Nepal-Bangladesh Tourism Promotion and B2B Exchange Programme Concludes

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Nepal-Bangladesh Tourism Promotion and B2B Exchange Programme Concludes

November 23: PATA Nepal Chapter, in collaboration with PATA Bangladesh Chapter, successfully concluded the Nepal-Bangladesh Tourism Promotion and B2B Exchange Program on November 21. The programme had kicked off on November 16.

The joint collaboration between PATA Chapters of Nepal and Bangladesh was done 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 tourists between the two neighboring nations, the organisers said in a joint statement

PATA Nepal Chapter, with the support of its member and partner organizations, 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, two media persons and two students from PATA Bangladesh Dhaka University Student Chapter.

The exchange program included familiarization visit to Pokhara for Bangladeshi delegates from 17th to 19th November 2021 wherein a "Tourism Networking and Interaction Session” was organized in collaboration with Pokhara Tourism Council and NTB Pokhara on November 18 at Hotel Barahi in Pokhara, Nepal. The Tourism Networking program in Pokhara witnessed the enthusiastic participation of 70 plus tour operators and service providers from the tourism fraternity, the statement added.

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

PATA Nepal Chairman, Bibhuti Chand Thakur, emphasized the need to embrace the promotion of "regional travel", as an action plan, for reviving tourism. Since the long haul travel might take a little longer to recover, he said that the nearby destinations, preferably accessible by road or short-haul flights, have more opportunities to build back their tourism.

Dr. Dhananjay Regmi, CEO of Nepal Tourism Board and Mohammad Saiful Hasan, the deputy director and secretary of Bangladesh Tourism Board, shared their destination insights and thoughts on the prospects of tourism exchange between Nepal and Bangladesh.

Addressing the function, Shahi Hamid, chairman of PATA Bangladesh, 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 said that Nepal used to welcome about 26 thousand Bangladeshis annually before the pandemic and this can be easily doubled with effective promotion and marketing initiatives.

Secretary at Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Yadav Koirala, who was invited as the chief guest of the programme, expressed his sincere thanks to PATA chapters of Nepal and Bangladesh for undertaking the needful and timely initiative to promote regional tourism. 

He recommended that Nepal needs to enhance its collaborative marketing and promotional events, organize FAM Trips, improve infrastructures (especially road connectivity), and develop extended tour packages to flourish tourism in both countries. He further assured that the Ministry of Tourism shall 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 (organizing 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.

 

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