Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), in coordination with PATA Nepal Chapter, on Friday organised a promotional event named “Nepal Evening” in Bangalore, India, under the of “Nepal: Back on Top of the World”.

The National Tourism Recovery Committee (NTRC) chaired by Tourism Minister Kripasur Sherpa last Monday had launched the promotional slogan of “Nepal: Back on Top of the World” and its logo. The campaign has been initiated with an aim to revive the tourism sector that has suffered business losses of Rs62 billion and total losses of Rs81 billion due to the April 25 earthquake and aftershocks.

The NTRC has asked the Finance Ministry for Rs600 million in emergency funds to carry out tourism promotion activities, promotion of trekking routes and conservation of cultural heritage sites.

The Bangalore event was attended by Indian tour operators, travel agents and media, according to an NTB press release. PATA delegates and board members, government officials and representatives from the private sector also participated in the event.

Speaking at the programme, Ujjwala Dali, officiating director of the NTB, highlighted the board’s role in the promotion of tourism through positive information dissemination of Nepal post-quake. According to Dali, 30-40 promotional fairs, several sales missions and road shows are in the pipeline for 2015-16 to reach out to the maximum number of potential tourists and Nepal sellers across the globe.

Other participants of the programme briefed the present tourism scenario of Nepal, including the government’s initiatives, promotional endeavours and PATA’s role in tourism recovery efforts.

Other highlights of the programme included cultural dance, and audio visual presentation of Nepal.

The Nepal Airlines Corporation conducted a lucky draw that awarded two winners with free air tickets for Kathmandu-Bangalore-Kathmandu and Kathmandu-Bangkok-Kathmandu flights.

Department of Tourism Director General Govinda Bahadur Karki handed over “Tokens of Appreciation” to PATA Vice-chairman Andrew Jones and Crisis Expert Bert van Walbeek. They were honoured for their role in the tourism crisis management and recovery of Nepal, mainly in the post-earthquake period.