Domestic airline ticket booking at 90 percent

As the tourist season peaks, airlines say 90 percent of air tickets on Pokhara-Kathmandu-Pokhara sector have been booked till May.

Station Manager of Buddha Air in Pokhara said 90 percent of available tickets have been booked for this season. “Of the total booking, 70 percent were by foreigners and rest by Indians and locals,” he said. Furthermore, the proportion of incoming and outgoing passengers from Pokhara airport was similar and occupancy in some of the flights had already hit 100 percent.

Airlines are also planning to add more flights to meet the demand. Buddha Air recently added one more flight to its five daily starting March. Likewise, booking of Yeti Airlines tickets has also reached 90 percent according to the station manager of Yeti Airlines. The airline has increased its regular flight to 10 per day from 8 flights. Similarly, the other airline operator, Agni Air is also adding one more flight from April as there was no off season for airlines operator this year with an average occupancy of almost 90 percent.

Tourism entrepreneurs are also happy with the growing number of tourist arrivals. They are optimistic about the further growth as the occupancy of passengers for upcoming months has significantly gone up.

Eco Tourism

Ecotourism or low impact travel has become buzzword in national and international tourism, conservation and development circles. The word has been glamourised and has become focus for marketing strategy for many tourism destinations. The roots of increasing interest in ecotourism lie in the emergence of alternative tourism in response to mass negative consequences of mass tourism, depleting natural resources in particular.

In the 1990s, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation predicted an annual growth rate of 10-15 percent in the demand for ecotourism and in another study it has shown that wildlife tourism represents 40 percent of the international travelers. Today, ecotourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of tourism.

Nepal’s ambitious National Ecotourism Strategy and Marketing Programme of 2004 emphasises cross-sectoral cooperation at National Planning level, more private participation, poverty alleviation through promotion of village tourism and a full-fledged marketing programme.

The Ecotourism Strategy and Marketing Programme clearly outlined seven strategic direction: Convert Nepal’s ecotourism strength into comparative advantage; develop partnerships and alliances at all level; routine co-operation between tourism and conservation agencies; inviting the private sector to participate in the marketing of ecotourism development projects; developing new ecotourism areas; review trekking and mountaineering regulations; and developing an ecotourism marketing programme.

Inauguration of Visit Lumbini Year 2012

The government is kick-starting the Visit Lumbini Year (VLY) 2012 campaign and Tourism Vision 2020 amidst a special ceremony at Central Canal in Lumbini on Saturday.

President Dr Ram Baran Yadav will inaugurate the event that will also include formal closure of Nepal Tourism Year (NTY) 2011 campaign. Gyanin Rai, chief of Lumbini Development Trust, Kathmandu Office, said the target of VLY 2012 was to introduce Lumbini as birthplace of Lord Buddha and to mobilize funds from international sector for overall development of Lumbini area. Around 628,000 people, including 128,000 third-country tourists, visited Lumbini in 2011. Government has allocated Rs 130 million for VLY campaign.

A press statement from Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) said the Visit Lumbini Year campaign was a major linkage between NTY 2011 and Tourism Vision 2020, as it serves to sustain the achievement of NTY 2011 and improve livelihoods of the people through tourism as envisioned in Vision 2020.

“Successful completion of NTY 2011 has clearly given two messages to the world. The first one is that Nepal has come to peaceful and stable situation after a decade long political uncertainty; and another, tourism has been unanimously regarded as a vehicle of economic transformation,” the statement added.

Tourist arrivals to the country during NTY increased by 22.1 percent as compared to arrivals figures of 2010.

"Beneath Everest, Nepal Reborn" – A Documentary

Born and raised in Parbat of the Dhaulagiri Zone, Tulsi Bhandari, 35, is a graduate in Social Work from the Michigan Grand Valley College in the US.

A professional social worker, Bhandari is the maker of “Beneath Everest, Nepal Reborn,” a documentary which captures Nepal while in its turbulent transition from a monarchy-ruled Nepal to a new Federal Democratic Republic.

Filmed over four years, “Beneath Everest” documents some of the most critical defining moments in Nepal’s modern history and describes them. In his first documentary, Bhandari has managed to capture the lives of the everyday Nepalis, and questions some of the prominent political leaders.

The film, which had its New York premiere at the Asia Society headquarters in New York on December 1, 2009, has been screened at around 25 venues in the capital since mid 2010. Still on its road show, the film has traveled across the country and will reach Sauraha next week

Street festival in the lake city - Pokhara

The 13th Pokhara Street Festival has kicked off in the Lake Side of the western city of Pokhara.

The five-day festival, organized by Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal (REBAN) to commemorate New Year 2012, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai on Wednesday.

The festival venue, which sprawls over an area of 3km from Fishtail Gate to Dihiko Patan, has been fully decorated and is now abuzz with both domestic and foreign tourists. It also hosts around 150 stalls, where handicraft goods to pashmina and other garment products have been put on display.

The festival, organized with a slogan of ´Eat on the Street, Dance on the Street and Enjoy on the Street´, plays a key role in promoting the arts and culture of Pokhara, Balram Pahari, president of REBAN, said. At the same time, the festival also promotes tourism and stimulates economic activities, REBAN has said.

PATA Launches China Responsible Tourism Forum

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), in collaboration with China International Heritage Towns Exposition, have organised the China Responsible Tourims Forum (CRTF). The forum will take place in Beijing on December 16, 2011. The event will coincide with the China Heritage Towns Exposition that will be held at the same venue December 16-18. The forum aims to help, protect and preserve the heritage and culture of ancient villages in China, while responsibly developing these villages to boost tourism.

The forum will discuss the threat that mass tourism poses to these communities and their residents. More importantly, the forum will highlight the value tourism may bring if executed thoughtfully. Consumer travel trends indicate that tourists want to travel responsibly and connect with people and culture in an authentic way. Esteemed international and local Chinese experts will talk about ways of implementing responsible tourism development. They will exchange ideas in developing and managing tourist sites and attractions. Among the topics that will be discussed are sustainable and scientific development strategies for deriving economic benefits from cultural assets. The objective is for the forum to become a meaningful platform for exploring the optimal development model for individual destinations.

PATA CEO, Martin Craigs, said: “PATA launching the Responsible Tourism Forum is significant given the rate of growth of tourism in China and China’s innovation in green and sustainable energy. Weighing the risks and opportunities that tourism development brings is critical, that’s why the forum is important.” Deputy Director – Organising Committee of China International Heritage Towns Exposition, Lan Jun, said: “China has around 5,000 ancient towns and villages with a history spanning over 1,000 years. This forum comes at an opportune time. We hope to ensure responsible tourism development in these communities, enabling them to showcase their rich cultural heritage with local and international travellers.”

The forum will be moderated by CCTV Business News anchor Deidre Morris Wang. The forum’s key speakers include Geoffrey Lipman, Director of GreenEarth.travel; Anna Pollock, CEO of DestiCorp; Zhang Guangrui, Director of Tourism Research Centre of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Mei Zhang, Founder of Wild China; Mason Florence, Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office; Peter Semone, Director of Lanith Laos; and Li Jiangping, National Programme Officer for Culture of UNESCO Beijing Office. The forum will also feature case studies from hotel and tourism developments in China.

The forum will also feature case studies from hotel and tourism developments in China. The one-day forum is organised by PATA China, which will launch the PATA China Chapter during the forum. The new PATA China Chapter will be chaired by Jens Thraenhart, Co-founder and President of Dragon Trail

Buddha time's treasures found in Parsa, Nepal.

Ancient Buddha time historical materials have been found in a well nearby Panwar stream at Ramnagar Village Development Committee (VDC) of Nawalparasi district.

Treasures of Buddha era including things used for gambling and ring have been detected in the well, said locals. The valuables found in the well resemble to that of the materials kept at the museum in Tilaurakot of Kapilvastu.

According to locals, the archeological well including various historical materials of Buddha era were found of late in the area. Locals have barred extracting sands and pebbles from the stream after the archeologically important well was spotted in course of collecting pebbles.