Tourism Fraternity of Nepal Pays Tributes to Hillary

The world bade goodbye to Sir Edmund Percival Hillary on January 22, 2008, when his state funeral was organised in Auckland, New Zealand. Thousands of people from across the globe attended there to pay their final respects to late Hillary.

Meanwhile, in Nepal, the Ministry of Culture Tourism and Civil Aviation, Nepal Tourism Board and other tourism-related organisations paid their last tributes to Hillary.

The renowned mountaineer passed away in Auckland on January 11 this year.

At a condolence meeting organised in Kathmandu on January 22, high-level tourism officials and representatives of various tourism-related associations recalled late Hillary’s significant contribution in the fields of education, health and tourism in Nepal.

Shedding light on the contribution made by late Hillary in the development of the mountain region, Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Lila Mani Paudel said that the Government of Nepal would announce an annual event to honour the world-famous climber.

On the occasion, Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Tourism Board, Mr. Prachanda Man Shrestha highlighted late Hillary as mountaineer, conservationist and philanthropist.

“We were inspired to conserve the environment of the Everest region by late Hillary,” said Mr. Shrestha.

“He helped us understand the importance of eco-friendly tourism,” Mr. Shrestha said.

Yeti Airlines Begins Int’l Flights

Yeti Airlines International, a joint venture company of Yeti Airlines and Air Arabia, started operating its international flights from January 23, 2008. Its inaugural flight took off to Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia on Wednesday morning.

With its Boeing 737-800 aircraft, the airline operates three weekly flights to Kuala Lumpur and Sharjah each from Kathmandu.

Also known as FlyYeti.Com, the carrier is the first Nepalese low-cost carrier established with joint investment.

The airline is also planning to bring in two more aircraft, one Airbus-320 and another Boeing 737-800 within the next two months. It is going to expand its services to Doha, Hong Kong, Lhasa, Bangkok, Abhu Dhabi and Riyadh.

The Government of Nepal has granted permit to the airline to operate flights to 14 various destinations in different countries of Asia, including Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and the Republic of Korea.

January 22, 2008

Tourist Arrivals Increase by 27% in 2007

The number of tourists visiting Nepal by air in 2007 from different parts of the globe reached 360,350, according to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).

The arrival figure of 2007 is up by 27 % as compared to 2006. This is the highest figure in the last seven years.

The ongoing peace process in Nepal and the increased air connectivity to the country are the major reasons behind this encouraging surge in tourist arrivals.

The year 2008 seems to be more promising in terms of tourism growth, as the seven-party alliance government is working out plans to hold the much-awaited elections to the Constituent Assembly and more foreign airlines are operating their flights to Kathmandu. Besides, considering the ever growing demand, the online airlines are increasing their flights.

Meanwhile, tourist arrivals in the last month of 2007 went up by 13% by air in comparison with the figure of the corresponding month of 2006. In December 2007, a total of 29,895 foreign tourists came to Nepal. This is up by 3,433 as compared to the same month of 2006.

The NTB states that arrivals from Europe, the United States and other non-Indian markets increased by about 25 %. But the number of tourists from India declined by about 8.5% in December, the NTB states.

Arrivals from China and Singapore increased by 114.6% and 92% respectively.

TIMS Enforced From January 1, 2008

The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) signed an agreement to enforce the provision of Trekkers' Information Management System (TIMS) from January 1, 2008.

The new mechanism aims to maintain database of trekkers and discourage illegal operations in the trekking industry.

Under this provision, all trekkers should have a valid TIMS certificate/slip that is available free of cost to trekkers at the TIMS counters of the TAAN and the NTB.

The NTB says it issues TIMS certificates free of cost to both trekkers who wish to go on trekking through the government-registered trekking companies and Free Individual Tourists (FITs).

The TAAN would use the offices of all its member agents as TIMS counters. The trekking agencies that aren't affiliated with TAAN, however, have to get TIMS certificates from either TAAN Secretariat or NTB. Similarly, TAAN's Western Regional Chapter Pokhara would issue TIMS certificate/slip in the tourist hub city of Pokhara as well.

Apart from helping in record keeping of trekkers in particular trekking routes, the database is also believed to be useful for the concerned agencies or individuals to carry out rescue operations during emergencies.

TIMS certificate/slip can be obtained from NTB Office, Bhrikutimandap, NTB Office Pokhara, Belahia-Bhairahawa, Gadda Chauki- Mahendranagar, Kakarvitta and other NTB-designated counters in future.

January 2, 2008