Kathmandu, June 9

The third edition of the Himalayan Travel Mart (HTM) 2019 concluded today successfully.

The event witnessed participation of over 700 delegates from 43 different countries, including more than 150 international delegates and national stakeholders.

As per the organiser, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal Chapter, the event had presentations by more than 20 speakers including industry thought leaders, spiritual leaders, mystics, religious gurus, influencers and international tourism experts.

During the event, speakers and delegates held an interaction on various subjects including spiritual tourism, adventure travel trends, responsible and sustainable tourism, digital transformation and new trends in tourism, travel media trends, contemporary issues, and challenges and opportunities for the development of tourism in Nepal. Meanwhile, over 40 international travel bloggers and media representatives as well as over 100 local media delegates participated in the event.

Likewise, this year, the twoday B2B mart held on June 8 and 9 saw participation of 58 buyer organisations from 30 different countries and regions like the USA, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Asia and the Gulf.

Similarly, there were 54 seller organisations or exhibitors from six different countries including Nepal, India, Bhutan, Pakistan, Tibet and Thailand.

As per the organiser, the mart provided an opportunity for buyers and sellers to explore, establish, strengthen or expand their business partnerships and networking opportunities.

Prior to the third edition, around 225 international representatives from 53 countries had participated in the event in 2017 while in 2018 there were more than 170 foreign delegates from 36 countries participating in the event.

During the closing ceremony of the event, PATA Nepal Chapter announced that the fourth edition of the Himalayan Travel Mart will be held between June 12 and 15 in 2020. The four-day event will be organised and executed by PATA Nepal Chapter in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Nepal Tourism Board, PATA headquarter, Nepal Airlines Corporation and other prominent tourism organisations of Nepal.

“This year we tried to maintain the quality of the products, buyers and sellers in the event.

Meanwhile, we introduced a new product — spiritual tourism — in the event this year which has really attracted both buyers and sellers,” said PATA Nepal Chapter President Sunil Shakya. This is the first time when monks and dharma gurus participated in the event sharing information about pilgrims, ayurveda, yoga and meditation, he added. Shakya further claimed that the HTM 2019 was a big platform for the Visit Nepal Year 2020.

“The most important part of the event was the B2B session where buyers and sellers expressed their satisfaction with this event,” he added.