PATA Nepal organises 'Nepal- Bangladesh Tourism Promotion and B2B Exchange' programme

PATA Nepal Chapter, in collaboration with the PATA Bangladesh Chapter, has successfully concluded the 'Nepal-Bangladesh Tourism Promotion & B2B Exchange' Programme from November 16 to November 21.

The joint collaboration between PATA Chapters of Nepal and Bangladesh was organised as the post-pandemic tourism recovery initiative to help in promoting each other's destinations through mutual tie-ups and collaboration for both inbound and outbound tourism between the two neighbouring nations.

PATA Nepal Chapter, with the support of its member and partner organisations, hosted the PATA Bangladesh Delegation of 17 members; including the deputy director and secretary of Bangladesh Tourism Board, chairman and secretary-general of PATA Bangladesh, 10 tour operators, 2 media and 2 students from PATA Bangladesh Dhaka University Student Chapter.

The exchange programme included the familiarisation visit to Pokhara for Bangladeshi delegates from November 17 to November 19, wherein a 'Tourism Networking and Interaction Session' was organised in collaboration with Pokhara Tourism Council and NTB Pokhara on November 18. The Tourism Networking Programme in Pokhara witnessed the enthusiastic participation of 70 plus tour operators and service providers from the tourism fraternity, according to the PATA Nepal Chapter.

The formal function and B2B session held on November 20 at Park Village Resort included the presentations on destinations insights and business meetings and networking between 12 Bangladeshi tour operators and 14 Nepali tour operators and tourism service providers.

The formal function kicked off with the welcome remarks from PATA Nepal chairman Bibhuti Chand Thakur, who emphasised the immediate focus must embrace the promotion of 'regional travel', as an action plan, for reviving tourism which would be the most appropriate and convenient for travellers and destination management organizations or service providers.

"Since the long haul travel might take a little longer to recover," he said, adding that the nearby destinations, preferably accessible by road or short-haul flights, have more opportunities to build back their tourism. "Nepal-Bangladesh being so close to each other with less than one-hour flight, we through this collaboration expect unveiling a new way forward to strengthening our mutual inbound and outbound tourism business potentials."

Chief executive officer of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Dr Dhananjay Regmi and  deputy director and secretary of Bangladesh Tourism Board Mohammad Saiful Hasan, on the occasion, shared their destination insights and thoughts on the prospects of tourism exchange between Nepal and Bangladesh. The head of Department (Brand and Service Improvement) at Himalaya Airlines Ujjwala Dali also presented the operational plans of Himalaya Airlines to Bangladesh as well as other sectors in the region and beyond.

Addressing the formal function,  chairman of PATA Bangladesh Shahi Hamid said that he got fascinated with the warm hospitality of Nepal, and there are many alluring tourism products and services in Nepal to attract many Bangladeshi travellers. He also said that Nepal used to welcome about 26,000 Bangladeshis yearly before the pandemic and this can be easily penetrated double with effective promotion and marketing initiatives.

The chief guest of the programme, secretary of Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Yadav Koirala, on the occasion, expressed his thanks to PATA Chapters of Nepal and Bangladesh for undertaking the needful and timely initiative to promote regional tourism. He also recommended that Nepal needs to enhance its collaborative marketing and promotional events, organise FAM Trips, improve infrastructures (especially road connectivity), and develop extended tour packages for the tourists to Bangladesh and Nepal to flourish tourism in both countries. He further assured that the Tourism Ministry will facilitate the necessary cooperation and support at the government level to increase the tourism engagements between Nepal and Bangladesh.

The event was promoted by Nepal Tourism Board and Bangladesh Tourism Board; and supported by  Himalaya Airlines and Buddha Air (Airlines Partners), Pokhara Tourism Council (Organising partner), The Royal Mountain Travel (Transportation partner),  and Hospitality Partners including- The Everest Hotel, KGH Group of Hotels, Aloft, Radisson, Siddhartha Hotel, and The Old Inn.

Bangladesh Tourism Board, along with PATA Bangladesh Chapter, has extended an invitation and will be hosting Nepali counterparts in Bangladesh soon to further explore exchange and expand the mutual prospects of tourism development between both countries.

Asia Pacific visitor numbers likely to reduce by 32 per cent

Under the newly updated forecasts from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the most likely scenario for international visitor arrivals into and across Asia Pacific in 2020 is that visitor numbers are likely to reduce by 32 per cent year-on-year, also due to reduction of 31 per cent arrivals in South Asia.
Taking into account the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the volume of arrivals is now expected to reduce to fewer than 500 million this year. That effectively takes visitor volume back to levels last seen in 2012. At this stage, growth is expected to resume in 2021, returning to forecast levels by 2023, the association forecasts. “Much of course, depends on how quickly and completely the Covid-19 pandemic is contained and controlled.”
A more optimistic scenario suggests arrivals still falling in 2020 but by 16 per cent year-on-year while a pessimistic narrative predicts a reduction of approximately 44 per cent, it adds.
The impacts are expected to be most severe in Asia, especially Northeast Asia, which is now predicted to lose almost 51 per cent of its visitor volume between 2019 and 2020 – most likely scenario – followed by South Asia with a reduction of 31 per cent, and then Southeast Asia with a 22 per cent drop in visitor arrivals. West Asia is projected to lose almost six percent in visitor arrivals, followed by the Pacific with a projected contraction of 18 per cent, and the Americas with a loss of a little under 12 per cent.
Recovery rates relative to 2019 are expected to occur in most destination regions, sub-regions in 2020, however, Northeast Asia is likely to take a little longer and exceed the 2019 volume of arrivals in 2022. The same is essentially true for visitor receipts as well as they are expected to drop by 27 per cent between 2019 and 2020 under the most likely scenario, reducing to $594 billion, significantly below the original 2020 forecast of $811 billion, the association press note reads, adding that Asia is expected to lose more than $170 billion (-36 per cent), with Northeast Asia predicted to lose more than $123 billion (-48 per cent) under this most likely scenario, followed by South Asia with a $13.3 billion loss (-33 per cent) and Southeast Asia with a $34.6 billion shortfall (-20 per cent). “The Americas is projected to lose more than $35 billion (-13 per cent) and the Pacific $18 billion (-18 per cent).”
The recovery at the annual level is expected to return more quickly across most regions, sub-regions, with perhaps the Pacific taking a little longer to return to 2019 levels.
“This is first and foremost an unfolding human tragedy, with a dire loss of life and for millions more, a loss of income while businesses are closed, and many remain in self-quarantine or follow social distancing guidelines,” PATA chief executive officer Dr Mario Hardy said, adding that they can only hope that this pandemic is brought under absolute control quickly and effectively, enabling the global travel and tourism industry to get back on its feet, re-employ the millions of people, who lost their positions and create even more employment opportunities both directly and for the upstream and downstream sectors that rely on it. “While there are obvious reductions in arrivals, there still remains a significant volume of visitors expected into Asia Pacific through 2020, with just under half-a-billion such travellers still generating almost $600 billion, with each visitor still requiring and expecting the attention and service that this region has become famous for delivering.”
“Nevertheless, perceptions are difficult to change so recovery might take longer in the minds of many potential travelers,” he said, adding that it however gives them time to reconsider the position they had created up to 2019, if numbers return only slowly, the obvious imperative will be to offer travellers such incentives that they remain in the destination longer and see more of what it has to offer. “The metric should therefore shift from the numbers of arrivals, to time spent in any one destination and the dispersion across it.”

PATA Nepal Chapter postpones NICE

The ‘Nepal India China Expo (NICE)’ scheduled initially for February 22-25 has been postponed due to some unfavourable circumstances, and limitations on the travel of Chinese delegates due to the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, according to PATA Nepal Chapter.
 The executive committee meeting of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal Chapter held today decided to postpone the event as a matter of precaution to the health and safety of all the delegates and invitees.
“At the moment, we are closely monitoring the ongoing crisis (coronavirus pneumonia) in China, and shall endorse an appropriate future date for NICE once the situation seems controlled and favourable for this historic tri-national tourism expo,” the chair of PATA Nepal Chapter Bibhuti Chand Thakur said, adding that they have requested all its registered delegates, invitees, and stakeholders to stay tuned for further updates from the association.
The National Programme Coordinator of Visit Nepal Year 2020 (VNY2020) Suraj Vaidya said that NICE is one the top priority event, which shall play an instrumental role for the growth of tourism in Nepal, and we will be working together with PATA for making this a successful event of 2020.
Likewise, PATA Nepal Chapter chief executive Suresh Singh Budal informed that the necessary preparation is almost completed with confirmed participation of 120 buyers and 50 exhibitors however, due to the present unfavourable scenario, the association has decided to organise the event on later dates this year. “It's a high time to come together to show our solidarity for speedy control and recovery of health crisis; meanwhile, we have to take precautions and work together for the possible risk mitigation and crisis management in tourism,” he added.

Tourism agencies announce discount offers

As the Visit Nepal Year 2020 (VNY2020) starts in two days, tourism agencies have announced discount offers to encourage foreigners to prolong their stay in Nepal and also visit frequently.
The VNY2020 being launched with formal programme on January 1 warrants attention and engagement of the people from diverse sectors for its grand success. Tourism ministers from 10 countries and special guests from various 40 countries will take part in the inaugural ceremony of the VNY2020.
Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) has decided to provide 30 per cent discount on its services, according to the first vice chair of HAN Binayak Shah.
There are some 2,000 hotels including the luxury star hotels affiliated to HAN, which can accommodate some 2.5 million guests.
Likewise, Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) is also launching promotional activities and providing 20 per cent discount on its service, whereas Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) is going to provide concession of 10 per cent to the service seekers. Similarly, Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATA) has offered 10 per cent discount on its services on the occasion of VNY2020. According to NATA president CN Pandey, the customers, who purchase tour packages through NATA-associated travel agencies shall be provided 10 per cent discount in its services. Similarly, Nepal Association of Rafting Agencies (NARA) president Ganga Prasad Nepal shared that NARA has announced 15 per cent discount for rafting and other water-related adventure sports to the foreign visitors on the occasion.
Likewise, Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) is also going to announce some package for the tourists, whereas Homestay Association's president Keshav Badal informed that foreign guests choosing homestay will be offered up to 20 per cent discount on lodging and foods. There are more than 600 homestays being run in 57 districts and are associated with the association.
Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal Chapter president Bidhutichand Thakur also informed that PATA Nepal Chapter is going to organise various promotional events targeting the VNY2020, one of which is Nepal, India, China Expo ('NICE' event) coming February.
Thamel Development Council is also going to organise various promotional events round the year in 2020.

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.

Tourist arrivals increase in Asia-Pacific

Data for foreign arrivals into 46 Asia Pacific destinations confirmed the overall continuation of solid growth in 2018, achieving a 7.3 per cent annual increase compared to 2017 and reaching a new record high of nearly 708 million international visitor arrivals (IVAs).
According to the Annual Travel Monitor 2019 Final Edition (ATM) released by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) today, over the five years between 2014 and 2018, the 46 Asia Pacific destinations covered in the report have collectively seen their IVAs increase by almost 24 per cent, adding more than 136 million additional arrivals to the collective foreign inbound count in the process.
In percentage increase terms between 2017 and 2018, Asia had the strongest annual increase at 8.7 per cent, followed by the Pacific at four per cent and the Americas at 3.5 per cent, it reads. “By annual increase in the absolute volume of foreign arrivals between 2017 and 2018 however, these positions changed somewhat, with Asia receiving close to 41.6 million additional foreign arrivals, followed by the Americas with a gain of over 5.4 million and the Pacific with just over one million additional foreign arrivals received over that period.”
Within the Americas, North America showed the strongest incremental increase in foreign arrivals between 2017 and 2018, capturing more than 55 per cent of the 5.446 million increase over that period, followed next by Central America.
Across Asia it was Northeast Asia in particular that captured the largest proportion of additional foreign arrivals into the region between 2017 and 2018. While in the Pacific, Polynesia and Oceania dominated that landscape.
At the individual Asia Pacific destination level, destinations with the strongest annual percentage growth rates in 2018 ranked as All told, 24 per cent of the 46 destinations covered in this report had annual growth rates in excess of 10 per cent between 2017 and 2018, while 65 per cent grew by five per cent or more.
Nevertheless, the strong collective performance of Asia Pacific destinations in 2018 appears to be changing into 2019. According to PATA chief executive Dr Mario Hardy, “Preliminary results for early 2019 show a slight softening in the collective annual increase in foreign arrivals into 37 Asia Pacific destinations, reducing to 6.2 per cent year-to-date, year-on-year.”
“Even so, this growth rate has added almost 17 million additional arrivals to the total inbound count during the first periods of 2019 relative to the same period of last year,” he said, adding that the impacts of various geo-political and natural changes appear to be affecting the global travel and tourism sector and we expect some significant changes in the Asia Pacific 2019 picture by the end of the year.
Early 2019 data for foreign arrivals into 37 Asia Pacific destinations shows a general softening of growth relative to the same periods of 2018, dropping from a 7.3 per cent increase in early 2018, to 6.2 per cent in early 2019. Despite this, close to 17 million additional IVAs have been received between early 2018 and early 2019, reaching another record high of almost 288 million arrivals.

Nepal to host NICE tourism fair in February

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal Chapter in collaboration with Visit Nepal Year 2020 and Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) is organising the historical and first-of-its-kind Nepal India China Expo (NICE) in February 2020.
NICE is the first tri-nation tourism expo that will bring together tourism and hospitality stakeholders and organisations from public and private sectors of the three neighboring countries including Nepal, India and China, the chairman of PATA Nepal Chapter Sunil Shakya said at a press conference today.
“It will bring three countries on a single platform by facilitating with unparalleled networking and business opportunities, industry insights and inspiration,” he said, adding that the first of its kind event is expecting 1,000 plus delegates from three countries including 200 plus regional buyers, 100 exhibitors, 15 plus high-value speakers and hundreds of guests and delegates including government officials, trade visitors. “Nepal has not been able to tap the prospective tourists’ influx from these two important market nations.”
“We believe that NICE will play an instrumental role in strengthening the tourism ties between the three countries adding significant value in support of the target set by the government with the Visit Nepal Year 2020,” he added.
The organisers will be collaborating with different tourism organizations and stakeholders in Nepal, India and China. PATA has sought cooperation and support from sponsors, airlines, hotels, media and the travel-trade fraternity of Nepal. The event will take place from February 21 to 24, 2020 in Kathmandu.
Nepal is rightly and geopolitically placed between the two giant economies and can contribute hugely in bridging tourism development potentials of these countries which, have arranged bilateral trade but, have never organised a tri-nation’s event, according to PATA Nepal Chapter.
China and India are two of the largest outbound source markets in the world with Nepal as one of its immediate recipient nation. According to 2018 statistics, approximately 150 million Chinese traveled abroad, out of which only 0.1 per cent visited Nepal while only 0.75 per cent Indian tourists visited Nepal out of 25.85 million Indian outbound, the PATA data revealed.

PATA Nepal Chapter organises ‘The Art of Selling Destination’

PATA Nepal Chapter – in collaboration with Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) – organised a two-day Human Capacity Development (HCD) training workshop on “The Art of Selling Destination, NEPAL - Profitable and Sustainable” yesterday and today at GATE Vocational FAB School in Pokhara with an active and enthusiastic participation of 66 young tourism professionals and stakeholders from Pokhara.
PATA Nepal Chapter has invited Dr Bert Van Walbeek – managing director from Winning Edge in Thailand – as a resource person and trainer to conduct this HCD training programme, which is supported by Regional Hotel Association Chitwan, GATE Vocational FAB School and Kailash Group Nepal as ‘Hospitality Partners’; as well as the ‘Airline Partner’- Buddha Air.
PATA Nepal Chapter will be conducting the same training programme at Jungle Safari Lodge in Chitwan on August 13-14.
This HCD Training was organised aiming to enhance the awareness of the Meeting, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibition (MICE) stakeholders about Selling and Promoting, both to Special Interest Tourism (SIT) and MICE market segments. The 2-day workshop provided practical information and trained the participants about tailoring the Package as per the customers' need and market segment; focusing content on destination selling profitably and sustainably with as main focus on Special Interest Tourism and MICE;  enhancing the motivation and product pride for continuous attention and highest efforts of the participants; as well as providing the appropriate ‘DIY’ follow-up documents, tools and realisation schedules to consequently assist monitoring implementation and results.
“It is not the hotel, airline, restaurant, travel agent or transportation that tourists travel for; but its destination, which is the first selection criterion in their travel decision,” Dr Bert Van Walbeek said, adding, “So, we have to know the art of selling destination first and working together to make the Visit Nepal Year 2020 Success.”
On the occasion, chief executive officer of PATA Nepal Chapter Suresh Singh Budal informed that the training programme was very important for inspiring the participants to realize about the importance of prioritising ‘Destination First’ in every marketing and promotional campaign prior to pitching of the products and services of specific service providers in the destination; providing them the essential attributes and skills of sales, promotion, negotiation, proposal writing and presentation.

Average tourist spending drops

Average tourist spending has dropped against the government’s plan to bring in quality foreign tourists with high-spending capacity.
“The average spending of foreigners dropped by 22.73 per cent in 2018,” according to the Nepal Tourism Statistics-2018 that revealed that the average per day spending of a foreign tourist in Nepal was $54 in 2017 but it came down by  $10 to $44 per day in 2018.
Nepal Tourism Statistics 2018 – prepared by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) – revealed that not only the number of high-spending tourists in Nepal is declining in recent years against the government’s plan to increase the inflow of such travelers but also the average length of the tourists has been decreasing. “The average length of stay of foreign tourists in Nepal also dropped to 12.4 days in 2018 from 12.6 days in 2017,” the statistics revealed.
The government’s three-year development plan (2016-2018) that aimed at increasing the length of stay of foreigners to 14 days by 2018 – which ranged from eight to 13.5 days in the past – has failed despite the increasing number of the tourists.
Nepal can offer products suitable for both backpackers and high-end tourists, according to president of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal Chapter Sunil Shakya. “The historical, cultural, natural and spiritual products on offer could cater to a variety of guests as per their need,” he said, adding that most of the trekkers and travellers are backpackers, who spend money on our roadside shops and local markets that could actually uplift the livelihood of people living in rural areas.
Currently, almost 65 per cent tourists travelling to Nepal are backpackers, he added. “Backpackers may be good for growth of numbers, but in terms of revenue, we have to develop good strategies to bring in high-end tourists.”
“Nepal needs to develop ample tourism packages beyond major cities like Kathmandu and Pokhara to increase the length of stay of tourists and their spending,” according to the vice chair of the Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) Binayak Shah.

Business icon Prabhakar Rana passes away

A pioneer of Nepali tourism industry Prabhakar SJB Rana passed away while undergoing treatment in New York yesterday. Rana, 84, was admitted to the hospital one year ago.
Starting his career in the hotel industry, Rana built an empire with his honesty and moral in business. Engaged in multiple business including tourism, trade, automobiles, and hydropower, Rana believed in earning credibility and transparency in his business rather than making profits because ‘that’s what makes businesses successful’, according to him.
The first generation of Nepali entrepreneurs, chairman Emeritus of Soaltee Crowne Plaza, Rana was not only recognised for his initiative to bring an international hotel chain to Nepal but also for promoting tourism through hotel.
Rana was the founding chairperson of Soaltee Crowne Plaza and later on the chairman emeritus of the five-star hotel, though Soaltee was founded in 1966 by late prince Himalaya Bikram Shah and late princess Princep Rajya Laxmi. Rana later converted the hotel to a public limited company in 1975. Soaltee Crowne Plaza is one of the three hotels listed in the Nepal Sock Exchange (Nepse).
Until recently he was working on Soaltee Westend Hotel in Nepalgunj expanding the Soaltee brand outside the Kathmandu Valley.
Starting from the hotel industry, Rana expanded his business to travel and trekking, automobiles, tea garden and hydropower projects. He is also the founder president of Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) and Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal chapter.
Issuing press notes, both HAN and PATA said Rana could solely be credited for introducing international standards in the hospitality sector of the country.
Rana established Sipradi Trading – the authorised dealer of Tata Motors in Nepal – in 1982. In 1986, he invested in Surya Nepal, a multinational undertaking in joint partnership with firms of India and UK. Likewise, He started Bhotekoshi Power Company (BPC) – the first privately funded, run-of-the-river (ROR) power project in Nepal – in 1996.
Besides, he has also invested in Himalayan Tea Garden and Amravati Travels.
Rana was both professionally and personally close with late kings Mahendra and Birendra and in recent times with former king Gyanendra. But he never misused the power as usually is seen. He kept his freidship and professionalism separate though he was business partner of forme king Gyanendra.
He is survived by a son Siddhartha and a daughter Maya. Siddhartha Rana is currently looking after the entire business operations. The final rites of Rana will be performed in New York tomorrow.

Asia Pacific to welcome close to 900 million international visitor arrivals

The overall annual growth rate for international visitors into 40 Asia Pacific destinations is estimated to have been around 7.8 per cent in 2018, generating an inbound volume of around 688 million for the year, almost 50 million more foreign arrivals than in 2017.
According to the executive summary of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), ‘Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts 2019-2023’ released today, 40 destinations within Asia Pacific collectively are predicted to show an average growth rate of 5.5 per cent per annum between 2018 and 2023, to host close to 900 million foreign visitor arrivals in 2023.
Asia will continue its strong growth momentum with an expected annual average growth rate for foreign visitor arrivals of 6.2 per cent between 2018 and 2023, while the Pacific and the Americas follow with average growth rates of 4.4 per cent and 3.1 per cent per year respectively, over the same period.
Driven by its strong average annual growth rate, Asia will receive the bulk of the foreign arrivals between 2018 and 2023, it reads. After capturing a relative share of close to 74 per cent of foreign arrivals in 2018, the proportion into Asia is expected to increase to over 76 per cent by the end of the forecast period till 2023. The impact on the Americas and the Pacific is a slight contraction in their respective relative shares from 22.4 per cent in 2018 to just under 20 per cent in 2023 for the former, and from four per cent to 3.8 per cent for the latter, even as their respective numbers of foreign arrivals increase.
Asia will also be the strongest generator of foreign arrivals into Asia Pacific over the forecast period, improving its relative share of arrivals from 63.9 percentage points in 2018, to over 66 percentage points in 2023. Intra-regional travel flows remain important for both the Americas and Asia, with the former destination region seeing over three-quarters of its foreign arrivals originating within that region in both 2018 and 2023.
Similarly, for Asia, where intra-regional travel flows will increase in relative terms, from almost 94 per cent in 2018 to over 94 per cent by 2023.
The Pacific destination region differs, in as much as more than half of its inbound international visitor arrivals originated in Asia in 2018 with that proportion forecast to increase to around 57 per cent by 2023. Even so, the intra-regional flows from the Pacific to the Pacific remain significant at over 30 per cent in 2023.
PATA chief executive Dr Mario Hardy points out that 'Asia continues to be the engine of growth for foreign arrivals into Asia Pacific, with intra-regional flows in particular, remaining important.'
The intra-regional activity is true for the Americas as well, but less so for the Pacific which is rapidly becoming more popular with Asian markets, he said, adding, "once again, we need to be mindful of the fact that in delivering positive and memorable experiences to a rapidly changing inbound market mix, we need to maintain a service ethic and mind-set that is consistently superior and at the same time, tailored to the very different needs of an increasingly diverse range of visitors."
"In developing a service mindset, we need to ask ourselves are we preparing to welcome 898 million foreign arrivals into Asia Pacific in 2023, or should we think of that instead, as one very special visitor, 898 million times. Your perspective on that can make all the difference," Dr Hardy added.

PATA Nepal Chapter awards Rana, Kansakar

PATA Nepal felicitated its founder chairman Prabhakar SJB Rana with 'Lifetime Achievement' award during the 42nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal Chapter here today.
PATA Nepal felicitated its founder chairman Prabhakar SJB Rana with the first ever 'Lifetime Achievement' award in honour and recognition to his contributions, achievements and many layers of service in the development and promotion of quality-tourism in Nepal, reads a press note from the PATA Nepal Chapter.
Rana is the Chairman Emeritus of Soaltee Hotel and a well-known pioneer industrialist and entrepreneur in the tourism, hydropower and automobiles sector. He also served in many public and private sector organisations and institutions.
Likewise, PATA Nepal Chapter awarded managing director Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) Sugat Ratna Kansakar with the ‘PATA Personality of the year 2018 Award' in recognition of his valuable contribution and commendable role in promoting Nepali tourism sector over the recent years.
Similarly, the  ‘Best Student Chapter of the year’ was awarded to Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management (NATHM) in recognition of their dedication and contribution in engaging with the initiatives of PATA Nepal Chapter and best illustrating the activities, programmes, and events in line with the aims and objectives of PATA Nepal Student Chapter.
The 42nd AGM of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal Chapter themed – 'Stepping towards Digital Transformation' – also listened an expert on Digital Marketing and executive director of Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office Jens Thraenhart as the keynote speaker, who shared the valuable insights on digital transformation. Embracing the need of digital transformation for Nepali tourism sector, PATA Nepal Chapter had invited Jens, who presented on 'Collaborative Social Commerce Driving Digital Transformation - an Opportunity for Nepal' on the occasion.
Likewise, PATA Nepal had also invited chairman of International China Investment Forum Dr Marcus Lee as the Guest of Honour, who presented on 'How to attract Chinese Visitors effectively'.
Welcoming the guests, PATA Nepal Chapter chairman, Sunil Sakya emphasised on the need for immediate strengthening the national flag carrier. "Opening of new air corridor and the necessary infrastructures along with the establishment of international Convention Center in Kathmandu valley are keys to promote tourism," he said, proposing the government and Nepal Tourism Board to bring back 'PATA Adventure Travel Mart' to Nepal in 2020. "As we are celebrating Visit Nepal Year in 2020, we believe that the hosting of PATA Adventure Mart once again in 2020 would be a great value-add for the industry and this would add the significant value to meet the target of 2 million tourists set by the government."
PATA Nepal Chapter had hosted PATA Adventure Travel Mart and Conference in Nepal 6 times in Nepal so far.
The chief guest tourism minister Rabindra Adhikari, on the occasion, commended PATA Nepal Chapter for successfully organising Himalayan Travel Mart, which has played an important role in promotion as well as increasing the tourist arrival in the country. He also emphasised that the increasing tourist arrival at the present scenario is the collaborative efforts along with the 22 hours operation of TIA and many positive initiatives undertaken. 

Mishra gets lifetime award from PATA

Executive chairman of Temple Tiger Group of Companies Basant Raj Mishra has been conferred with a Life Membership Award by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) during the PATA annual summit 2018 held in South Korea today.
The award – the association’s highest honour – is presented to an individual affiliated to a PATA member organisation who has devoted exceptional service to the tourism industry in Pacific Asia Region. Mishra was also the first Nepali to be the secretary and treasurer of PATA. The summit brings together international thought leaders, industry shapers and senior decision-makers who are professionally engaged with the Asia Pacific region. The summit embraces a global forum for enhancing the sustainable growth, value and quality of tourism.
The association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its member organisations, comprising 95 governments, state and city tourism bodies, 29 international airlines, airports and cruise lines, 63 educational institutions, and hundreds of travel industry companies in Asia Pacific and beyond.
Since 1951 PATA has led from the front as the leading voice and authority on travel and tourism in the Asia Pacific region.

Himalayan Travel Mart to be organised every year

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal Chapter and Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) today announced that Himalayan Travel Mart would be organised every year in the country to boost domestic tourism.
Addressing a debriefing of the Himalayan Travel Mart that Nepal hosted between June 1 and 4, NTB chief executive officer (CEO) Deepak Raj Joshi said that Nepal had not been able to host big tourism events in the country for many years even though tourism events are crucial to promote Nepal as a tourist destination in the global market.
"The Himalayan Travel Mart this year was a grand success with hundreds of international tourism experts, bloggers and media representatives attending the event and promoting Nepal’s tourism globally," he said, adding that the PATA Nepal Chapter and NTB will jointly organise such marts every year from now onward in between the last week of May and first week of June.
Joshi also said that the Himalayan Tourism Mart this year has already started showing its impact on domestic tourism, with relatively more number of tourists visiting the country in the first half of the year.
According to the Department of Immigration, Nepal received a total of 460,237 tourists in the first half of this year via air route, against 313,512 in the corresponding period of the previous year.
President of Nepal PATA Chapter Suman Pandey, on the occasion, informed that the Himalayan Travel Mart was able to promote Nepal’s tourism among more than 250 foreign tourism stakeholders and it was a great achievement for the domestic tourism industry. "The government and the private sector should collaborate to organise more of such events in the country to promote Nepal’s tourism potential and attract more foreign visitors," he added.