KATHMANDU: A team of representatives of Nepali travel companies is setting off to promote tourism in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong from August 29 to September 5.

Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) president Ram Kaji Koney said the main aim of the visit is to promote Nepal Tourism Year 2011, the 3rd

NATTA Himalayan International Travel Mart

and the 43rd World Congress of UFTAA. The team consists of 25 Nepali travel company entrepreneurs.

The first promotion

programme will be organised on August 31 at Shanghai. The visit will

basically focus on sale of tour packages to Chinese tourists. Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Sharat Singh Bhandari

will also be participating in the programme at Beijing, said Koney. On September 4, programmes related to Nepali tourism promotion will be conducted at Hong Kong with coordination of the Nepali Consulate at Honkong.

According to NATTA, 4.5 lakh Chinese tourists visited India last year while

the number of Chinese tourists visiting Nepal during that period was 33,316. “Though the Chinese government has named Nepal as one of the top tourist destinations, the number of Chinese tourists coming here is only seven per cent of the total tourist arrivals,” said Koney.

Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Airlines Corporation are jointly supporting the tourism promotion programmes at Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong.

Trade Fair

KATHMANDU: The twelfth Nepal-Tibet economic and trade fair is taking place in the Tibetan city of Sigatse next week. The five-day trade fair will start on September 3. It will be the largest such international level trade fair organized in Tibet in two years. Nepal-Tibet trade fair is being organized with the objective of promoting economic and business exchanges between Nepal and the People’s Republic of China. The trade fair will see discussions on bilateral investments, promotion of trade in essential commodities, expansion of economic cooperation and tourism promotion and cultural exchange, the Ministry of Commerce of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, stated. China will provide 60 of 160 stalls being constructed for the fair to Nepali businessmen free of cost. Nepal-Tibet trade fair is held every two years alternately in Nepal and Tibet since 1985. — HNS