Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal Chapter, in collaboration with Nepal Tourism
Board and seven private sector tourism and hospitality businesses, made an effective
participation to promote Nepal’s tourism sector at the 32nd Guangzhou International Travel
Fair (GITF) held from May 16 to 18, 2024, at Area C of Canton Fair Complex, Guangzhou,
China. The fair, spanning 30,000 square meters, witnessed over 40,000 visitors from China
and other international countries.
On the first day of the fair, May 16, 2024, Nepal Tourism Board made a destination
promotion presentation on the stage in front of local Chinese visitors and tour operators. In
the evening, the PATA Nepal Chapter received two prestigious awards: the Gold Award for
"Overall Performance" from the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI) and
the "Best Partner" Award from GITF during the Buyers Night organized at the Westin
Pazhou in Guangzhou, China. Similarly, the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) received the "Most
Popular Cultural Tourism Destination" Award from GITF, and Jugal Holidays from Nepal won
the Gold Award for "Product Innovation" from COTRI during the same occasion.
At the GITF 2024 Conference held on May 17, 2024, Ms. Lakpa Phuti Sherpa (Executive
Member of PATA Nepal Chapter),Suresh Singh Budal (CEO of PATA Nepal Chapter),
and Kundan Sharma (Officer of NTB) participated in an insightful panel discussion on
Sustainable Tourism Offerings of Nepal for Chinese Visitors during the Times of Climate
Change.
Sujit Regmi, Executive Director of Nepal Big Mountain Travel Company, said, “I found
many people interested in visiting Nepal, and there were a lot of inquiries for Nepal at our
booth. Since we have been working in the Chinese market for the last 11 years, I believe
Nepal's participation at GITF this year has been very impactful in terms of destination
visibility and tourism business promotion.”
Himmat Puri, Executive Director of Destinago Tours & Travels, shared his happiness
about participating in GITF for the first time. He believes that Nepal’s first post-pandemic
participation in GITF is going to be fruitful, facilitating reconnection opportunities with
Chinese operators and trade visitors. He found the response and interest of Chinese
operators and trade visitors in Nepal to be very optimistic.
Ms. Neeta Thapa, Director of Sales representing Hilton Kathmandu, believes that Nepal as a
destination has huge potential in China. She said, “It was a great honor to promote and
showcase Hilton Kathmandu, the first Hilton brand in Nepal, among Chinese operators and
visitors. We thank PATA Nepal for providing the opportunity to participate in GITF 2024.”
Deepesh KC, General Manager of Hotel Himalaya, stated that participating in GITF was
a milestone to restart promotion in the Chinese market. As a hotelier, he found the trip
indeed fruitful along with other service providers from Nepal. He appreciated the role of
PATA Nepal and NTB in coordinating this promotional participation and suggested that the
government should enhance such international promotion and marketing programs in many
source markets within China to grasp the immense potential from this largest tourism source
market. He further advised that Nepal should prioritize and increase its digital presence and
promotion on various OTAs/online platforms for the Chinese Market, including Ctrip,
WeChat, TikTok, etc.
Suresh Singh Budal, CEO of PATA Nepal Chapter, stated that China has become the
world’s largest tourism source market, with many destinations prioritizing China through
aggressive marketing and promotion. In contrast, Nepal’s promotion efforts are
comparatively lower. He further noted that destinations such as New Zealand, Saudi Arabia,
Hong Kong, and others manage their tourism board branch offices and representatives in
various provinces of China to promote effectively. He emphasized that Nepal Tourism Board
also needs to expand its branches in key and large source markets and engage in extensive
and effective targeted marketing.
