The National Industrial Fair and Tourism Festival will be held in Siddhartha Nagar of Rupandhehi district from Feb. 5-14.

The festival will be inaugurated by Unified CPN (Maoist) chairman Puspa Kamal Dhahal on Feb. 4. Festival organizers said a rally will be taken out on the inauguration day. The rally will feature traditional dresses of various communities of the country and showcase other cultural performances and events.

This festival is very different from the previous such industrial festivals in that it is not only for promoting trade and tourism, but also to encourage fellow feeling among the business persons and local people, the organizers said.

The festival will also showcase different home-made products from the hilly and Terai regions including garments, arts, pashmina, handicraft etc. There will also be a photo exhibition of various parts of the country like Chitwan and Lumbini, which, the organizers believe, will help in promoting internal tourism.

Khagendra Thapa, who is vying for the title of world's smallest man, will also participate in the festival and is expected to be a major crowd-puller.

Source: nepalnews.com

KATHMANDU: PATA Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference and Mart 2010 got its official launch here yesterday. Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), with support of PATA Nepal, inaugurated the programme that will run till February 5. 

Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal said, “Along with the peace process, government is concerned about creating an investment friendly environment to encourage investment in tourism, infrastructure and hydropower sectors.” 

Nepal Tourism Year 2011, the year when the country will welcome a million tourists from the world over, would be vital in selling Nepal’s attractions in the international market, said Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), Sharat Singh Bhandari 

According to PATA chief executive officer Greg Duffel, tourism sector is a significant contributor to GDP and creator of jobs. Malaysian representative Dr Victory said, “During the recession in Malaysia tourist arrival plunged to 5.5 million in 1995 but with the government’s concern and identification of potential of tourism sector in 2005 the arrival number marked 22.1 million with Singapore as the 11th tourist destination.” He said Malaysia launched several promotional campaigns with different taglines for different destinations which also included one million free tickets to Malaysia. Nepal should also work on the issues of connectivity, service sector and infrastructure. 

As a part of the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 campaign, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) recently held an interaction with the distinguished media and travel trade personalities of Bengluru, India.

The programme was organized coinciding with the Travel Trade Fair, TTF-OTM Bengluru organized from 15th to 17th January, 2010, a press release issued by NTB stated.

 Addressing the gathering, Nandini Lahe Thapa, Director-Tourism Marketing and Promotion, briefed about Nepal Tourism Year (NTY) – 2011 campaign and the latest updates on the tourism products of special interest for the South Indian travelers.

Thapa further informed, "Although the NTY-2011 campaign is being promoted in all the tourist generating markets globally, Nepal’s special focus is on the valued Indian Market."

The travel trade industry in Nepal will be providing special packages and discounts targeting the Indian Market during the NTY-2011."

KATHMANDU: Integration of the Nepal Army (NA) and the UCPN-Maoist People’s Liberation Army (PLA) can be a plus point in tourism promotion for Nepal Tourism Year (NTY) 2011, said former tourism minister Hisila Yami. 

Speaking at a discussion programme of former tourism ministers, Yami insisted on 

the promotion of cultural identity, public discussion on NTY 2011 and the PLA’s integration into the Nepal Army adding that the integration could be utilised as a political product for tourism promotion. 

According to Yami, though the commitment paper presented to former ministers representing different political parties has points regarding no strikes and bandhs during Nepal Tourism Year 2011 the possibility of strikes and bandhs cannot be ruled out even though these do not affect the tourism sector. 

NTY programme implementation committee national coordinator Yogendra Shakya during the discussion programme on NTY 2011 and its official launch, presented the commitment paper to the former tourism ministers for the commitment from their respective party leader to avoid strike and bands to the tourism sector as a whole. 

Former tourism minister Yankila Sherpa insisted on developing a special policy that would be favourable to tourists arriving in Nepal. 

Sherpa also mentioned Nepal as being an expensive tourist destination. Meanwhile, Kuber Sharma suggested building a 90-metre high Buddha statue at Lumbini and making air connection between Bodh Gaya and Lumbini. 

KATHMANDU: Nepal enjoyed sustained positive growth in international visitor arrivals since June 2009 and the trend continues even in 2010. 

Figures released by Immigration Office, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), show that visitor arrivals in January 2010, compared to last January, increased by 18.8 per cent to 26,071.

Every region showed positive growth in January 2010. India recorded positive growth of 9.9 per cent. In the SAARC region, arrivals from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka registered positive growth by 43.3, 37.3 and 9.9 per cent, respectively. In aggregate, the South Asian segment registered a positive growth of 15.6 per cent.

Arrivals from Asia (other than South Asia) also showed positive growth in aggregate but countrywise the region showed mixed performance. Arrivals from Japan, Malaysia and South Korea had positive growth by 19.5, 57.2 and 87.2 per cent, respectively. However, China, Thailand and Singapore had negative growth of 18.3, 25.1 and 3.2 per cent, respectively. 

Overall positive growth of 34.9 per cent showed from European markets with arrivals from major markets such as the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland up by 12.6, 17, 25.8, 40.9, 92.2, 62.4 and 5.8 per cent, respectively. 

Arrivals from Australia, Canada and the USA also showed good growth of 17.5, 69.2 and 10.2 per cent, respectively. 

This sustained positive growth in tourist arrivals will undoubtedly be effective in turning Nepal Tourism Year 2011 into a grand success.

Source: The Himalayan Times

BHAKTAPUR, JAN 25, 2010 -  A village trekking walk has been launched in Nagarkot with a view to drawing more tourists to the tourist hill in Bhaktapur district. 

The Nagarkot Naldum Tourism Development Committee has launched a long distance village trekking for the tourists to make the upcoming Nepal Tourism Year 2011 a success. 

The five-hour trekking plan included Namdum, Naya Gaun, Baluwa Pati, Deupur, Gurung Gaun, Gairi Gaun, Dhar Gaun, Rohini Bhanjyang, Nala Tukucha, Ghimire Gaun, Bakhri Gaun, Arko Gairi Gaun, Bedi Tole, Danda Tole, Lama Tole, Naya Gaun and Jalpadevi, according to chairman of the committee and owner of Hotel Nibha Shyam Kayastha. 

Likewise, the committee has also launched a village walk that includes visit to Chamero Gufa, different temples, schools, Suntalaghari, Panchakanya Temple and Lamatar Monastery in Naldum village. 

Committee secretary and hotelier Dipak Lamichhane said the new services have generated employment for a few tourist guides. He said 50-70 tourists have been chosen to go for a village walk since the service was launched. 

Source: Kantipur Online

KATHMANDU, NOV 10 - Nepal will be participating in World Expo 2010, the largest of its kind ever held, from May 1 to 31 October 2010 in Shanghai, China with the theme "Tales of Kathmandu City." 

"We will be participating very effectively in World Expo 2010 as this will also be the biggest platform for us to exhibit the country's potentialities," said Amrit Shakya, chairman of the Implementing Experts Group (IEG), the Nepalis official organiser appointed by the government for the expo.

Addressing a press meet in the capital on Monday, Shakya said that preparations for the expo were being carried out aggressively. The IEG is building a special Nepal Pavilion for the expo spread over 4,000 sq m reflecting the country's traditional architectural beauty.