Dhamala elected TAAN president

The 35th annual general meeting (AGM) of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) held on Friday elected a new executive committee with Ramesh Dhamala of Ecological Treks as the new president.
The panel led by Dhamala swept the election winning all 17 posts on offer. Dhamal, who garnered 321 votes, defeated his competitor Jangbu Sherpa by 60 votes. Immediate past president Mahendra Singh Thapa and President of TAAN Pokhara Chapter Narayan Sapkota are also in the executive committee. The 23-member executive committee will take complete shape after the newly elected president nominates four members.

Keshav Pandey, Kami Rinji Sherpa, Kul Bahadur Gurung and Sagar Pandey have been elected senior vice-president, 1st vice-president, 2nd vice-president and general secretary, respectively. The AGM also elected Pasang Sherpa, Gopal Babu Shrestha and Tilak Bahadur Thapa Magar as secretary, treasurer and joint-treasurer, respectively.
Similarly, Gokul Sapkota, Palsang Tamang, Pasang Tendi Sherpa, Namaraj Gauli, Ang Pemba Sherpa, Rajendra Sapkota, Nilhari Bastola, Meghnad Timalsina and Dhan Prasad Gurung have been elected executive members.

The new executive committee will serve for a term of two years.
Earlier, Secretary at the Ministry for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Sushil Ghimire inaugurated the Annual General Meeting. He also unveiled maps and promotional DVDs of three trekking trails – Humla-Rara, Rara-Khaptad and Jaljala – in mid and far western development regions.
Secretary Ghimire also felicitated top five trekking companies with ‘Best TIMS Sales Award’. Royal High Mt Trekking, Earthbound Expeditions, Swisa’s Mountain Way Trekking, Thamserku Trekking and Himalayan Encounters were the top five companies for the fiscal year 2012/13 in terms of issuance of TIMS cards.

He also felicitated Raju Chitrakar of TAAN Secretariat and staff of TIMS Check Point at Tatopani with ‘Best Staff Award’ and handed over letter of appreciation to Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Purna Chandra Bhattarai.
Speaking at the AGM, outgoing president Mahendra Singh Thapa said tourist spending has not increased in line with the growth in tourist arrivals. “The government should look into the issue seriously,” he said, urging the government to fix minimum benchmark price for tourism products and services so as to increase tourist spending.

source: TAAN Nepal

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Tourist arrivals down 3.9% in first half of 2013

Number of tourists to Nepal via air in the first half of 2013 recorded a drop of 3.9 percent compared to arrival figures of the first six months of 2012.

According to Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), a total of 282,429 tourists came to Nepal in the first six months of 2913 compared to 294,019 recorded in the first half of 2012.

The drop in tourist arrivals was mainly due to fewer arrivals from South Asia, which holds around 35 percent share in total tourist arrival. According to NTB, arrivals from South Asia went down by 19.2 percent to 88,149 during the review period. Among the South Asian countries, arrivals from India went down by 20.9 percent.

Arrivals from Asia (other than South Asia), however, increased by 18.5 percent, thanks to healthy rise in arrivals from China. Nepal welcomed 28,832 Chinese tourists via in the review period, up by 25.9 percent compared to corresponding period in 2012.

Tourist arrivals from the European region dropped 6.3 percent to 66,535, with the number of tourists from Spain, Switzerland, Germany and Italy falling significantly. Arrivals from the United Kingdom, the biggest source market in the Europe for Nepal, grew by 1.8 percent to 16,002.

According to NTB, tourist arrivals from Australia and New Zealand grew by 24.2 percent and 15.4 percent, respectively, while those from the US increased by a robust 9.7 percent to 21,875.

Tourist arrivals to Nepal have been falling every month this year, except February. In June, tourist arrivals went down by 4.6 percent to 41,259. Number of Indian visitors in the month dropped 15.3 percent to 19,760, while arrivals from China grew by 25.7 percent.

source: Tourism Board Nepal

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Tourism programs included in budget 2013/14

The budget for fiscal year 2013/14, which the government unveiled on July 14, has put priority on infrastructure development.
 
The government has allocated Rs 630 million to develop eco-friendly tourism destinations and explore new trekking trails in different parts of the country. Similarly, it has allocated funds to develop infrastructures in places like Shree Antu in Ilam, Tistung in Mawkwanpur, Dhorpatan in mid-western region, Ranimahal in Palpa, Rara in Mugu, and Khaptad, Ramaroshan and Chisapani area in the far-western region.
 
Similarly, it has set aside Rs 1.81 billion for feasibility study, construction, upgradation and land acquisition for airports in Tikapur, Dolpa, Rukum, Ilam, Lamidanda and Bhojpur. Likewise, the government has allocated fund to install necessary equipment in Talcha Airport, Mugu; Simikot Airport, Humla; and Tenzing-Hillary Airport, Lukla. The government has also provisioned budget to conduct feasibility study for airports in Tansen of Palpa and Triyuga of Udaypur.
As a part of enhancing aviation safety, the government will install new radar and necessary technology at Tribhuvan International Airport. It will also focus on capacity enhancement of the country´s only international airport. Budget has also been allocated for developing Biratnagar, Janakpur, Nepalgunj, and Surkhet airport as hub airports.
 
The government has made it mandatory for public enterprises and Class ´A´ and ´B´ banks and financial institutions that are in profit to introduce seven-day paid holiday for their employees. The employees, however, should visit domestic tourist destinations.
 
Similarly, the government has set aside budget to develop necessary infrastructures in Lo Manthang of Mustang as part of its preparation to include Lo Manthang in UNESCO World Heritage list. Besides, the government has allocated Rs 130 million for renovation and conservation of religious and cultural sites of archaeological importance. It has set aside another Rs 430 million for strengthening cultural academy and museums in different parts of the country.

Source: Taan

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