Nepal’s participation at the World Travel Market (WTM) 2018 at ExCel, London, concluded successfully on Nov. 7, 2018, followed by Destination Showcase. The fair provided an ideal platform for fresh promotions, visibility of Nepal as an exotic holiday getaway, and in providing the latest information and updates in the UK market.
The fair was led by Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) in coordination with 32 private sector tourism companies. The delegation was led by Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Tourism Board Mr. Deepak Raj Joshi. Private sector participants renewed their contacts and created new contacts during the fair. Nepal’s participation was bigger than previous years with bigger space centrally located with an attractive stand.
Tourism professionals, tour operators, private companies, members of the media, photographers, bloggers, and content creators from Britain and around the world visited the Nepal Stall at the WTM 2018. Many wanted to know about the situation in Nepal and about the different tourism destinations, while many inquired about the best way to promote Nepal. His Excellency Nepal’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom Mr. Durga Bahadur Subedi also visited the Nepal Stall with officials from the Nepal Embassy.
On Nov. 6, a soft launching of “Visit Nepal 2020” was held at the Nepal pavilion & honored to receive Mr. Hari Buda Magar, the international adventure hero with double amputee as a special speaker. The biggest highlight was “Lonely Planet presenting Nepal the award for Kathmandu “the best cities to visit in 2019”. The program was attended by British tour operators, media and friends of Nepal in London, and the delegation of Nepal and Nepali tour operators. The Evening included with virtual Nepali kitchen where the invitees enjoyed an array of Nepali snacks including chewla, bara, sel roti, aloo achar etc.
At the program, His Excellency the Ambassador of Nepal to the UK Mr. Subedi spoke about the amicable relations between Nepal and UK and was positive about the growing British market for Nepal. At the program.
Nepal also participated in a Destination Showcase Program at the Le Meridien on Nov. 7, as Headline Sponsorer of the event, where NTB educated 150 local tour professionals and potential sellers. The program highlighted Nepal as a destination among the UK and international tour operators.
On Nov. 8, the Nepali delegation attended the International Travel Crisis Management Summit (ITCMS) attended by tourism and travel experts from around the world. The summit had panel discussions on the management of the crisis in the travel industry. NTB CEO Mr. Joshi was also a part of one of the panel discussions where he shared Nepal’s experience as a destination in overcoming the tourism crisis after the 2015 earthquake. And NTB CEO was awarded highest IIPT Champions in Challenge Award 2018 from “International Institute for Peace Through Travel and Tourism” at the summit.
