- Monday, 5 October 2026
Kathmandu, Oct 5: Tourism entrepreneurs have agreed to establish the Nepal Tourism Federation to address common issues and explore solutions to challenges facing Nepal’s tourism sector.
A meeting held on Sunday evening among heads and representatives of various tourism-related organisations decided to form such entity with the objective of addressing collective concerns, strengthening within the sector and promoting the agency building.
The meeting was chaired by Sagar Pandey, the President of Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN).
Nepal Tourism Board, Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), Pacific Asia Travel Association ( PATA) Nepal and Nepal Association of Rafting Agents ( NARA) were among those organisations attending the meeting.
The proposed Federation aims to amplify collective voices of tourism stakeholders and promote inter-agencies collaboration and cooperation, it is said.
The meeting also expressed tributes to those from home and abroad who lost their valuable lives to the August 26 Bhotekoshi-Trishuli river system floods.
The meeting has made a decision to urge the bodies concerned to expedite and make effective the search and rescue of people still missing due to the disaster and to demand with the government for providing appropriate relief and compensation to the families of the dead and missing tourism workers.
A decision has also been made to urge the government to construct an international-level memorial park commemorating the victims of the August 26 disaster.
In the context of the government preparing to introduce a new Tourism Act to modernize the tourism sector after a long time, the meeting emphasized that the new act should be formulated to ensure practical, inclusive, investment-friendly, safe, and sustainable tourism development, keeping in mind Nepal’s geographical, natural, and cultural realities as well as the actual state of the tourism business and international practices.
Similarly, the meeting also discussed the budget and programmes of the Nepal Tourism Board. Representatives from the private sector expressed the view that the board’s budget should be more tourism-friendly, business-friendly, results-oriented, and transformative, keeping in mind the current tourism market, international competition, and the needs of the tourism industry.
The meeting stressed that promoting tourism should not be limited to budget spending alone, but should be linked to market research, international marketing, the use of digital and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, expanding new tourist markets, developing new destinations and tourism products, and measurable results. —
