Kathmandu, January 30

The ‘Nepal-India-China Expo (NICE)’, scheduled initially for February 22 to 25, has been postponed owing to some unfavourable circumstances, and limitations on the travel of Chinese delegates due to the novel coronavirus outbreak in China.

The executive committee meeting of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal Chapter held recently decided to postpone the event as a matter of precaution to the health and safety of all the delegates and invitees.

“We are closely monitoring the ongoing crisis (coronavirus pneumonia) in China, and shall endorse an appropriate future date for NICE once the situation seems controlled and favourable for this historic tri-national tourism expo. We request all registered delegates, invitees, and stakeholders to stay tuned for further updates from the association,” a media release issued today has quoted PATA Chairman Bibhuti Chand Thakur as saying.

Suraj Vaidya, the national programme coordinator of Visit Nepal 2020, said, “NICE is one of our top priority events, which shall play an instrumental role for the growth of tourism in Nepal, and we will be working together with PATA for making this a successful event of 2020.”

PATA Nepal Chapter CEO Suresh Singh Budal informed that the necessary preparation was almost completed with confirmed participation of 120 buyers and 50 exhibitors. However, due to the present unfavourable scenario, the association has decided to organise the event on a later date this year. He added, “It’s a high time to come together to show our solidarity for speedy control and recovery of health crisis. Meanwhile, we have to take precautions and work together for the possible risk mitigation and crisis management in tourism.”