NTY 2011 countdown begins

The countdown to Nepal Tourism Year 2011 began on October 7 with 100 days remaining for the big event. The campaign to bring one million tourists during 2011 started the countdown with a clean-up programme.

Although there has not been adequate work in infrastructure and international promotion to bring such a large number of tourists, a noble move was realized on the eve of the campaign to re-establish the country’s brand image “Naturally Nepal, Once is Not Enough”.

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal along with top government officials took part in a cleaning programme at Durbar Square (a World Heritage Site) in Kathmandu.

“We can’t think of developing any big projects within three months, however, a major step we are implementing without any spending is the cleaning campaign,” said Kishore Thapa, secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation. Thapa said that from east to west and south to north, all land points would be kept clean and urged all the people to support the move.

“The campaign not only aims to celebrate 2011 as a big year, but it is also to develop a road ahead for the envisaged vision Nepal has kept for 2020,” said Prachanda Man Shrestha, chief executive officer of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) addressing a programme at Narayanhiti Museum to mark the 100-day countdown.

He said that Nepal had been established as a premier holiday destination. The increased number of airlines, investment mobilization in hotels, aviation and different other tourism products are a positive indication for the country that has started to move towards socio-economic transformation.

On the same occasion, Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Sharat Singh Bhandari said that government had given priority to five major works to make the NTY 2011 a success. Of which, enhancing Tribhuvan International Airport capacity and facility has been given top priority. “A specific team has been deputed for the programme at TIA,” said Bhandari.

According to the NTY 2011 programme implementation sub-committee, about 75 percent of the runway at TIA has been completed. There are now 1,000 trolleys and visitor’s desk for passengers and TIA committee to form 24-hour airport operation manpower. Currently, there are 27 international airlines serving Nepal.

The second priority is to make the hassle free tourist movement. During the programme, top security officials also promised to make better improvement and urged people to support the police administration. The third priority is to manage the taxis at TIA. According to Bhandari, the fourth priority is to diversify tourists to different village areas to experience rural tradition. The objective of NTY 2011 is also to diversify 30-40 percent of the total arrivals to new areas and destinations. The final priority of the government is to make the community and stakeholders realize that “We are together for tourism”.

The tourist arrivals by air in the country, as of September, has jumped by 20.6 percent to 41,331 from 34,281 during the same month last year. In the third quarter of the current year, the growth has been recorded at 40 percent to 266,988 as against 189,566 in the same period last year.

SpiceJet commence flight to Kathmandu

SpiceJet, India’s most preferred low fare airline, announced the commencement of its international operations with its first flights that connect Delhi and Chennai with Kathmandu and Colombo. SpiceJet flagged off its first international flight from Delhi to Kathmandu, Nepal on October 7, 2010. This will be followed shortly by the first flight from Chennai to Colombo, Sri Lanka on October 9, 2010. These flights will mark SpiceJet’s venture into the international skies. Base fare for the New Delhi- Kathmandu route begins from Rs. 1499(PSF, UDF, fuel charges & Govt. taxes extra). SpiceJet will fly its New Generation Boeing 737-800 (189 seater aircraft) on its newly added international routes. Fares being offered by SpiceJet on the Chennai-Colombo and Delhi-Kathmandu routes are arguably the most competitive in the industry. Announcing this development, Kishore Gupta, Director, SpiceJet Limited said, "Since the inception of SpiceJet, our goal has been to identify the needs of our passengers and try to fill gaps in connectivity. Driven by the confidence vested in us by our stakeholders and their encouragement over the past 5 years, we are now excited to begin this new chapter in the success story of SpiceJet." "Near neighbours of India; Sri Lanka and Nepal have much in common; fascinating histories, colourful cultures and stunning scenery. Connecting Colombo and Kathmandu from India further strengthens our relationship and enables the passengers to explore these destinations of choice with India’s most preferred airline at the most fascinating fares. We are delighted to welcome Colombo and Kathmandu as a part of our new global network, and look forward to extending our hospitality to our passengers in this new phase of growth," adds Samyukth Sridharan, Chief Commercial Officer, SpiceJet Limited.

Nepal participates BTTF in Dhaka

Nepal Tourism Board in partnership with four Nepalese private travel trade companies, organized participation in Bangladesh Travel and Tourism Fair ( BTTF) 2010, in Dhaka successfully from 30 September -2 October 2010. GMG airlines was the partner airlines.

BTTF is one of the Bangladeshs biggest travel and tourism exhibitions organized annually in Dhaka by Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB). The show exhibited more than 170 exhibitors from 10 countries of Asia and South East Asia.. The Show also offered access to expert advice, domestic and international tour operators, value-prices vacation packages and show-only discounts.

Nepal's stall designed and decorated beautifully with natural, cultural and adventure attractions attracted a huge number of public and trade visitors during the Fair. Nepal's stall at the fair became an ideal platform to generate more business for Nepalese tourism entrepreneurs.

Nepal got an overwhelming response from the visitors during the fair. The Nepal stall fully emphasized the promotion of the upcoming Nepal Tourism Year 2011 campaign. The campaign succeeded in getting attention from the Media as well as the visitors. Some of the online travel websites have assured the coverage of Nepal emphasizing the NTY2011 Campaign in their respective websites.

Most of the visitors were quite updated about Nepal and they queried mostly about Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan, Nagarkot, Casino Packages and culture tours besides travel season and connectivity. They showed due interest in the NTY 2011 and asked if the Government or private sectors had any special packages or incentives for travelers during that period.

Nepal also actively participated in the seminar entitled Regional Cooperation Through Tourism organized by TOAB where delegated from NTB and Nepal Association of Tour & Travel Agents (NATTA) exchanged the perspectives of Nepal on regional cooperation in promoting SAARC countries as amazing destination in the source markets. Nepal also informed the delegates present there about NTY2011 as special tourism promotional campaign launched by the government of Nepal.

Speaking on the closing ceremony of BTTF on October 2, 2010, Mr. Rohini Prasad Khanal, Senior Officer Tourism Marketing and Promotion briefed the delegates from different countries including Bangladesh about the amazing and exotic tourism products and services Nepal has to offer and extended open invitation to them to visit Nepal in the year 2011 when Nepal is celebrating NTY 2011.

Bangladesh is the emerging market for Nepals tourism. More than 15 thousands Bangladeshi tourists come to Nepal every year for travelling. The four participating companies were: Kundalini Travels, Mountain Adventure Trekking, Royal Rose Holiday Tours, and Manakamana Travels. Mr. Nabin Pokharel and Mr. Rohini Prasad Khanal from NTB led the Nepal delegation at the fair.

Nepal is connected with Dhaka by three airlines: GMG Airlines, Biman Bangladesh & United Airlines. This apart, Bangladeshi tourist come to Nepal via land route through India from Kakarvitta entry point from Eastern Nepal.

In this Issue :

NTY 2011 countdown begins

SpiceJet commence flight to Kathmandu

Nepal participates BTTF in Dhaka

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