Kathmandu, June 3

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has said that it is ready to help the Nepali tourism sector through knowledge transfer. “PATA is an organisation with an enormous global network and what we seek to do is provide help to Nepal to access the benefits of this global tourism network,” Chris Bottrill, chairman of PATA told The Himalayan Times.

“One of the core assets that we have is our knowledge about global tourism and how it operates. So, we can help Nepal expand its tourism market but we have not received enough requests for help from Nepal,” informed Bottrill. “I would urge Nepal to seek more input from us.”

Bottrill further said that it is not a daunting task for Nepal to attract high-end tourists who can spend more money but the country needs to first build the necessary infrastructure. “We all know that Nepal has really fine people, quality resources and also an incredible culture,” he stated. “But what is important is that most of the people will pay only if they are able to get a quality tourism experience, so PATA encourages the tourism fraternity in Nepal to make an action plan based on that and start working towards achieving it.”

“Nepal has immense potential in the tourism sector with an abundance of natural resources but the country has not been able to develop the infrastructure required to reap the benefits of the resources,” Bottrill informed.

He also said that there are many well-wishers around the world who would want to see Nepal realise its tourism potential and PATA would be ready to extend assistance for it. Bottrill also suggested the government to expand the number of tourist destinations and mentioned that if Nepal was able to provide quality tourism experience then it would be able to fulfil its target of drawing two million tourists annually by 2020.

Bottrill spoke to THT on the sidelines of the second edition of the Himalayan Travel Mart (HTM), which concluded in Kathmandu today. The three-day event saw participation of 59 buyers from 26 countries, and 52 sellers from seven different countries including Nepal, India, Bhutan, South Korea, Indonesia, Turkey and UAE.

The event also included the International Travel Bloggers and Media Conference (ITBMC) where bloggers from across the world discussed on various burning issues in the global tourism industry.