7th SAARC ENT congress kicks off in Nepal

Nepali President Ram Baran Yadav inaugurated the 7th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) ENT Congress on May 25, 2011. The three-day congress was organized with the objective of exploring ways to transfer new technologies and knowledge of ENT ( ear, nose, throat) doctors in the developed countries to those in the developing countries

Some 650 doctors from 14 countries including SAARC countries, the United States, Britain, Thailand, Japan and Singapore took part in the congress organized bythe Society of Otolaryngologists of Nepal.

New Chairman at NTB

Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) welcomed its new Chairman Dr. Ganesh Raj Joshi, newly appointed Secretary at Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation on May 24, 2011. Mr. Prachanda Man Shrestha, CEO, NTB briefed him on tourism promotion endeavors being carried by NTB. Speaking on the program Dr. Joshi expressed the urge of an hour to meet the objective of NTY 2011 and said NTB had pivotal role to play.

Budget Interaction Programme in Eastern Region

Nepal Tourism Board organized a budget interaction programme for annual budget 2068/69, at Eastern Region (Biratnagar, Ilam, Birtamod and Hile,) amidst the tourism entrepreneurs, stakeholders, local governing bodies, etc. During the course of budget interaction, there was general consensus that the Eastern Region holds lots of potentialities for tourism and this requires huge investment in building tourism infrastructure and attraction. Also, it was agreed upon that tourism promotion through border town sales mission in India, West Bengal & Bihar in particular can help in increasing tourists inflow from India. Furthermore, by establishing information cum immigration counter both at Rani and Jogbani can give boost to tourism industry. New tourism products for the region were proposed during the course of budget interaction. The team was led by Mr. Rewat Bhadhur Thapa, Member-Executive Committee and assisted by Mr. Sunil Sharma, Manager – Research, Planning and Monitoring; and Mr. Mani Raj Lamichhane, Manager – Tourism Products and Resources Development.

Felicitation of civil servants on ascending Mt. Everest

Members of "Nepal Civil Servants' 1st Everest Expedition 2011" who successfully ascended Mt. Everest (also Qomolangma) were felicitated in capital Kathmandu amid a program on May 24, 2011.

The members who returned back after a courageous victory were felicitated amid a special program preceded by a press conference. A total of 24 members of the expedition including nine civil servants and 15 Sherpa guides have ascended the world's highest peak Mt. Everest(also called Mt. Qomolangma) (848 meters) by the dawn of May 18. The team left Camp IV on May 17 and had left Base Camp on May 15.

Mt. Annapurna marathon to be held in Nepal

The organizer of high altitude marathon, Tenzing Hillary Marathon at the Base Camp of Mt. Everest is set to organize another high altitude adventure sport event in Nepal. Annapurna Marathon 2011 will be held at Annapurna Base Camp on June 3.

The Mt. Anapurna Marathon named after a mountain peak called Mt. Annapurna (8091 meters) will start from the Annapurna Base Camp ( East Face altitude of 4395 meters) and the finish point will be Dhampus (1770 meters), according to the Himalayan expedition, the organizer. The marathon is being organized to celebrate first successful ascent on the peak by the French Team led by Maurice Herzog in the history of mountaineering on June 3, 1950.

London buses hit the road with Nepal on them

With a view to attracting more tourists to the Himalayan nation, Nepal Tourism Board in collaboration with the Embassy of Nepal in london has opted for one of the effective ways of advertisements recently. The Londoners now can see the Nepal advertisements with the promotional theme, “Naturally Nepal” on their double-decker city buses. It is the latest in the promotional campaign the embassy has been into for a quite some time to encourage more European tourists to visit the country. This advertisement campaign that features Nepal on more than 15 city buses.

The red giant double-decker London buses have long been used for such outdoor advertisements. Moreover, the city of London is one of the most sought after locations in the world for tourism promotion as it is already inhibited by millions of people and millions of tourists visit the city in summer. London Gold buses, with adverts on them, which ply via central London routes, run through the key tourist centres such as Trafalgar Square, Liverpool Street, Bond Street, Kensington and Oxford Street.

Air China set to extend flight to Nepal

China’s national flag carrier Air China is all set to extend its flights to Nepal within July, 2011. Air China is preparing to operate two flights a day on Lhasa-Kathmandu route from August 1 while at present Air China has been operating four flights a week in this route. Likewise, Tibet Airlines of Tibet is also planning to operate flights in this route.

Informative signboards planned for tourists safety in Pokhara

Western Regional Hotel Association with the support of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) is set to place informative signboards in the different places of Pokhara in order to facilitate visiting tourists.

The association came up with the plan following reports of tourists being robbed. The boards will display information regarding safety measures to be applied during their visits along with the helpline and contact numbers of tourist police, among others.

Tistung Bajrabarahi Cultural Tourism Festival 2011

Tistung Bajrabarahi Cultural Tourism Festival 2011 The Tistung Bajrabarahi Cultural Tourism Festival 2011 was organized on Mat 21-23, 2011. The festival organized by Tistung Bajrabarahi New Pucha abd promoted by Nepal Tourism Board coincided with the Bajrabarahi Jatra which is celebrated every three years.

Primary objective of the festival was to promote Tistung and surrounding areas of Makwanpur District as a primary destination for Eco-tourists as well as domestic tourists. The festival aims to develop Tistung (Bajrabarahi) as one of the attractive place to visit.

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