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Pact to promote GHT signed
Tara Air and Samarth-Nepal Market Development Programme (Samarth-NMDP) on Thursday joined hands to brand and promote the Great Himalayan Trail in a bid to re-establish visitor confidence and attract tourists from new markets.Tara Air and Samarth-Nepal Market Development Programme (Samarth-NMDP) on Thursday joined hands to brand and promote the Great Himalayan Trail in a bid to re-establish visitor confidence and attract tourists from new markets. Samarth-NMDP is the current custodian of the Great Himalayan Trail.
As per the understanding, Tara Air has painted the logo and the name Great Himalayan Trail on its newly acquired Viking DHC6-400 Twin Otter aircraft to provide a distinctive branding of one of the longest and highest trekking trails in the world.
Samarth-NMDP projects are funded by UKAID through the Department for International Development (DFID-Nepal). Tara Air is a subsidiary of Yeti Airlines that mainly flies to remote destinations.
In mid-July, Tara Air added a brand new Twin Otter aircraft to its fleet. The short take-off and landing (STOL) plane boasts cutting edge avionics technology with an integrated full glass cockpit that features an enhanced ground proximity warning system, traffic collision avoidance system and full-colour weather radar.
On the occasion, Tourism Minister Kripasur Sherpa appreciated the private airline’s role in promoting tourism. He said that the government had adopted a “one remote area, one airport” policy to provide easy air
transport access, and added that the government had been revising its tourism policy to facilitate the tourism and
airline industries.
Gail Marzetti, head of DFID-Nepal, said that the UK had been supporting Nepal’s tourism for more than 15 years with the objective of creating jobs and alleviating poverty in mountain communities. Marzetti said that Nepal was open for business and urged British nationals to visit the country.
This initiative will expand the Great Himalayan Trail’s visibility among a large number of domestic and international tourists who fly Tara Air and Yeti Airlines, the airline said.
“The partnership deal to brand and promote the Great Himalayan Trail is to spread tourism to other areas besides Annapurna and Everest,” said Umesh Chandra Rai, CEO at the Yeti Airlines Group.
The Great Himalayan Trail is one of the longest and highest trekking trails in the world.
The 1,700-km route connects popular treks in the Annapurna and Everest regions with exciting new trekking destinations from Taplejung in the east to Humla and Darchula in the west.