Visit Nepal-Europe 2017 Campaign on the Cards Announced in Kathmandu

Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has announced it will celebrate and campaign 2017 as a Visit Nepal Year in Europe.

The announcement came at a function held in Kathmandu on Saturday to mark NTB’s anniversary.

NTB said it made the announcement as part of promoting Nepal as a tourism destination and with the aim of bringing a maximum number of tourists from European countries.

The campaign’s primary goal is to increase the number of tourists visiting Nepal in 2017 from Europe by 30 percent to 40 percent compared to 2016.

“Tourists coming from Europe have contributed significantly to Nepal’s tourism industry,” Nepal Tourism Board CEO Deepak Raj Joshi said. “We hope to increase this momentum further by celebrating 2017 as Visit Nepal Year in European countries.”

A photo exhibition, talks on mountaineering, a ‘send a friend to Nepal’ campaign, tourism promotion through Nepali restaurants in Europe, Nepal Day, Buddha Jayanti, and Everest Day celebrations, FAM trips, and training the Nepali diaspora in Europe to promote Nepal as a tourism destination, among others, will be programs that NTB will focus on organizing in different countries in Europe, it said.

Nepal Tourism Board, through its ‘Honorary Public Relations Representatives’ in different countries in Europe, will work in collaboration with Nepali diplomatic missions and the Nepali diaspora there, and with local friends of Nepal in Europe to make the “Visit Nepal - Europe 2017” campaign successful, NTB said.

“A number of tourism promotion programs for 2017 have already been planned in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Russia, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Denmark,” Deepesh Man Shakya, the coordinator of Visit Nepal - Europe 2017 and also Nepal Tourism Board’s Honorary Public Relations Representatives for Ireland, said. “We are working with Nepali embassies and local Nepali organizations to come up with plans for other parts of Europe,” Shakya added.

The Visit Nepal - Europe 2017 campaign will also build groundwork for promoting tourism in Nepal all over the world in 2018 as part of ‘Visit Nepal Year 2018’ which the government had announced recently, according to NTB.

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Jeevean Bahadur Shahi and Shankhar Prasad Adhikari, the chairman of Nepal Tourism Board Executive and Secretary at Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, were present at Saturday’s event.

Nepal Tourism Board will officially launch the campaign in London in March.