Travel buyers interested in knowing status of Nepal

PATA Travel Mart: Nepal’s participation helping boost confidence among travel buyers and sellers

BENGALURU, Sept 8: Travel and trade entrepreneurs have been able to find new buyers not only from India but from across the world as well at the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Travel Mart that is taking place in Bengaluru, India.

Travel buyers from New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Bangladesh and Taiwan, among others, showed interest in learning the status of Nepal at a travel buyers-sellers interaction held on the second day of the three-day long event.


PATA Nepal Chapter Chairman Suman Pandey said the travel mart had enabled Nepal to relay the message that Nepal was back in business and this had helped a lot in boosting the confidence of potential travel buyers.

"This has not only increased the visibility of Nepal but also provided a good platform for business negotiations," Pandey said.

Nepali travel entrepreneurs here said the conference had helped them meet different buyers from different countries. Around 50 international travel buyers attended the mart.

"We have met more than 10 travel buyers since the morning. Five of them were serious buyers," Upaul Majumdar, the general manager of Crowne Plaza Kathmandu-Soaltee, said, adding that the hotel had received a good response from serious buyers from China, Belgium, the UK and New Zealand.

The Nepal pavilion at the mart has 10 stalls, of which nine are travel and tour operators.

The Department of Tourism Director General Govinda Bahadur Karki said the expo had been beneficial for all participants, especially for those from Nepal. "The expo has helped build the confidence of travel sellers from Nepal. They have been able to build connections and interact with buyers," he said.

Karnataka Tourism and Industries Minister RV Deshpande visited the Nepali stall and interacted with Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) representatives, and travel and tour operators there.

According to Ujjwala Dali, the officiating director -marketing and promotions at NTB, Deshpande said the Karnataka government and its tourism department was ready to extend help in organizing road shows in Karnataka and pledged support for Nepal's needs during its promotion in Karnataka.

"We take our participation in travel marts not only as a confidence-building measure, but this is also the right platform for international media exposure for Nepal," Dali said, adding that representatives of various international media had been eager to learn about Nepal.

Tour operators selling Nepal in India said the Motor Vehicles Agreement signed in Thimpu, Bhutan, on June 15 will also help increase the number of Indian tourists to Nepal.

Sunirmol Ghosh, director of Indo Asia Tours, said Nepal will get more Indian tourists if the agreement comes into effect soon.

The idea was discussed at the 8th SAARC Summit held in Kathmandu on November 2014.

"Many Indian tourists are going to Nepal during the October season. Around eight groups with 20 people in each have booked Nepal tours with us for the October-November period," Ghosh said, adding that the areas where Indian tourists visit most have not been affected by earthquake.

Indian tourists mostly visit Pashupati, Lumbini, Janakpur, Kailash-Manasarovar, Chitwan, Pokhara and Lukla, among others.

Rabi Nath Paudel, managing director of Saiyu Travel, said the travel mart was not about looking for profits but about giving the message that Nepal is back in business and that travel destinations there are safe and the participants had been successful in doing that .

source: KRITI BHUJU,republica,8 sep 2015