Himalayan Travel Mart 2019 – a popular B2B platform for business , tourism promotion
By Ramesh Tiwari / TBN —
Kathmandu, June 9 – Travel professionals and bloggers participating in the 3rd Himalayan Travel Mart 2019 (HTM 2019) have emphasized on concerted efforts for tourism development keeping in view the new travel trends emerging in the world tourism industry in recent years.
Various speakers in their presentations urged for joint efforts to achieve the goals of responsible and sustainable tourism development.
“The Himalayas provide natural cooling system to the earth and are sources of water to recharge other parts of the world, “Prime Minister KP Oli said, while inaugurating the 3rd Himalayan Travel Mart here on June 6.
He urged the international community to invest in the tourism development of Nepal.
On the occasion State Minister for Culture , Tourism and Civil Aviation Dhan Bahadur Budha said that the HTM 2019 would contribute to make the Visit Nepal Year 2020 a success. VNY 2020 aims to welcome 2 million tourists in the country.
Secretary for Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Mohan Krishna Sapkota, PATA vice Chairman Wong Soon Hwa, and Chairman of PATA Nepal Chapter Sunil Shakya highlighted on the importance of HMT and tourism products in the inauguration ceremony of the mart.
“Himalayan Travel Mart will establish new avenues for the promotion and marketing of Nepal’s tourism in the global market establishing Nepal as “Gateway to Himalaya”, CEO of Nepal Tourism Board Deepak Raj Joshi said.
‘HTM has created an unparalleled platform not only for the Himalayan tourism industry but also for the global tourism fraternity facilitating for networking, valuable insights and business opportunities , “ Sunil Shakya , Chairman of PATA Nepal Chapter opined.
Spirit of the Himalayas
Various speakers during the conference themed ‘spirit of the Himalayas ‘stressed on promoting Nepal as an adventure destination to attract high-end tourists.
Renowned mountaineer and first Briton to climb Mt. Everest Doug Scott dwelt on preservation of Himalayas and minimizing negative impacts of mass tourism in his keynote address.
Similarly, Ms. Noire Quintos and Khem Lakai highlighted on adventure travel trends and hospitality education in the conference.
Venerable Burin Thitakusalo , Vidyadhara Acharya Mahayogi-Sridhar Rana Rinpoche and L.P.Bhanu Sharma spoke on different aspects of spiritual tourism in the plenary session moderated by MD of PATA Foundation Ms. Halona Padiachy.
Tourism crisis management expert Dr. Bert Van Walbeek presented a paper on emotional intelligence and tourism in Nepal.
Likewise, distinguished personalities Mr. Galeo Saintz , Ms. Nancy Rivards , Sudha Sharma , Ms. Kelley Louise and Dr. Joyce Azzam stressed on responsible and sustainable tourism development in the session moderated by former secretary at Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Dipendra Purush Dhakal.
Ms. Janicke Hansen, Ms. Lydia Yang and William Vazquez spoke on digital transformation and new trends of tourism and hospitality in a session moderated by Paul Pruangkarn , Director of PATA International.
International Travel Bloggers and Media Conference
A total of 38 international travel bloggers, influencers and media delegates participated in the International Travel Bloggers and Media Conference organized during the 3rd Himalayan Travel Mart.
Travel blogger Cez Krol presented a paper on Travel Brands and Adventure Travel Bloggers/influencers. He suggested on networking and using digital platform for the promotion of tourism products.
Noted speakers Ms. Noire Quintos , Ms. Janicke Hansen and Lex Limbu shed light on using social media for the development of tourism industry and promotion of destinations in a session moderated by Sudhan Subedi , senior officer of Nepal Tourism Board.
General secretary of PATA Nepal Chapter Bibhuti Chand Thakur urged the travel bloggers to write their experiences in Nepal.
Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign
On the occasion, Visit Nepal Year (VNY) 2020 secretariat organized a media briefing for VNY campaign to be launched next year to welcome 2 million tourists to Nepal.
National coordinator of the ‘Visit Nepal 2020’ tourism promotional campaign Suraj Vaidya highlighted on round the year events to attract high-end tourists and sustainable development of tourism. He urged all the stakeholders to work together for success of VNY 2020.
The government declared 2020 as the Visit Nepal year with a target to achieve 2 million arrivals and daily spend of over $ 75.
Nepal received 1,173,072 international tourists excluding overland travelers in 2018.The top tourist arrivals are from India, China, Sri Lanka, USA and UK.
Ms. Nandani Lahe Thapa of Nepal Tourism Board highlighted on the overall conclusion of the event and extended gratitude to all the associations.
Suresh Singh Budal, CEO of PATA Nepal Chapter, expressed commitment of the Chapter to upgrade quality of the events in the next editions of Himalayan Travel Mart.
Buyers and sellers meet
Besides, buyers and sellers representing different countries promoted their business though mutual interaction, business and B2B networking sessions on June 8-9. This Business to Business (B2B) mart offers a unique platform for marketing and promotion of tourism products and services.
Around 700 delegates from 41 countries including 140 international guests participated at the 3rd series of Himalayan Travel Mart 2019.
The first two editions of Himalayan Travel Mart in the year 2017 and 2018 attracted the participation of 225 foreign delegates from 53 different countries and 170 foreign delegates from 36 countries respectively.
PATA Nepal Chapter in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Nepal Tourism Board, PATA International, Nepal Airlines Corporation and other prominent tourism associations organized the 3rd Himalayan Travel Mart 2019.
June 9, 2019
Photos : Travel BizNews
