Kathmandu: The Nepali Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in collaboration with the Nepal Tourism Board and the Hotel Association Nepal, organized the Nepal Tourism Promotion Programme under the theme ‘Next Door Nepal: Your Ultimate Travel Destination’ on Friday in Dhaka.

The event featured business-to-business and networking sessions among hotel, travel, and tour entrepreneurs from Nepal and Bangladesh. Speaking at the occasion, Nepali Ambassador to Bangladesh Ghanshyam Bhandari emphasized that the excellent neighborly relations between the two countries are strengthened by tourism and people-to-people linkages. He highlighted tourism as a priority sector for the Government of Nepal and expressed hope that the business-to-business contacts between travel and tour entrepreneurs would bring the two peoples and countries closer.

Laxman Gautam, Head of the Marketing and Promotion Department of the Nepal Tourism Board, presented Nepal’s major touristic products and underscored that Bangladesh remains one of the major tourist source markets for Nepal. He encouraged the participating travel agents and tour operators to promote Nepal among their Bangladeshi friends.

President of the Hotel Association Nepal, Binayak Shah, praised the vibrant and welcoming spirit of Nepal and appreciated the role of business-to-business engagements in promoting tourism exchanges between the two countries. Tek Bahadur Mahat, CEO of HAN, provided a presentation on the profile of hotels participating in the event.

Deputy Director of the Bangladesh Tourism Board, Mohammed Saiful Hassan, emphasized the need for enhanced connectivity to enrich people-to-people contacts. Bangladeshi Mount Everest summiteers Nishat Mazumder and Babar Ali were felicitated at the function and shared their experiences of their successful Mt. Everest expeditions.

Additionally, the 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.

The event also featured Nepali folk cultural performances. According to a statement issued by the Embassy of Nepal in Dhaka, the program was attended by over 150 participants, including government officials, and representatives of travel agencies, tour operators, hotels, airlines, and other hospitality, travel, and tourism-related organizations from Bangladesh.