‘The excellent bilateral relationship and close connections have been further strengthened by tourism and people-to-people contacts’
The image shows a glimpse of a Nepalese tourism promotion event on Friday, July 5, 2024. Photo: Courtesy
Nepalese ambassador in Dhaka Ghanshyam Bhandari has said that more Bangladeshis are visiting the Himalayan country now than before.
He said the excellent bilateral relationship and close connections have been further strengthened by tourism and people-to-people contacts.
“I’m pleased to note that Nepal continues to remain one of the popular destinations for Bangladeshi travelers. Over 36,000 travelers visited Nepal in 2023, and this is about 44% higher than the pre-pandemic level,” he said at a Nepalese tourism promotion event on Friday.
The Nepal Embassy in Dhaka, Nepal Tourism Board, and Hotel Association Nepal jointly organized the Nepal Tourism Promotion Program under the theme ‘Next Door Nepal: Your Ultimate Travel Destination’ at Hotel Westin.
“Nepal offers a myriad of experiences, from adventure activities such as trekking, mountaineering, paragliding and bungee jumping, to recreational to miracle to spiritual to pilgrimage. And most important of all, Nepal’s attraction is its people. We believe in ‘our guests are like our gods’. The government of Nepal has been making continuous efforts to leverage our tourism potential,” he said.
Deputy Director of Bangladesh Tourism Board Mohammed Saiful Hassan emphasized the need of enhanced connectivity to enrich people-to-people contacts.
“Let us explore a new field of our relationship. Of course, it is tourism,” he said.
He said the two countries signed a MoU for tourism cooperation in March 2021.
“We need to expand the relationship. Nepal has long been a favorite destination for Bangladeshi travelers. More than 36,000 Bangladeshi visitors visited Nepal in 2023, while it was only 23,000 in 2016. So, it is gradually increasing,” he said.
During the event, B2B and networking sessions among hotel, travel, and tour entrepreneurs from Nepal and Bangladesh were held.
Laxman Gautam, Head of the Marketing and Promotion Department of Nepal Tourism Board, made a presentation highlighting Nepal’s major tourist products.
He also underlined that Bangladesh remains one of the major tourist source markets for Nepal and urged the participating travel agents and tour operators to encourage Bangladeshi friends to visit Nepal.
Binayak Shah, President of the Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), stressed the vibrant and welcoming spirit of Nepal and appreciated the role played by B2B engagements in promoting tourism exchanges between the two countries.
Chief Executive Officer of HAN Tek Bahadur Mahat made a presentation on profiles of hotels participating at the event.
On the occasion, Bangladeshi Mount Everest summiteers Nishat Mazumder and Babar Ali were felicitated.
They also shared their experiences of their successful Mt. Everest expeditions.
Hotel Association Nepal signed five separate Memoranda of Understanding with the Bangladesh International Hotel Association (BIHA), Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB), Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB), Bangladesh Outbound Tour Operators Association (BOTOA), Tourism and Hospitality Industry Skills Council (T&HISC) and Asian Tourism Fair.
Nepali folk cultural performances were also showcased during the event.
The visiting delegation from Nepal comprised 21 members including officials from Nepal Tourism Board, Hotel Association Nepal, and representatives of 13 different hotels.
The Program was attended by over 150 participants, including government officials, representatives of travel agencies, tour operators, hotels and airlines, and other hospitality, travel and tourism-related organizations of Bangladesh.