To increase religious tourists, tourism minister in Janakpurdham

22 November, Kathmandu. On the occasion of the Chhath Festival, which is celebrated with great pomp in the Mithila region, Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Minister Badri Pandey reached Janakpurdham and offered Chhathi Mai Puja.

To increase religious tourists, the tourism minister in Janakpurdham

He exchanged Chhath greetings with the people participating in the Chhath ghat near Janakpur city and took information about the social, cultural, and religious significance of Chhath and its impact on the Maithili civilization.

Meanwhile, Minister Pandey visited the Janaki temple and offered prayers. On that occasion, he interacted with the people’s representatives and other leaders about expanding religious tourism by spreading the religious importance of Janakpur to other countries of the world.

According to Minister Pandey’s secretariat, he discussed upgrading the airport in Janakpur and bringing religious tourists to It like the Gautam Budh International Airport in Bhairahawa.

Minister Pandey also inspected the Janakpur Airport today. During the monitoring of the airport, he also raised flags on the airport premises.

On that occasion, Manish Jha, a member of the House of Representatives, informed Minister Pandey about the Chhath Ghat and other areas constructed in Jaipur.

Nepal showcased its unparalleled tourism potential at London’s ‘WTM 2024.’

On 21 October, Kathmandu announced that, as a leading destination for adventure travel, cultural diversity, and sustainable tourism, Nepal had attracted the attention of the world tourism market by participating in the ‘World Travel Market (WTM) 2024’ held in London, UK.

WTM 2024 ran from 20 to 22 October, featuring 43,000 participants from 184 countries, 3,875 exhibitors, and 82 conference sessions. The Nepal Tourism Board celebrated its 40th year of participation, highlighting its long-standing contribution to the world tourism sector.

Nepal’s presence at WTM held particular significance this year, following its recent recognition as the ‘Best in Travel’ destination for 2024 by ‘Lonely Planet.’ The board saw this as an important opportunity to present Nepal’s unique heritage to tourists and tourism professionals from across the globe.

Regarding Nepal’s participation, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Tourism Board, Deepakraj Joshi, expressed that engaging with this high-potential market at WTM would help Nepal directly reach new audiences.

“Participating in WTM positions Nepal as a top international destination,” said Joshi. “It provides a unique opportunity to connect with environmentally conscious tourists who are interested in our rich culture, unique natural scenery, and eco-friendly tourism, while also developing new business opportunities.”

Joshi thanked Lonely Planet for awarding Nepal as the best travel destination. “This Lonely Planet recognition adds credibility to Nepal’s tourism services and sets it apart from competing destinations,” he added.

The Nepal stand at WTM showcased the country’s unique landscape, from its famous mountains to its ancient cultural sites, offering visitors the chance to engage directly with Nepali heritage.

“Our presence at WTM introduces Nepal as a destination that combines adventure travel, spirituality, and heritage,” Joshi said. “This plays an important role in strengthening our image as an attractive destination for 2024 and beyond.”

Nepal Festival in Perth, Australia

Perth. Nepal Festival has been organized in Perth, Australia. The festival was organized by the Non-Resident Nepali Association of Western Australia.

Nepalese community gathered from different cities of Australia for the festival. Representatives from Nepal and other countries also gathered in Perth.

The festival has been organized for the promotion and dissemination of Nepali art, culture, and traditions. The festival starts with Kalash Yatra and the fireworks show is scheduled at 9 pm. In the festival, dances reflecting the culture with the costumes of different castes were performed.

Nepalese Association of Western Australia (Nawa), Perth Nepali Temple and Community Center West Australia, various organizations, clubs, and businessmen have played an active role in organizing the festival.

‘Mundhum Manthan’ program completed in Sydney

In the joint project of Kirat Yakthung Chumlung, Sydney, and Shabdankur Books and Publications, the ‘Mundhum Manthan’ program has been completed in Sydney, Australia. At the beginning of the program, the President of Kirat Yakthung Chumlung, Sydney, Sasikala Subba welcomed the visitors and said that it is necessary to protect the original culture of the Yakthung Limbus based on Mundhum in Australia and transfer the knowledge and culture of Mundhum.

On this occasion, Jitman Limbu gave information about the origin and current practices of Yakthung Limbu’s original instrument Chabrung and Chabrung Dance, while Prakashchandra Ninglekhu discussed the origin of Yakthung Limbu’s paddy dance and Palam and the names of various places in the Limbuwan area from the Limbu language.

The guest speaker, Bhogendra Lingden, while discussing the Namsami and Kesami Mundhum of the Yakthung Limbus emphasized that myths have played an important role as a means of advancing society from ancient times to the present time.

In the context of the program, Shoma Ninglekhu and Kyra Ninglekhu donated Rs. Informing that a renewable fund of Rs.150,000 and Rs.100,000 has been set up on behalf of Sasikala Subba, Sekmuri Foundation Secretary General Bhogendra Lingden established a fellowship to encourage students who study and research in the fields of Yakthung Limbu culture, myth, language, literature, culture and history. Will be done.

Kirat Yakthung Chumlung, President of Sydney Sasikala Subba presented certificates and tokens of love to the participants who actively participated in the Silam Sakma and Chebrung Nach training program at the event held at the Asbury Senior Citizens Center in Sydney from 6 pm to 8 pm local time. Conducted by Manuraj Ninglekhu, General Secretary of Kirat Yakthung Chumlung, Sydney, the participants performed Keylang (Chabrung dance) at the end of the event.

With the opening of the weather, tourist activity

The hotel infrastructure in the country, which accommodates 3.5 million tourists, is now on the way out of the monsoon. When the weather is clear, the snow chains are starting to shine like silver rings under the blue sky. As festivals like Dasain, Tihar, and Chhath are approaching, the market is getting busy. As the main tourist season has started, the activity is increasing especially in the tourism sector.

With the opening of the weather, the beautiful scenery seen around the capital Kathmandu Valley has made the time more cheerful. The hills of the valley and the snow chains visible in the northern region have made the autumn season more attractive. In such a situation, businessmen believe that the tourism sector will become more viable.

With the opening of the weather, the movement of domestic and foreign tourists has increased around the valley and in major destinations, said Binayak Shah, president of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN). He said, “In this season, domestic tourism is very good, holidaymakers have gone to the destination along with the festival. Now the weather has also supported us, adding positive enthusiasm to tourism.”

According to Hanak, in the current situation, the hotel infrastructure that can accommodate 3.5 million tourists has been built. Star hotels and chain hotels are being added rapidly. Autumn is also a suitable season for hiking. A significant number of domestic and foreign tourists go trekking in Annapurna, Langtang, Khumbu, Mustang, Manang, Khaptad, and other destinations. During this season, climbers are attracted to climbing mountains including Manaslu.

Nepal Tourism Board Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Deepak Raj Joshi said that since the tourist season has started and important festivals are approaching, tourism will become more active. “The weather is also becoming tourism-friendly, as the tourist season has started, it seems that this area is becoming viable”, he said, “Now the policy reform and promotion work will be carried forward effectively by giving priority to the tourism sector. We believe that it will also add more enthusiasm to businessmen.”

The board has said that it plans to market aggressively at the international level to increase foreign tourist arrivals. “In order to improve tourist arrivals, the board’s first priority is to do ‘aggressive marketing promotion’, not only the existing market, but there is a plan to do effective marketing by identifying new destinations”, said Joshi, the chief executive officer of the board. He mentioned that cooperation between the Board and the private sector is necessary to make tourism activities sustainable.

Joshi informed us that effective programs are being made for tourism promotion. He said that there is a large investment in tourism infrastructure including hotels and there is a slight improvement in tourist arrivals, so in 2024, the arrival of tourists should be brought to the pre-Covid epidemic level.

HAN President Shah said that hotel bookings are good now. He said, “Since it is the tourist season, bookings and interest of tourists are good, if tourism infrastructure, destination promotion, as well as air and road transport, can be made agile and efficient, it can be estimated that tourists will increase in the future.”

President of Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Natta) Kumarmani Thapalia said that the tourism sector has increased due to the start of the tourist season. “The season has started, bookings for travel have increased, this has made the businessmen excited”, he said, “to increase the number of tourists, if air services are made accessible to the national flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation, the number of tourists will increase.”

The government has set a target of attracting 1.6 million foreign tourists in the current financial year. The government plans to celebrate the tourism decade from 2023 to 2032 and bring in 3.5 million tourists annually. According to the board, in 2023, 1 million 14 thousand 882 foreign tourists entered Nepal. In the first eight months of 2024, 720,334 foreign tourists have visited Nepal.

As the weather has improved, businessmen have said that tourist activity has increased in destinations such as Dhulikhel, Nagarkot, Chandragiri Hills, Jarsingh Pauwa, Sundarijal, Shivpuri, Chobhar. According to hotelier Dinesh Basnet, the valley’s sacred pilgrimage sites, and religious and archaeological sites are also crowded. Pashupati area, Swayambhu, Changunarayan, Dakshinkali, and other religious places have been visited by pilgrims. Similarly, domestic and foreign tourists have increased in the major tourist areas of Thamel, Durbar Marg, Vasantpur, Patan, and Bhaktapur Darbar area.

Also, this season is suitable for hiking and mountain climbing. Currently, a considerable number of tourists have left for the destination. According to the Department of Tourism, mountain climbing and trekking have become easy due to the favorable weather. According to the mountain climbing branch of the department, 308 climbers from 28 climbing groups have taken permission to climb Manaslu so far. In Makalu and Dhaulagiri, a similar group of climbers have taken permission, while in other Himalayas and Chuli, climbers are still taking permission. September, October, and November are considered to be the main tourist season.

Sudarshan Humagai, a meteorologist of the Water and Meteorology Weather Forecasting Division, said that the monsoon is on the way out. Monsoon begins on June 13th in Nepal. Monsoon leaves on October 2. This year, on June 10, i.e. three days before Sardar, Manuni Vayu entered.

The general secretary of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, Mohan Lamsal, said that due to the favorable weather, the tourism sector is now busy. “Tourism has increased well,