the current trend of tourism and suggestions were received for the improvements to be made to the manual. There has been an ever-changing context in the industry of tourism industry following the trends and there is a part to keep ourselves abreast of all the latest developments and help the tourism industry grow efficiently. Keeping this in mind, A Training Manual Read More
A joint meeting was held in NATTA Secretariat on November 23 2022, with NATTA Executive Board and the TURGAN Board. The meeting chaired by NATTA President Mr. Ramesh Thapa had a comprehensive discussion on the concerns about the charges of the Tour Guide. Tourist Guide Association of Nepal (TURGAN) had strongly proposed a hike of a certain percent in Tourist Guide Service charges. At the meeting, NATTA suggested TURGAN to work on the revisions of guide rates and discuss through at the next meeting together with NATTA.
Secretary Ms. Yubika Bhandari participated in the national workshop having a discourse over the final dissemination of learnings and experiences of Parya Sampada organized by UN-Habitat on 15 November 2022. After a years-long project, the Parya Sampada project especially in Bungamati and Pilachhen successfully concluded on 15 November. The project started aiming to welcome tourists and contribute to the social and economic aspects of locals, many local governments of Kathmandu valley are contributing to developing infrastructure mobility, promoting, and preserving the cultural aspects. The national workshop had the evaluation of all the workings and the mechanism for future purposes. NATTA also organized a "Heritage Walk in Bungamati" event last September 2022 in collaboration with NATTA and UN-Habitat in Bungamati on the occasion of World Tourism Day 2022 to assist the Bungamati community and local government in promoting tourism.
On 1 st November, Dr. Philippe Bachimon Professor of Tourism, and Dr. Pierre Derioz, Senior Lecturer for Tourism & Geography called on the Secretariat of NATTA along with their colleague, Mr. Pranil Upadhyay, and held discussions with NATTA President Mr. Ramesh Thapa, IPP Mr. Achyut Guragain Secretary General Mr. Kumar Mani Thapaliya, Secretary Ms. Yubika Bhandari and Executive Member Mr. Parshuram Ghimire on various issues of domestic tourism of Nepal. As they were conducting their studies and keen on exploring working in tandem with NATTA, particularly from the perspective of developing tourism in the country.
As a part of Skill Development Training, the Tour Product Development training program was organized in association with the Sustainable Tourism Development Project (STLRP) Department of Nepal Tourism Board at Nepal Tourism Board, starting from 19th October-22nd October 2022 at Kathmandu, Bagmati Province. This first training was trained by Mr. Vinaya Shakya with more than thirty-five participants. This training is expected to provide a view to the trainee about the practical nature of the itinerary development and pricing strategy depending upon the interest of the customer and make competent to identify, judge, and make decisions as per the need of the clients and available activities. On the final day of the training, representatives from STLRP, NTB, and NATTA deliberated about the importance and requirement of such kinds of training in the industry. There have been different kinds of training scheduled on Tour Product Development, Customer Service, and Airlines Ticketing for Read More
