Nepal's first time participation in Nordic Travel Fair MATKA 2008

Nepal Tourism Board along with four Nepalese private travel companies namely Mountain Adventure Trekking, Snowland Travel and Tours, Makalu Adventure and Sahara Worldwide Travels and Tours actively participated for the first time in Nordic Travel Fair Matka 2008, the biggest travel event in Nordic and Baltic region, held from January 17 to 20, 2008 in Helsinki, Finland. Inaugurated by Dr. Paavo Vayrynen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Government of Finland, the fair had good response from the tour operators and professionals on the first day specially those from nearby Estonia and St. Petersberg. The next three days were aimed at consumers, considering the trend of the Finnish travelers who normally shop around for the holiday destinations during winter. There were 1,100 exhibitors from 77 countries occupying the space of 16,000 sq. meters. Visited by 9178 tour operators and 85000 consumers, the fair showed an encouraging prospect of Nepalese tourism in Finnish as well as North European market. A long feature article on Himalayas of Nepal and cultural heritage in the MATKA issue of Panorama magazine, written and edited by Mr. Reijo Harkonen, Honorary PRR for NTB, fetched good interest from quite a number of visitors in the Fair. In addition to that, another beautiful article published in "Helsingin Sanomat"- popular daily newspaper with the circulation of 450,000 - on the third day of the fair, January 19, 2008 about Annapurna trekking made the visitors even more curious about Nepal in general and trekking in particular. Inquiries about Nepal by the visitors were tremendous. According to the response of the visitors, they seemed more interested in trekking. Yet, other natural and cultural products have not lost any charm among the Finnish people. There are more than 10 Nepalese Restaurants, very much well known among the locals, in Helsinki. Their observation about the Finnish people's interest about Nepal shows a great hope and prospect of the growth of Nepalese tourism in Finland. In fact, they can be very good platforms to increase the awareness about Nepal's diverse tourism attractions. The active Nepali diaspora in Finland have played a significant role in generating public awareness about Nepal and cultivating interests in them to visit Nepal. Finland's national carrier Finn Air has published special fares for Helsinki/Delhi & Helsinki/Mumbai sectors for MATKA 2008 making it "Fast & Easy" travel to Nepal as well. Very soon they are going to come out with a special Pro Rata basis fare for Helsinki/KTM via Delhi. This definitely is a positive sign that supports NTB's first ever participation in Finland along with the Nepalese travel trade.   Discussion on New Tourism Campaign held In order to capitalise the positive affect shown by the tourist arrivals in 2007, a meeting was organised on January 6, 2008 at the Ministry of for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation under the chairmanship of Hon'ble Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Mr. Prithvi Subba Gurung to explore the new avenue for tourism industry in the changed context of Nepal. The meeting was attended by the president of various travel trade associations and high government officials. In the meeting various issues were discussed pertaining to tourism infrastructure, safety and security of tourists and celebrating special campaign for tourism. It was also discussed in the meeting urging the government to provide high priority to the tourism and tourism related campaign. Addressing the meeting Minister Gurung said that the government would announce the tourism campaign after doing proper homework in appropriate time. He also stressed there should be the synergy between tourism and overall development of the country. Analyzing the pros and cons of tourism campaign, the Secretary of Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Mr. Leela Mani Poudel requested all tourism related associations to come up with proper homework for new tourism campaign for further discussion. Sharing his experience of the past, Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Tourism Board Mr. Prachanda Man Shrestha said that it is necessary to imbibe the target, objectives and results of Visit Nepal Year '98 while declaring the new tourism campaign setting new indicators for its successful implementation.   TIMS to be implemented from January 1 An agreement has been signed between Nepal Tourism Board(NTB) and Trekking Agents Association of Nepal(TAAN) with an objective of maintaining the database of trekkers and discouraging illegal operation in trekking business to implement the Trekkers' Information Management System (TIMS) from 1st January 2008. As per the provision, all trekkers should have the valid TIMS Certificate that is distributed free of charge by the TIMS counters of NTB and TAAN. Nepal Tourism Board will provide TIMS Certificate free of cost to both trekkers who wish to go to trekking through government registered trekking companies and individual trekkers(FIT). As per agreement, TAAN would use the offices of all its member agents as TIMS Counter. Trekking agencies that aren't affiliated with TAAN, however, have to get TIMS certificates from either TAAN Secretariat or NTB. Similarly, TAAN's Pokhara Chapter member agencies of TAAN Pokhara Chapter would distribute TIMS Certificate in Pokhara. It is believed that the database will become useful to rescue the trekkers during the emergencies and it will also help us to ascertain the number of trekkers in a particular trekking route. TIMS Certificate can be obtained from NTB Office, Bhrikutimandap, NTB Office Pokhara, Belahia-Bhairahawa, Gadda Chauki- Mahendranagar, Kakarvitta and other designated counters by NTB in future.   Nepal participated TTAA International Travel Fair Nepal Tourism Board in coordination with Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), Nepal Airlines Corporation and Nepalese Travel Trade participated in the TTAA International Travel Fair held at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, Bangkok, Thailand. The fair was organized from February 28 to March 2, 2008 by Thai Travel Agents' Association and featured 300-plus stalls representing NT0s, travel agencies, Airlines and others. The Nepal stall carried twin themes of Spiritual Tourism (Lumbini and Buddhism in particular) and Leisure and Adventure (Pokhara and adventure-based activities). The participating companies in Nepal stall were Highlander Trekking & Expeditions and Zenith Experience Travel Services. The representatives of Marketing of Sustainable Tourism (MAST – Nepal) project also participated in the fair. The fair is estimated to have visited by 200000 plus general public. A fair deal of awareness and interest on Nepal already existed amongst many of the visitors, with Lumbini and Mount Everest being the icons mostly contributing to this awareness. NTB, amongst the themes identified by its brand campaign "Unleash Yourself ..Naturally Nepal – Once Is Not Enough," has been focusing on South East Asian Markets in general and Thailand in particular with various Lifetime Experiences and Amazing Adventure packages. However, security and mobility concerns still remain a priority issue to the Thais seeking to travel here. There were many queries on accessibility options too. Though there were only two private sector entities represented in the Nepal Stall, they were visibly optimistic of generating further sales out of this participation. At the same time, there is a need for Nepal specialist tour operators based in Thailand to actively participate in TTAA offering special offers for consumers. The fair contributed to propagating destination awareness further amongst the consumers and for the private sector agencies in forging business alliances with the Bangkok based tour operators. In conjunction with the fair, Nepalese embassy in cooperation with Nepal Tourism Board, Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents and Nepal Airlines Corporation organized a Nepal Evening on 28th February 2008 with a view to interact with the local travel trade entrepreneurs and media. In the program attended by the local travel trade, media personnel and Nepalese based in Bangkok, renowned mountaineer Mr. Ang Rita Sherpa, who has summited Mt. Everest ten times without resorting to bottled oxygen, was felicitated. An audio-visual presentation on Tourism in Nepal was appreciated by all present. Likewise, a comprehensive documentary on Mr. Ang Rita Sherpa was also screened and succeeded in generating rave reviews.   "Nepal Tourism" Fascinates Members of the European Parliament Organized by the Nepal Embassy- Brussels and facilitated by the Friends of Nepal Group in the European Parliament, "The Nepal for all Seasons" program was held on 03 March 2008 at the main parliament building of the European Union in the city of Brussels, Belgium. This was a first ever event of Nepal Tourism Board organized in this premise. The head of the Nepal delegation, Mr. Leela Mani Paudyal, Secretary of the Ministry of Culture Tourism and Civil Aviation welcomed the Members of the European Parliament and other dignitaries attending the program. In his brief address, Secretary Paudyal appraised the guests about the current political situation in the country and lauded the European Parliament and European Union for their support and cooperation received during the democratic movement followed by the peace process of Nepal. The Secretary expressed hope that the European Parliament would continue to extend its support to assist in the building of a prosperous, harmonious and inclusive Nepal. He urged European friends to help promote tourism in Nepal which he claimed would help sustaining peace by creating employment opportunities in a relatively short period of time. The chief guest, Mrs. Neena Gill, MEP, and chairperson, Friends of Nepal in European Parliament expressed great happiness at the positive developments in Nepal and was confident that with peace and stability tourism will see great progress. Presenting Naturally Nepal - Nepal for all Seasons Ms Nandini Lahe Thapa, Director of NTB highlighted the major tourism attractions of Nepal and explained the vital role played by the tourism in Nepal's economy. The program was perceived as thoroughly enjoyed by the attending dignitaries. More than a dozen senior members of European parliament, Director and Deputy Director of South Asia division of European commission, journalists and high ranking officials from both the European Parliament and Commission were present on the occasion. Ambassador (designate) of Nepal to European Union, Mr. Pramesh K Hamal and other officials from the Embassy were also present on the occasion. The Friends of Nepal Group in European Parliament is a platform of members of European parliament representing different countries to share ideas and information and to promote the larger interest of Nepal and the European Union.