KATHMANDU: A meeting of Adventure Sports Tourism Society (ASTS) was organised here yesterday under the chairmanship of ASTS president Bikrum Pandey to discuss the role of adventure sports tourism in Nepal Tourism Year (NTY) 2011.

The meeting attended by Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO) immediate past president Basant Raj Mishra, Nepal Association of Tour and Trekking Agents (NATTA) president Arjun Sharma, Trekking Agents Association of Nepal (TAAN) president Sitaram Sapkota, Society of Adventure Tour Operators (SATO) president JB Singh, Nepal Canyoning Association (NCA) president Tilak Lama, Nepal Airsports Association (NAA) president Stephan Shrestha and presidents of other adventure sports related associations discussed the problems and prospects of adventure sports tourism in Nepal in the context of NTY 2011.

Addressing the meeting ASTS president Pandey said the objective of ASTS is to bring all adventure sports tourism activities under a single umbrella and develop and promote new adventure sports in international arenas. “We have already had successful events like Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon, Paragliding Championship and Skydiving. It’s necessary to revive internationally acclaimed events like the Triathlon in Pokhara and Cross-Country Mountain Biking in Kathmandu Valley that were quite popular earlier and which had made Nepal a top adventure sports destination,” he said. He also floated the idea of a static balloon at Everest base camp apart from an Annapurna Marathon.

NATO president Mishra said that it was high time to organize adventure sports tourism symposia for highlighting Nepal’s tourism potential internationally by inviting prominent adventure sports personalities. TAAN president Sapkota urged for finalising the activities of adventure sports events at earliest for NTY 2011. NAA president Shrestha requested all to organize a pre-Olympic airsports show in Nepal in 2011.

Participants voiced commitment to promote more adventure sports in NTY 2011. They said doing holding such sports events throughout the year would give the positive impression to visitors Nepal is a destination for all seasons.

Commitment a must

KATHMANDU: The NTY 2011 secretariat is seeking commitment from all political parties to make the NTY event a grand success. “We are talking with political parties for their support and written commitment,” said secretariat coordinator Yogendra Shakya at a consultation meeting with Rotary Club of midtown Lalitpur. Political parties must stop bandhs and strikes and support us or else NTY won’t be a success, he said. Rotarian Dr Jagadish Chandra Pokhrel urged the secretariat to come up with innovative ideas that can distribute the benefits of tourism across the country. He also suggested promoting domestic tourism along with welcoming foreign tourists.