News

TAAN to lead participation in Travel and Adventure Show
Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) is coordinating participation of Nepalis trekking agencies and adventure tour operators in the Adventure Travel Show being held on Feb 18 and 19 in San Francisco, USA. TAAN will select a maximum of 10 member agencies for participation in the travel show on first come first serve basis. The participation fee for the expo has been fixed at Rs 90,000 (one representative only), which is non-refundable. Participants will have to bear hotel accommodation, visa fees and all other expenses on their own. Travel and Adventure Show is one of the popular travel and adventure shows in US. It is organized annually in six US cities – Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Wahsington DC and San Francisco.

Hundreds of tourists airlifted from Lukla
Among thousands of stranded tourists, around 400 were airlifted from Lukla and Surke on Sunday. Helicopter and fixed wing aircraft of private airlines along with a Skytruck of Nepal Army (NA) operated 53 fights from Lukla and Surke.
Out of the total flights, 18 flights were to Lamidanda and remaining to the capital.
It is estimated that there are still around 3,500 people at the Lukla airport who are waiting to be airlifted to Kathmandu. President of Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN) Mahendra Singh Thapa said, "Although we don´t have actual figure, there are still 3,500 people stranded at Lukla including more than 2,000 tourists."
Trekking Agents said that they were receiving calls from their clients (tourists) saying that they had started facing problems for food and some of them are sick.
According to Airlines Operation Association of Nepal (AOAN), Air Dynasty operated 18 flights in Surke-Lamidanda sector and three flights in Lamidada-Kathmandu sector.
Mountain Helicopters operated nine flights bringing a total of 48 tourists to the capital. Similarly, Simrik Air which operated 11 flights brought 65 tourists to Kathmandu from Surke.
Agni Air, Sita Air and Tara Air operated one, seven and four flights respectively to Kathmandu and Lamidanda from Lukla airport in the morning when the weather improved for sometime.
However, the scheduled chopper of Nepal Army (NA) couldn´t operate the flight because of bad weather. Mi-17, the biggest chopper in operation in the country, ended up landing in Rumjhatar. NA spokesperson Ramindra Chhetri said, "We were able to bring 18 tourists from Lamidanda to Kathmandu by Skytruck." Mi-17 could not continue its flight to Lukla and it couldn´t make its way back to Kathmandu airport either, he added.
Meanwhile, Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN) on Sunday deposited Rs 2 million with NA for carrying out the rescue operation by Mi-17 chopper. TAAN president Mahendra Singh Thapa said, "Apart from bad weather, lengthy bureaucratic formalities are also delaying the rescue operation." He said the tedious formalities were finally completed on Sunday.
TAAN officials said that it may charge a nominal fee from the rescued tourists just enough to pay NA for the use of its chopper for rescue.
Trekking agents are worried that if immediate rescue is not carried out, it might harm the tourism business. Managing Director of Himalayan Expedition Bikram Pandey said, "We have not received any cancellation so far but if tourists continue to suffer, it might send a negative message to the tourist community across the world."
He said that the involvement of the government in the rescue operation will certainly improve the image of the country. "The government should have quickly taken steps and should have sought help from the private sector and humanitarian agencies to speed up the rescue operation," he added.
Tourists along with their guides and porters are stranded in Lukla airport for last seven days after no flight could be conducted from October 31 due to inclement weather.

TAAN draws govt attention toward hike in menu prices in Khumbu
A delegation of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) on Oct 18 met with Hari Basyal, Chief of Tourism Industry Division under the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), and apprised him of the problems facing the trekking sector.

During the meeting, TAAN expressed objection over unilateral hike in menu prices in Khumbu region by Khumbu Hotel Management Committee and Dingboche Hotel Association. “Trekking staff are facing difficulty due to heavy rise in menu prices. If they have to pay such a high price for meal and accommodation, they won’t be able to save anything,” TAAN President Mahindra Singh Thapa said.

The delegation also protested manhandling of some trekking staff by the officials of Khumbu Hotel Management Committee and requested the government to immediately do the needful in addressing the problem.

“Trekking staffers are the ones that take tourists to trekking areas. Who will take tourists there if trekking staff are manhandled?” Thapa wondered.

The delegation also drew the attention of the ministry toward lack of necessary tourism infrastructure at Lukla, which is often referred to as the gateway to the Everest Region.

“Though thousands of tourists enter the Everest region via Lukla every year, the place lacks even basic infrastructure like tourism information center and restrooms,” Thapa added.

Stating that existing TIMS distribution mechanism was encouraging illegal operation in trekking business, the delegation asked the government to review the mechanism and give complete authority in TIMS distribution to TAAN. “I would like to assure all that illegal trekking operation can be discouraged if TAAN is given complete authority in TIMS distribution,” Thapa added.

The delegation comprised of President Thapa, 1st Vice President Rana Bahadur Khadka, General Secretary Mohan Lamsal, Treasurer Anjan Thapa; executive members Pelu Sherpa, Krishna Hari Khatri and Nima Lama and Machhindra Acharya of TAAN Media Center.

TAAN delegation had met with officials of Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation on Oct 17 and apprised them of the problems that trekking staff are facing due to unilateral hike in menu prices by the Khumbu hoteliers.

Dragon’s daily flight to KTM from September

Dragonair is starting daily flights to Kathmandu from September. The Hong Kong-based carrier is
currently flying three times a week on Hong Kong-Kathmandu sector.
“The further increase in number of flights to Kathmandu will provide more convenience as well as better
service for passengers travelling to and from Nepal,” Alasdir Boyd, country manager of Dragonair, said
in a statement. He also hoped that it will also contribute to the success of Nepal Tourism Year 2011
campaign.
Boyd said the additional frequencies look to offer better convenience for Nepali passengers travelling
via the Hong Kong hub and added that Kathmandu is an important and growing market for the airline.
Dragonair has been operating flights to Kathmandu since December 2007.
“The further increase in number of flights to Kathmandu will provide more convenience as well as better
service for passengers travelling to and from Nepal,” Boyd said, hoping that it will also contribute to the
success of Nepal Tourism Year 2011.

NTY promoted in USA

Buses plying on major routes in Washington metro are adorned with promotional posters of Nepal
Tourism Year (NTY) 2011 campaign. Nepali Embassy for United States has put promotional posters on 30
buses to promote Nepal as a summer tourist destination for American travelers.
Issuing a statement, Nepali ambassador to US Dr Shankar Sharma said 15 million tourists visit
Washington every year to see Washington Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, White House and different
museums.
“Keeping the flow of tourists to Washington in mind, the Nepali embassy in Washington DC has taken
the initiative to attract tourists,” he said.
Arrival of American tourists to Nepal increased by 24.3 percent in June as compared to the arrival figures
of same period of last year.