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
A Debriefing meeting of the delegates who participated in the ATF Fair 2022 at Dhaka, Bangladesh starting from 29th September–1st October was held at Black Pepper Restaurant, Jhamsikhel, Kathmandu in the afternoon, of 21st October 2022. The participants expressed their appreciation to NATTA along with Coordinator Mr. Pramod Dahal and Sub Coordinator Executive Member Ms. Shradha Joshi for the successful coordination of Nepal's participation in the ATF Fair. At the meeting, Secretary Ms. Yubika Bhandari in regard to publication materials also suggested NTB to look after the digitalization and prepare in the local language of a destination of the promotion. Likewise hiring of non-travel agents as PR, and increasing the size of stalls in promotional events were also discussed during the debriefing. With more than 15 Nepalese tourism stakeholders NATTA organized the participation in the Fair. At the conclusion of the ATF Debriefing, Coordinator Mr. Pramod Dahal thanked NTB, the Embassy Read More
To commence the month-long Training on Tour Product Development and Airlines ticketing in association with the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) for workplace-based training at NATTA Secretariat, Kathmandu there had been a call for interested applicants via a newspaper. Several participants had been selected for the Interview. Shortlisted candidates were interviewed on 18th October for Tour Product Development and on 19th October for Airlines Ticketing. As short-term workplace-based Skill Training participants will be recruited as Interns in a travel agency as their practical training after their theoretical course. After the completion of the training, the trainees will also be provided Certificates of Participation. Nepal Association of Tour & Travel Agents (NATTA) signed an MOU with the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) for workplace-based training for 30 participants for Tour Product Read More
To be well prepared for the 2nd General Assembly of IMTA, the Council Meeting on the Term Change of International Mountain Tourism Alliance (IMTA) was held via Zoom on 18 October to deliberate on the Program of the 2nd General Assembly of the International Mountain Tourism Alliance, the Leadership of the 2nd Term of Office, the Statutes and the Measures for the Management of the Group Standards of the International Mountain Tourism Alliance. Following the Statutes, each term of office of IMTA shall be four years. The first term should have been changed in August 2021 but failed to be changed as scheduled due to the global spread of COVID-19 and control measures. After the survey and evaluation, the proposal for postponing the term change was submitted to the Council for deliberation and approval and reported to the competent department. The 2nd General Assembly and Council Meeting of IMTA are Read More
NATTA in partnership with Nepal Tourism Board successfully exhibited Nepal at the 9th Asian Tourism Fair, Dhaka at International Convention City, Bashundhara, Dhaka, Bangladesh. NATTA coordinated with ten different stakeholder companies; hotels and travel companies from the tourism industry to participate in ATF. The three days long Fair September 29 to October 1, was inaugurated by the Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism at the International Convention Center Bashundhara (ICCB) in the capital, Mokammel Hossain. The ninth edition of the fair drew widespread attention from people as it was organised after a gap of two years. The fair was held with the overall cooperation of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, Bangladesh Tourism Corporation and Bangladesh Tourism Board in the organization of Tourism Bichitra. This year Nepal remained a Prime partner country throughout the Fair. Eight countries participated in this year’s fair. Various tourism organizations from Read More
Nepal - Bangladesh Friendship Society in association with South Asia Business Partnership organized a program celebrating the 43rd World Tourism Day on September 29, 2022. Eastern Nepal has launched Wednesday to boost bilateral relations between the two countries. Mr. Khagaraj Adhikari, Former Home Minister of Nepal was present as the chief guest at the program of the Nepal-Bangladesh Friendship Society organized in Hotel Marshyangdi. Likewise, the President of several tourism associations were present as Special Guests. At the event, NATTA President Mr. Ramesh Thapa on the occasion highlighted the further expansion of bilateral relations, especially in the field of tourism and its promotional programs organised in Bangladesh and Nepal. The program emphasized the contribution to further promoting the relations and more interactions between Bangladesh and Nepal and working together for facing the common challenges for the benefit of the people.
