Feb 28, 2007

Number of Trained Rescuers In Nepal Reaches 39

Being a Himalayan country with good prospects for mountain tourism, Nepal requires more trained high altitude mountain rescuers to ensure safety for mountaineering.

The number of such rescuers has reached 39 after five more trainees have received certificates on February 27, 2007. The trainees underwent the training recently in the Langtang Region of Rasuwa district. The Langtang Region is regarded as the third main trekking area after the world-famous Annapurna Region and the Everest Region.

Of the total trained rescuers, 23 have achieved the skills of working as commanders, five as assistant trainers and 21 as supporters.

Speaking at a certificate distribution ceremony organized in the capital city of Kathmandu on February 27, 2007, Mr. Da Gombu Sherpa, the President of Nepal Mountaineering Training Association, viewed that the future of Nepal's mountain tourism is directly linked with the availability of trained high altitude rescuers.

In an apparent reference to previous record of casualties in the high mountains, he said that on some seasons when there was harsh weather as many as 80 mountaineers have lost their lives. "Even during normal weather, records reveal that 10-15 mountaineers have lost their lives in a single season."

The training was conducted by Nepal Mountaineering Instructors' Association (NMIA) in cooperation with the French Embassy, Yuves Pollet Villard Foundation of France (YPVF), Rescue Association of France GENDARMERIE (CINISAG) France, IFREMONT (France) and Nepal National Mountaineering Guide Association (NNMGA), among others.

According to him, the association is looking forward to setting up branch offices for the rescue missions in all the five development regions. The existing trained manpower would be used to train the locals for high altitude rescue missions, he said.

French Ambassador to Nepal, Mr. Michel Jolivet emphasized the need to ensure safe mountaineering in order to attract more mountaineers in Nepal.

He said that the French Embassy has felt the need to train as many numbers of high mountain rescuers as possible after some French mountaineers lost their lives at Kangaru and Cho-Oyu.

The training is the second in a series and the French Embassy along with its partners are looking forward to conduct the training on a regular basis to prepare 100 rescuers by 2009. The partners also envisage to establish a rescue squad in Kathmandu as a headquarters, as well as regional squads in various parts of Nepal.

French envoy Mr. Jolivet and Mr. Da Gombu had jointly presented the certificates to the trainees at a function organised at the French Embassy.

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Feb 28, 2007

Snow Leopard To Lead Everest Expedition

In a bid to pay tributes to the martyrs, who sacrificed their lives during the People's Movement of April 2006, a six-member Democratic Everest Expedition (DEE) is going to scale the 8,848-metre Mt. Everest during the first week of March 2007.

The expedition will be led by famous climber Mr. Ang Rita Sherpa. The expedition team will put the flags of eight political parties, Amnesty International (AI), INSEC, United Nations and other human rights organizations and photos of the martyrs on top of the world's tallest peak.

Mr. Sherpa, who is popularly known as the "Snow Leopard", has already made it to the top of Mt. Everest for 10 times without oxygen.

Speaking at a press conference organized in Kathmandu on February 27, 2007, team leader Mr. Sherpa said that expedition aims to facilitate the study and research regarding Everest expedition. Besides, the team is going to prepare a documentary to promote Nepal's mountain tourism at national and international levels.

Apart from this, the campaign also aims to provide counseling and conduct training for the climbers and professionals and launch welfare programs

The resources to be collected from the expedition would be utilized for setting up a trust named Hiun Chituwa (Snow Leopard) to run various welfare activities for the martyrs' families.

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Feb 18, 2007

Indian Army Team To Attempt On Everest

An expedition team of the Indian Army (IA) is going to attempt on Mt. Everest from the northern side in spring 2007.

The Indian Army has selected a 20-member mountaineering team for attempting on the world's tallest peak. Lieutenant Colonel IS Thapa of the Maratha Light Infantry will lead the Expedition, say news reports, quoting the Indian Defence Ministry.

About 45 IA personnel were selected to undergo an advanced mountaineering training course at the Western Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Manali.

The expedition is likely to begin in the second half of March.

This will be the Indian Army's fourth expedition to the 8,848-metre peak. In 2005, an all-women team of the IA had scaled the peak. IA expedition teams also made it to the peak in 2001 and 2003.

HIMALAYA Expeditions Agency of Nepal, a leading Expedition & Adventure Sports Operating company of Nepal , will be coordinating the Ground Handling of this Indian Army Everest Expedition in Nepal and Tibet / China .

According to Mr. Bikrum Pandey, the President of HIMALAYA Expeditions, Inc., his company has been a handling Indian Army Everest Expeditions for the last several years.

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Feb 17, 2007

SAARC Car Rally Being Held To Promote Tourism

The SRRAC Car Rally 2007 was officially launched in all the eight SAARC member countries on February 15, 2007. The rally will strengthen ties between the people, promote goodwill and enhance economic cooperation among the member countries of the regional body.

The rally is going to begin from Cox's Bazaar Stadium of Bangladesh on March 15 and end in the Maldives on April 14. The rally will be covering a total distance of 8,200 kilometres during the 30 days, according to Bodh Raj Niraula, member-secretary of the Car Rally main organising committee.

Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had proposed the rally during the 13th SAARC Summit. Foreign ministers of the members countries had also endorsed the proposal. The routes have been selected to highlight the places of major tourist attractions of the member countries and possibilities of trade by road, states a press release issued by the rally organising committee.

The cars, which will be provided by Tata Motors, would leave Bangladesh on March 18 for Bhutan and it would come to Nepal via India.

In Nepal, the rally is going to initiate from Kakarvitta on March 23 and take a night break at the tourist hub city of Pokhara, said Mr. Niraula, who is also the Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Sports/ the Government of Nepal.

A welcome reception for the cars will be hosted at Nagdhunga on March 24. After a night stay in Kathmandu, the rally will leave for Lumbini, the birthplace or Lord Buddha, through Narayangadh on March 25. The rally will complete its Nepal visit on March 26 with a flag-off ceremony at Mahendranagar in western part of the country.

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Feb 14, 2007

Kathmandu witnesses snowfall after 62 years

With the incessant rainfall during the whole day on Wednesday (February 14, 2007), the capital valley of Kathmandu has witnessed brief snowfall after about 62 years. According to senior meteorologists, Kathmandu had seen the last snowfall on January 6, 1944. On that day, one feet of snow had covered Kathmandu. The rainfall was the result of the westerly.

Due to rainfall, temperature of the valley has gone down significantly. The temperature of the valley was 7 degree Celsius in the morning, which went down to 3 degrees Celsius in the afternoon. However, the weather is expected to improve from tomorrow (February 15).

The snowfall lasted just about five minutes at around Airport, Balaju, New Road, Baneshwor, Teenkune, Bhaktapur, Godavari, Jawlakhel, Lagankhel, and other areas.

The hills around the Valley such as Shivapuri, Phulchowki, Nagarkot, Nagarjun, Lakuri Bhanjyang were also covered with about three-feet snow. Likewise, Dhulikhel was under one feet of snowfall. Meanwhile, Dolakha, Rasuwa, Solukhumbu, Palpa, Kalikot, Sankhuwasava, Parbat, Taplejung and some other mountainous and hilly districts saw snowfalls.

The roads in the snow covered areas were obstructed and telephone and electricity services were halted due to snowfall.

During the last 24 hours, Bhairahawa recorded the highest rainfall of 98.5 mm, while Birendranagar, Pokhara and Kathmandu received 92.3 mm, 79.9 mm and 20 mm rainfall respectively.

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Feb 14, 2007

Tourist Arrivals Up by 5.8% in January

The beginning month 2007 has shown encouraging tourist arrivals trend. During the month, Nepal recorded a total of 23,079 tourists from across the world, as against the figure of 21,807 in January 2006. This is an increase by 5.8 percent, according to the information made available by the Immigration Office at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).

The number of tourists from Japan increased by 41.6 percent. Arrivals from South Korea increased by a whooping number of 82.8 percent. Arrivals from Thailand shot up by 37.8 percent. But the Chinese market showed very dismal performance. In comparison to the figures of January last year, the number of Chinese visitors declined by about 40 percent.

Arrivals from the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries declined by about 8 percent. Arrivals from Indian went down by 4.8 percent. The number of tourists from Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan decreased 29.9 percent, 47.3 percent and 27.4 percent respectively.

It is noteworthy that the number of tourists visiting from the European market went up by about 11 percent with growth from key markets like France (13.6%), Germany (23.1%), Italy (33%) and Spain (35.4%). Arrivals from the United Kingdom didn't change much (-0.7%), while Dutch arrivals grew up by 14 percent. However, arrivals from Austria, Belgium and Denmark went down by 5.6 percent, 4.9 percent and 5.4 percent respectively.

Arrivals from Australia and the US increased by 118.6 percent and 33.6 percent last month as compared to the figures of January 2006.

As more and more foreign airlines have started operating flights to Nepal together with the peace process, the number of tourists visiting the country is expected to go up significantly this year. The end of the decade-long internal conflict in the Himalayan country seems to have built up confidence among prospective visitors.

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Feb 13, 2007

Nepal's Dozen Remote Airports To Be Improved

With a view to improving air access to Nepal's remote areas, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), is planning to upgrade physical facilities of about a dozen of Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) airports. The authority is going to implement its plan with the financial assistance of the World Bank (WB).

The CAAN, the only responsible body to look after the country's civil aviation sector, will blacktop the runways, expand the airport areas and build modern terminal buildings in the airports. It will also install necessary navigation and communication systems in the airports order to make the air services more reliable and regular.

High level sources at the CAAN informed that the airports to be upgraded include Simikot of Humla, Dolpa, Rara in Mugu, Bajhang, Kalikot, Salle of Rukum, Manang, Tumlingtar, Taplejung, Rumjatar and Khanidanda of Khotang.

The CAAN said it has forwarded a proposal to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) for necessary support.

With the improvements of physical facilities at these airports, more private sector airlines will be attracted to operate flights to the remote areas. This will not only help contribute to the development of social development of the areas but also promote tourism there.

At present, there are about three dozens of domestic airports across the Himalayan country of Nepal.

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Feb 12, 2007

Nepal Airlines Told To Buy Aircraft

At a time when the Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has failed to move ahead the process of acquiring additional aircraft for its international flights, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Mr. Pradeep Kumar Gyawali has instructed the NAC management to forward the procedure soon.

Speaking at a gathering of NAC employees' union in Kathmandu on February 11, 2007, Minister Mr. Gyawali said that the national flag carrier must buy aircraft. "The government has given full authority to the NAC in this regard," he said.
He also clarified the government's policy to develop the state-owned airliner into a public-private organization.

The airline has been operating flights to about 10 various destinations in Asia with its only two old aircraft.

Lack of good air accessibility has been one of the major reasons behind the slackness of Nepal's tourism industry. To overcome this bottleneck, the national flag carrier needs to be made much more stronger and credible.

News reports have it that many foreign tourists from several tourist generating markets, including Europe, could not visit Nepal during the autumn last year due to lack of good air connections.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary of the Government of Nepal Dr. Bhoj Raj Ghimire told the NAC management to step up necessary measures to improve the condition of the airline.
Similarly, Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NAC, Mr. Madhav Prasad Ghimire lauded NAC for its continued services for the remote parts of Nepal. "The airline has been playing the role of Nepal's goodwill ambassador and in bringing tourists into the country," he said.
On the occasion, Managing Director of the NAC, Mr. Gautam Das Shrestha vowed that the management would leave no stone unturned to acquire required numbers of aircraft within the given timeframe.

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Feb 6, 2007

China Southern Commences Flights to Kathmandu

The China Southern Airlines (CSA) commenced to operate its scheduled flights on Guangzhou-Kathmandu-Guangzhou route from February 5, 2007.

With 165 passengers, the maiden flight of the Chinese flagship landed at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) on Monday (February 5).

The passengers were greeted at the airport by the Panchakanyas (five little girls) attired in traditional Nepali dresses. Representatives the Nepal Tourism Board and Gorkha Travels Pvt. Ltd, the general sales agent of the airlines in Nepal, welcomed the passengers with garland and khada.
With its Boeing 757-200 aircraft, CSA operates flights to and from Kathmandu every Monday and Friday.
The establishment of the direct air links between Guangzhou, the business hub city of China, and the capital city of Kathmandu, is expected to help promote bilateral tourism between China and Nepal.

Being the maim industrial and commercial hub of southern China, Guangzhou is close to the affluent city of Shenzhen and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China. Guangzhou is also the largest tourist generating market in China with around 34 million outbound tourists.
CSA, the largest airline in China, connects more than 80 cities around the world. Major business and vacation destinations served in China include: Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Guilin, Hong Kong, Kunming, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Wuhan.

The airliner operates international services to cities such as Amsterdam, Bangkok, Dubai, Fukuoka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Islamabad, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Lagos, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, Moscow, Osaka, Paris, Penang, Phnom Penh, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.

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Feb 6, 2007

Nepal Promoted In FITUR 2007

Nepal was highlighted as a premier tourist destination in the FITUR fair 2007 held at Faire de Madrid in Madrid, Spain.

The five-day tourism fair was formally inaugurated by the Queen of Spain, Her Royal Highness Queen Sophia amidst a special opening ceremony on January 31, 2007.
The participation of Nepali travel trade companies in the mart was coordinated and facilitated by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and Nepal Association of Travel and Tour Agents (NATTA).

A total of eight travel trade companies of Nepal participated in the fair. An extensive interaction was held with foreign tour operators, journalists and general visitors at the Nepal stall. Promotional materials such as brochures and CDs were distributed to them. Similarly, a DVD with the theme of “Naturally Nepal Once is not Enough" was also presented, according to a press statement issued by NTB.

Nepal stall also offered tour packages and travel information to the visitors.
The tourism mart had become an important forum for the Nepalese travel trade companies to promote Nepal. "Information about Nepal's improved political situation and the end of the Maoist insurgency was disseminated there," NTB's press release states. According to NTB, the foreign visitors in the mart were very much positive about visiting Nepal. Many media people showed their interest in coming to Nepal and featuring the country as one of the upcoming holiday destinations for the Spanish travelers.
Being one of the largest travel fairs in Europe, the FITUR 2007 marked the 27th year of its commencement.

A total of 845 exhibitors from 170 various countries exhibited their products in the fair. The FITUR organizers said the number of participants in the fair went by 10% this year, as compared to the figure of last year. An estimated150,000 persons, including travel trade professionals and local consumers, took part in the fair.

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