Kathmandu, June 3

The third edition of the Himalayan Travel Mart (HTM) 2019 is all set to begin from June 6 for three days in Kathmandu.

Organising a press meet here today, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) informed about the event that is being held in coordination with the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Nepal Tourism Board, Nepal Airlines Corporation and PATA Nepal Chapter.

The three-day event is the country’s premier international travel and tourism trade show facilitating unparalleled networking and business opportunities and valuable industry insights among global tourism and hospitality organisations, said PATA President Sunil Shakya.

According to Shakya, the HTM has been divided into four parts. The first activity of HTM, pre-mart familiarisation tours for the hosted buyers and international travel bloggers and media was started from May 25 and will continue till June 5. Similarly, the second part is the HTM conference which is being held under the theme ‘The Spirit of the Himalayas’.

“The conference will include insights on the industry from over 20 world-class speakers, industry leaders, spiritual leaders, mystics, influencers and international tourism experts,” he said.

Similarly, the third part will be international travel bloggers and media conference, while the last one is the buyers and sellers meet.

Shakya further said that the major priority of HTM this year is to add value for stakeholders in terms of insightful conference, tourism promotion of the country, networking and mutually fruitful business opportunities between the sellers and buyers.

“As the country is hosting Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign, this year, we are planning to organise an international media briefing session for the campaign among national and international media and bloggers/influencers, which we believe to be one of the best platforms for its promotion,” he said, adding, “We have invited 38 international travel bloggers, influencers and media delegates as part of the International Travel Bloggers and Media Conference.”

As per PATA, around 700 delegates from 41 countries are taking part at the third HTM, including over 140 national and international guests and delegates. In the second edition of HTM, 52 buyers from 26 different countries and 52 sellers from Nepal, India, Bhutan, South Korea, Indonesia, Turkey and UAE had participated.