Embassy of Nepal participates at Tour Expo2012 in Daegu, Korea

The 10th Tour Expo Daegu Gyeongbuk 2012, an International Travel Fair, was inaugurated by Mr. Yeon Soo Kim, Vice Mayor of Daegu Metropolitan city and Ms. In Seon Lee, Vice Governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do province at the Exhibition and Convention Centre in Daegu amidst a ceremony on April 6. This travel fair is one of the four important travel fairs of the Republic of Korea after the Busan and Seoul International Travel Fair. The European, South East Asian and South Asian countries including Nepal, India and Sri Lanka participated in the fair. The Daegu Metropolitan city that hosts 2.5 million people is one of the major sources of outbound tourist destination. The four-day expo concluded on April 9, 2012.

First time at the official level, the Embassy of Nepal participated at this fair. A large number of visitors visited the Nepal pavilion at the first day of the exhibition and had shown keen interest in Lumbini, the birthplace of Shakyamuni Buddha and natural beauties of Nepal. During the exhibition, the Charge d Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of Nepal met with the representatives of the travel and tour operators and discussed about the promotion of tourism between Nepal and Korea. He also met with Mr. Dong-gu Kim, Chairman of the Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industries at the latters office today. During the meeting, the Charge d Affairs a.i. requested the Chairman to encourage potential investors to invest in Nepal in the tourism, agriculture, infrastructures and hydropower sectors.

‘Naturally Nepal …Once is not enough’ in lime light at Dhaka Travel Mart (DTM) 2012

Nepal Tourism Board, along with two potential Nepali private travel trade companies participated in the 9th International Tourism Fair Dhaka Travel Mart (DTM) 2012, in Hotel Pan Pacific, Sonargaon, Dhaka from 06-08 April 2012. DTM 2012 is organized by The Bangladesh Monitor and supported by United Airways, Biman Bangladesh, Eastern Bank Ltd. and Hawker.com.bd as the e-media partner.

The fair was formally inaugurated by Honorable Minister for Civil Aviation & Tourism Mr. Muhammad Faruk Khan, MP. His personal visit to individual stalls after the inauguration of the session derived a large number of crowds and special attention of media. Specially, he paid his special attention to the Nepal stall where he was photographed with the representatives of Nepal Tourism Board and the private company representatives from Nepal. He even praised Nepal for its magnificent natural beauty and unique culture. He has already visited Nepal and expressed his willingness to visit once again.

On the second day of the fair, a seminar entitled “Cooperation and Connectivity: Key to Success of Regional Tourism” was organized by The Bangladesh Monitor. His Excellency the Ambassador of Bangladesh to Nepal Mr. Hari Kumar Shrestha and Deputy Chief of Mission Mr. Krishna Chandra Aryal were also present on that occasion. His Excellency Mr. Hari Kumar Shrestha expressed his impressive and valuable views on the issue of the seminar where his views were appreciated by all the delegates and the participants of the seminar. Representative from Nepal Tourism Board was also present in the seminar and shared his views on the issue. The High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Bangladesh, Vice Air Marshal of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and other senior government officials and representatives from the concerned sectors were also present in the seminar. After the seminar, His Excellency Mr. Hari Kumar Shrestha and DCM Mr. Krishna Chandra Aryal visited the Nepal stall and encouraged the representatives from Nepal. They even appreciated the efforts of Nepal Tourism Board to promoted Nepal in the foreign land.

DTM 2012 remained a potential platform for showcasing the tourism products and unique destinations as well as a forum for open B2B interaction amidst the exhibitors, buyers, sellers and the visiting public in Bangladesh. Apart from the host country Bangladesh, NTOs, tour operators, airlines, hotels, resorts and other tourism service providers from the public and private sector from Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand participated in the fair. The show exhibited more than 49 exhibitors from Asia and South East Asia. The show also offered access to expert advice, domestic and international tour operators, value-prices, vacation packages and special offers.

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 and leading media from Bangladesh during the fair.

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. Similarly they queried about the honeymoon packages made available by the Nepali companies. Interestingly, a large number of visitors visiting Nepal stall were frequent travelers to Nepal and expressed their interest to visit again and again.

Bangladesh is the emerging market for Nepal’s tourism with abundant opportunities to explore more market potentials. Kailash Journeys (P) Ltd. and Snow Land Travels and Tours Pvt. Ltd. participated in the fair as the co-exhibitor. Mr. Anil Das, Manager and Mr. Khem Raj Timalsena, Officer from NTB led the Nepal delegation at the fair.

Nepal is connected with Dhaka by two airlines: Biman Bangladesh & United Airlines. Apart from this, a growing tendency has been found among the travelers to travel by land, Bangladeshi tourists come to Nepal via land route through India from Kakarvitta entry point from Eastern Nepal.

Woman, 73, to attempt Everest again

A 73-year-old woman will try for the third time to scale Mount Everest, hoping to become the oldest woman to conquer the world's tallest peak, Nepal's Tourism Ministry said Tuesday.

Eiko Funahashi, a patent lawyer from Tokyo, will fly to Lukla, the most popular gateway to the mountain, on April 17 and trek to the base camp to become acclimatized to the altitude before attempting to climb the mountain in the first week of May, a Katmandu-based agency handling her expedition said.

Funahashi abandoned two previous attempts, in 2006 and 2010, to reach the top of the 8,848-meter peak. If successful, she will beat the record set by fellow Japanese Tame Watanabe, who scaled the peak in 2002 at age 63. Funahashi is among eight Japanese climbers participating in three separate expeditions attempting Mount Everest this season, the Tourism Ministry said.