GITF 2024: Nepal showcases tourism potential, wins prestigious awards

KATHMANDU: Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal Chapter, in collaboration with Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and seven private sector tourism and hospitality businesses, participated in promoting Nepal’s tourism sector at the 32nd Guangzhou International Travel Fair (GITF). 

The fair, held at Area C of the Canton Fair Complex in Guangzhou, China from May 16 to 18, 2024, spanned 30,000 square metres and attracted over 40,000 visitors from various countries.

On the first day of the fair, the NTB presented a destination promotion on stage to 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 organised at the Westin Pazhou in Guangzhou. Similarly, the 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 on the same occasion.

At the GITF conference held on May 17, 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,' moderated by Dr Timothy Lee, Professor at Macau University of Science and Technology.

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, expressed his delight about participating in GITF for the first time. He expressed his belief that Nepal’s first post-pandemic participation in GITF will 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.

Neeta Thapa, Director of Sales representing Hilton Kathmandu, expressed her belief that Nepal as a destination has significant potential in China. She said, "It was a great honour 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 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 programmes in many source markets within China to grasp the immense potential from this largest tourism source market. He further advised that Nepal should prioritise and increase its digital presence and promotion on various OTAs/online platforms for the Chinese market, including Ctrip, WeChat and TikTok among others. 

PATA Nepal Chapter CEO Budal stated that China has become the world's largest tourism source market, with many destinations prioritising 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 emphasised that NTB also needs to expand its branches in key and large source markets and engage in extensive and effective targeted marketing.