President Mr. D.B Limbu handed over the NQ Tax Proposal of NATTA to Hon’ble Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Mr. Bhim Acharya on 31st July’14 at his office in MOCTCA late in the afternoon and gave a comprehensive elaboration of the reasons why NATTA should be provided with 5% of the total collection of NQ Tax. Also discussed on the occasion were the agenda of creating provision of issuing TIA Special Entry passes to NATTA Executives besides the amicable solution to be expedited by MOCTCA regarding the Tourist Bus Park in Pokhara. The other members in the delegation were Treasurer Mr. Narayan Koney, CEO Prof,Hari Sarmah and Mr.Pom Narayan Shrestha, President of NATTA Western Regional Association, Pokhara and the Secretary General Mr. Sanjay Kanta Sigdel
In effort to work towards the completion of our pending works, NATTA delegation visited Mr. Bhisma Dhungel, Director of Foreign Currency Exchange Department of Nepal Rastra Bank to get an update on the new monetary policy. Another milestone added to the hard work of NATTA, is the clause 114 of the new Monetary Policy of NRB which allows the outbound tour operators to remit payment to overseas agents based on the invoice received. Below is the extract of the same: Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE !!$= g]kfnL 6«fen÷6';{ sDkgLx?n] g]kfnL gful/snfO{ ljb]z ed0fsf nflu sDkgL cfk}mn] jf ljb]zL PhG;L;Fu ;xsfo{ u/L ljleGg 6"/ Kofs]h ;DaGwL ;]jf laqmL u/]df ljhs (Invoice) adf]lhd lglZrt /sd;Dd 6«fen sDkgLnfO{ ;6xL ;'ljwf lbg] Joj:yf ldnfOg] 5 .
Mr. Shaun Mann, Senior Tourism Specialist along with his country companions Mr. Taneem Ahad and Mr. Sumit Baral called on NATTA Secretariat on 21st July and has discussions with President, Secretary General, Treasurer and CEO. The discussion was held mainly on the problems faced by the association in expanding its activities in other touristic centres like Pokhara, Chitwan and Lumbini. Mr. Shaun Mann expressed about his positive findings in tourism potentials and assured NATTA that he would look into the possibilities of assisting NATTA in whatever way possible in the days to come. NATTA also handed over a copy of the proposal to World Bank representative designed recently by the association for NQ Tax.
A NATTA Delegation led by President Mr. D.B Limbu met Commercial Director of Nepal Airlines Mr. Ram Hari Sharma to apprise him of the problems faced by agents in regard to dealings with Nepal Airlines. The agendas discussed were Deportee, Commisssion, Full Automation System in Booking, Reissue & Revalidate Authority, RA Capping, Domestic Services, Fare Filing. NATTA has also submitted a letter urging the NA commercial director to address the problems cited above at his earliest possible.
Normal 0 false false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} A four-member NATTA delegation comprising of Mr. Ramesh Thapa (Secretary), Mr. Yubaraj Subedi (Coordinator NATTA Domestic Aviation Sub-Committee), Mr. Binay Basnet (Executive Member) and Mr. Hem Raj Bastola (President, NATTA Eastern Regional Association) called on the office of Mr. Umesh Rai, CEO of Yeti Airlines on Thursday, the 17th June and apprised him of the problems faced by domestic ticketing agents. After having heard the complaints put up by the delegates, Mr. Umesh Rai responded very positively and said that he would leave no stone unturned to ease the situation and do all his best to facilitate the agents. He, however, also suggested the NATTA delegation to have a similar meeting Read More
NATTA organized an interactive discussion program on "Restructuring Nepal Tourism Board" at Naxal Banquet on 16th July, 2014 in the afternoon. The program was attended by NATTA Senior Members including Past President Mrs. Ambica Shrestha, Mr. Ram Kaji Koney, NATTA Advisor Mr. B.K. Shrestha, Dr. Ramesh Kunwar and Mr. Shyam Raj Thapaliya, Past CEO of NTB & NATTA Hony. Life Member Mr. Prachanda Man Shrestha, Tourism Veterans Mr. Yogendra Shakya and Mr. Prakash Shrestha. Also present on the occasion were the members of NTB Restructuring Committee formed by GON to recommend Suggestions to the Govt.
The executive board of NATTA has been right from the early days of its assumption of office in the Secretariat initiating to assuage the problem of deportee that has lately become so frequent. NATTA delegates met the DG Department of Immigration, Ambassador of Qatar to Nepal and on last July 3rd it met Jt. Secretary Mr. Laxmi Dhakal of Ministry of Home Affairs. After the meeting NATTA has sent a formal letter of request to MOHA requesting the Ministry to look for the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in evolving an effective joint coordination with the Foreign Ministries of Qatar and other labour market to find an amicable solution.
NATTA Executive Committee had been involved in creating pressure to the concerned authorities of the government right from the early days of the introduction of transport syndicate in Ghasa and surrounding areas on Beni –Jomsom route since the syndicate had forcefully evolved numerous hassles for the pilgrims and other tourists en route to Jomsom and on their way back. NATTA delegates had called on the Minister for Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation Hon'ble Bhim Acharya, Tourism Secretary Mr. Sushil Ghimire and Chief of Tourism Industry Division Mr. Madhusudan Burlakoti and lately Inspector General of Police Mr. Upendra Aryal with letters of complaints and NATTA grievance to ban local transport syndicate prevailing in the above route on different dates showing the cause that the route is mostly frequented by tourists and the ill and unwholesome treatment towards them ought to be stopped immediately. Now since the syndicate system has been Read More
In our continuous effort to find a solution to the problem faced by our members in regard to the frequent cases of Deportees, a NATTA delegation visited Home Ministry for a joint meeting with Mr. Laxmi Prasad Dhakal, Joint Secretary, Home Ministry and Mr. Sharad Chandra Poudel, DG, Immigration Department. NATTA delegation was led by Secretary General, Ms. Mihika Dhakhwa, along with Treasurer, Mr. Narayan Gurung Koney, Executive Members Mr. Binay Basnet, Mr. Chitra Bahadur Gurung and CEO, Prof. Hari Sarmah. NATTA briefed on the financial burden faced by the members due to deportee cases and emphasized on the need to find short-term & long-term solutions. NATTA has already in the past sent a request to the DG, Immigration department, to inform NATTA when a deportee arrives in Kathmandu so that NATTA is able to inform its member on time. However, this has not been very effective and thus NATTA Read More
NATTA has been working on how to make the BSP payment method faster and easier for the IATA accredited members. In the same context, NATTA delegation met with Mr. Neelesh Man Singh Pradhan, CEO of Nepal Clearing House Ltd on June 24.. The outcome of the meeting was very fruitful and informative. Nepal Clearing House Ltd (NCHL) has been established with an objective of automating the process of cheque clearing which was earlier being done manually through NRB. With the introduction of NCHL-ECC (electronic cheque clearing) system, the cheque clearing cycle has become much faster. All cheques are cleared and settled on the same day by 3:30 p.m. provided they are presented before the cut off time of 11 a.m. Cheque presented after the cut off time are cleared and settled only the following day. Moreover, in order to provide faster cheque clearance, there is an additional facility of Read More
NATTA, after having compiled the suggestions from its general members, has sent a list of concrete suggestions to Civil Aviation Authority Nepal (CAAN) in regard to proper utilization of Airport Development Fee (B6 Tax) of Rs. 1000 per passenger flying on international flights effective from 17th July instant. NATTA suggestions to CAAN include the demand to maintain the accounts of the tax collected in a transparent way and get the accounts audited annually and make the same public through media. NATTA has also suggested utilizing the fund collected in sustainable construction of TIA runway and operating TIA round the clock. As NATTA agents would be responsible for collecting the tax, there ought to be representation of NATTA in Airport Infrastructure Development Committee and other committees pertaining to overall development of all airports in the country. NATTA has further suggested that the Fee collected as B6 Tax should be invested Read More
In order to solve IATA related problems faced by IATA accredited NATTA members, NATTA facilitated a joint meeting with IATA officials from India and the Foreign Exchange Management Department of Nepal Rastra Bank on 19th June 2014. Present in the meeting were Mr. Bhisma Dhungana NRB Director of the department, Mr. Amitabh Khosla, Country Director – Nepal & India and Mr. Vinod Malhotra, Branch Manager – Northern India & Nepal from IATA, Mr. D. B. Limbu, NATTA President, Ms. Mihika Dhakhwa, Secretary General & Prof. Hari Sarmah, CEO of NATTA. As an outcome of the meeting, the IATA accredited NATTA members will be able to pay the monthly BSP Link fees & annual IATA accreditation fees in Nepalese currency to IATA in Nepal after IATA submits the required documents to Nepal Rastra Bank.
NATTA delegation consisting of Mr. Shambhu Raj Pathak, First Vice President, Ms. Mihika Dhakhwa, Secretary General & Prof. Hari Sarmah, CEO, visited H. E. Ahmed Zaffim Al Hamar, the Ambassador of Qatar for Nepal on 17th June 2014. NATTA extended their sincere gratitude to His Excellency and to the State of Qatar for the contribution in tourism sector especially through Qatar Airways. Also, discussed in the meeting was the problem faced by the travel fraternity on the deportee cases whereby the travel agents are burdened with paying for the return air ticket of the deported passengers along with heavy penalty imposed by Immigration imposed by port of deportation. NATTA requested the Embassy to help find a solution in minimizing deportee cases from Qatar in consultation with the Immigration Department of Qatar.
NATTA delegation comprising of 1st VP Mr. Shambhu Raj Pathak, Secretary General Ms. Mihika Dhakhwa and CEO Prof. Dr. Hari Sarmah called on the office of Jt. Secretary Mr. Ranjan Krishna Aryal at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation Tuesday, the 17th June and apprised him of the cases of cancellation of company licenses of NATTA members by Tourism Industry Division and urged him to do the needful so that the concerned travel companies could regain their licenses. The meeting was later joined in by Chief of Tourism Industry Division (TID) Jt. Secretary Mr. Madhu Sudan Burlakoti. When approached by NATTA delegates he simply gave his conclusion saying that nothing can be done so radically unless the government brings in certain amendments in the existing law for which it might take quite some time. NATTA delegates emphasized that the travel companies who have been in existence for Read More
NATTA delegation comprising of 1st VP Mr. Shambhu Raj Pathak, Secretary General Ms. Mihika Dhakhwa and CEO Prof. Dr. Hari Sarmah called on the office of Jt. Secretary Mr. Ranjan Krishna Aryal at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation Tuesday, the 17th June and apprised him of the cases of cancellation of company licenses of NATTA members by Tourism Industry Division and urged him to do the needful so that the concerned travel companies could regain their licenses. The meeting was later joined in by Chief of Tourism Industry Division (TID) Jt. Secretary Mr. Madhu Sudan Burlakoti. When approached by NATTA delegates he simply gave his conclusion saying that nothing can be done so radically unless the government brings in certain amendments in the existing law for which it might take quite some time. NATTA delegates emphasized that the travel companies who have been in existence for Read More
The President of NATTA, Mr. D. B. Limbu along with the Secretary General, Ms. Mihika Dhakhwa and President of NATTA Eastern Regional Association, Mr. Hem Raj Bastola visited Mr. Birendra Bahadur Basnet, Managing Director of Buddha Air on 10th June 2014 at his office as a courtesy call. The purpose of the meeting was to enhance and improve on the existing business relationship with the airlines and the travel agents for mutual benefits for both the parties. Also present in the meeting were the senior officials of Buddha Air. The meeting concluded with a positive note on cooperation and mutual support for the betterment of Nepal’s travel and aviation sector as a whole.
A going to be medical partner of NATTA, Grandie International Hospital organized a felicitation program in honor of Everest Summiteer Pemba Norbu Sherpa who very successfully reached the peak of Mt. Everest on 24th May last and displayed the official flag of Grandie Int'l Hospital. On the occasion invited were associations like NATTA, HRA and Mountain Expedition Guide Association inter alia were several important guests. Dr. Ashok Vardhan Chordiya, the CEO of the Hospital welcomed the guests and Engineer Mr. Deepak Kunwar, the Chairman of the Hospital gave away the letter of Felicitation to the Summiteers and thanked the participants for joining the program. Prof. Dr. Hari Sarmah, CEO NATTA speaking on the occasion congratulated the hospital management for having organized such important social event within the premises of the hospital and admired the hospital for providing exclusive medical services to the national and international expeditioners facing sickness in Read More
Normal 0 false false false false EN-US X-NONE NE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} An official delegation comprising of NATTA President Mr. D.B. Limbu, Secretary General Ms. Mihika Dhakhwa, Secretary Mr. Ramesh Thapa and CEO Prof. Hari Sarmah called on the Office of the Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development on 05th June, 2014 in the afternoon and apprised him of NATTA's earlier written request to the Government of Nepal for the setting up of Tourist Bus Terminal in a suitable location in Kathmandu. Secretary Mr. Kishore Thapa has hinted that he had had consultations with Kathmandu Valley Infrastructure Development Authority and Kathmandu Metropolis and is very positive about the outcome. He assured the NATTA delegates that soon a well-facilitated Tourist Bus Terminal would Read More
In response to the issue raised by our valued members in regard to Malaysia Airlines and its policies on HX, TTL and capping blockage, NATTA organized a meeting with Malaysia Airlines along with the two GDS, Galileo & Abacus on 5th June 2014 at NATTA Secretariat. The meeting was mainly held to discuss on how to avoid miscommunications and lack of information between airlines, GDS and the agents so that a sound collaboration exists between all partners for mutual benefits. Both the airlines and the GDS have assured us that they would do their part to educate the agents to avoid any problems in future. NATTA is always available to address any issues pertaining to professional interest of its members and to work towards bringing an amicable solution.
In line to NATTA Executive Committee’s ongoing effort and commitment to provide value to its members, NATTA delegate visited Grande International Hospital on Wednesday, the 4th June 2014 for an inspection and a meeting on the possibility of affiliation between NATTA and Grande International Hospital. The infrastructure, cleanliness, services and facilities of the hospital was of international standard and was very impressive. NATTA will soon be signing an MOU with Grande International Hospital by which the NATTA members will enjoy an attractive discount on the medical services provided by the hospital. The hospital shall act as a Medical Partner of NATTA and support us in any kind of healthcare issues organized by us such as health camp, lectures related to health issues etc. The aim of this forthcoming affiliation is to bring much needed health awareness in our members and at the same time provide them with attractive Read More
