Wednesday, December 18, 2019

PATA Nepal elects new executive committee

The 43rd annual general meeting (AGM) of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal Chapter has unanimously elected its new executive committee.
The AGM – with the theme ‘Design Thinking: Creating Lifetime Experiences in Nepal’ – appointed chair of Himalayan Holidays Treks and Tours Bibhuti Chand Thakur as the chairperson of the executive committee, according to a press note issued by PATA Nepal chapter. Thakur succeeds Sunil Sakya, who was elected the chair on December 13, 2017. Sakya will remain in the executive committee as the immediate past chairman.
The annual general meeting elected chief executive officer of Nepal Tourism Board Deepak Raj Joshi as the first vice-chairperson, commercial director at the Nepal Airlines Tanka Nidhi Dahal as the second vice-chairperson, chairperson at the Royal Mountain Travel-Nepal Pvt Ltd Shiva Prasad Dhakal as the general secretary, and chief executive officer at the Global Academy of Tourism and Hospitality Education Khem Raj Lakai as the treasurer, the press note reads, adding that the executive committee comprises four ex officio members including  director general at the Department of Tourism Dandu Raj Ghimire, deputy director at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Rajan Pokharel, corporate director at the Nepal Airlines Krishna Gopal Joshi, and brand manager at the NTB Shradha Shrestha. “Managing director at the Heritage Tours and Travels Narendra Deo Bhatta, managing director at the Mid Valley Int’l College Reetal Rana, general manager at the Turkish Airlines Abdullah Tuncer Kececi, managing director at the Himalaya Kailash Travels and Tours Tashi Gurung, marketing chief at the Summit Air Manjani Shrestha, managing director at the Nepal Vacation Tika Ram Sapkota and managing director at the Hiking Adventure Treks Pvt Ltd Ram Kumar Barakoti are also elected executive committee members.”
Thakur – after being appointed as chair – said that being elected the chairperson is an honour. “PATA Nepal will continue to work in the spirit of PATA headquarters and is also committed to working closely with the government, Ministry of Tourism, Nepal Tourism Board,” he said, adding that he will reach out to work closely with all the tourism-related associations and private sectors.
During the annual general meeting, PATA Nepal chapter also elected six proxy members to its executive committee including founder at the Luxury DMC Travels Lakpa Phuti Sherpa, CEO at the Premier Hotel School Sunil Kumar Bhusal, CEO at the Going Nepal Lila Dhar Bhandari, president at the SDU Travels Sanjay Bhakta Mathema, MD at the Nepal Kaze Travels Prithbi Shrestha, and MD at the Himalayan Smile Treks and Adventures Kul Prasad Subedi.
Addressing the annual general meeting, CEO at the PATA headquarters Mario Hardy congratulated PATA Nepal for its active engagement in the country, while keynote speaker chief Hothead at the HotHead Innovations Stu Lloyd highlighted the ‘Design Thinking’ approaches to be adopted by travel and tourism industry professionals of public and private sectors to welcome visitors with the best possible products and services that Nepal can offer to create lifetime experiences for all their guests.
On the occasion, the National Programme Coordinator of Visit Nepal 2020 Suraj Vaidya congratulated the newly elected executive committee and extended his gratitude to PATA for the continued collaboration and partnership with VNY 2020 campaign.
Likewise, PATA Personality of the Year 2019 Award was presented to executive chairman of Everest Express Tours and Travels Rabindra Raj Pandey, on the occasion. The Best Student Chapter of the Year 2019 was awarded to Mid Valley International College, and PATA Nepal also handed out the letter of appreciation to two individuals; Mina Khadka, who just retired from PATA Nepal Secretariat after 23 years of service and Nisha Bhote, a member at PATA Nepal, Student Chapter, who successfully reached the summit of Mt Everest.

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