KATHMANDU, Nepal- Nepal Tourism Board has called upon various tourism related organizations and stakeholders in the country to join hands with NTB for collective endeavour in formulating the international marketing strategy.
According to the NTB, its initiative aimed at to brainstorm to explore the key areas in tourism marketing and promotion in the international market.
With the same aim and for the same the NTB held a meeting last week with the executive members of the Nepal Association of Tour and Trekking Agents(NATTA), Nepal Association of Tour Operators(NATO), Hotel Association Nepal(HAN) and Trekking Agents Association of Nepal(TAAN) separately.
During the meetings Acting Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Tourism Board Subash Niroula said that the rapid globalization has caused a paradigm shift in tourism marketing and promotion, and it has become imperative for Nepal’s tourism industry to keep pace with the marketing shift with innovative plans and programs.
“Ad hoc marketing doesn’t work in the present context that why we request associations to come up with their annual marketing and promotional plans with strong reasons so that it would be easier for Nepal Tourism Board to see the avenues where it can fit in,” Niroula was quoted as saying in a press release issued by NTB.
While NATO president Ashok Pokharel emphasized on bringing quality tourists and to increase the length of stay so that it would benefit Nepali tourism as a whole by international marketing tie-up with international airlines for sales missions in Europe, Mahendra Singh Thapa, president of TAAN said on promoting and marketing the new trekking routes recently explored by TAAN in the international travel market. He also said that Nepal should be promoted for all seasons through festivals, events and promotional programs in the country.
Likewise President of NATTA, Pabitra Kumar Karki and General Secretary of HAN Amar Shakya said that Nepal’s tourism industry should focus its promotional and marketing efforts in China. Thy opined that without Chinese tourists, many hotels in Nepal would remain empty. The duo also urged for programmes to lure more Indian tourists as they are high spenders.
Since the recent budget of Nepal’s government has made a mandatory provision for the employees of public corporations running in profit and those employees working in ‘A’ and ‘B’ class bank and financial institution to go for internal tourism in Nepal on the expenses of the respective institutions, the officials of NTB requested NATTA and HAN to make a package for domestic tourists to avail of this encouraging provision.
