KATHMANDU: Nepal hosted the International Travel Bloggers and Media Conference 2017 on Thursday to promote the tourism of the quake-ravaged country.
Over 250 representatives from 50 countries including 107 travel bloggers participated in the one-day event jointly organized by Nepal Tourism Board and Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal chapter in Kathmandu.
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“Nepal is a perfect destination for both adventure and culture. By bringing the media and bloggers together, we want to explore possibilities and potentials to promote Nepal’s tourism,” Suman Pandey, Chairman of PATA Nepal chapter, said in his addressing remarks.
Tourist arrivals in Nepal rose by 39.71 percent to 753,002 in 2016 after arrivals plunged to a six-year low in 2015 due to the devastating earthquake.
Though Nepal received a lot of world attention following the earthquake, the tourism has not revived completely.
Tourism entrepreneurs expressed belief that the conference would provide a great opportunity for tourism promotion, which is the major source of revenue for the country’s economy.
“This event is a great opportunity for the promotion of Nepalese tourism worldwide. The government has placed tourism in priority as it is an important source of revenue and employment generation,” Nepali Minister for Health Gagan Thapa said at the opening ceremony.
Speakers of the event highlighted that Nepal is not just a home to the world’s highest peak but also a great destination for adventures, natural and cultural heritages, rich diversity and warm hospitality of people.
The conference is a part of the mega tourism event Himalayan Travel Mart 2017, that aims to redefine adventure tourism of the country and establish Nepal as a gateway to the Himalayas.
