PATA Gold Award presented to Nepal's STLRP for 3rd consecutive year

KATHMANDU: The Sustainable Tourism for Livelihood Recovery Project (STLRP), jointly managed by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has been honoured with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Award for the third time.

PATA Chair Peter Semone presented the award to Dharma Dawadi, Acting National Project Manager for STLRP, during PATA's event held in Thailand on Wednesday.

In 2024, STLRP received the PATA Gold Award in the community-based tourism category. The project earned this recognition for creating employment opportunities in tourism and enhancing sustainable tourism development by establishing tourism destinations across various locations. These efforts involved co-investment with 58 districts, 85 municipalities, and rural municipalities spanning all seven provinces of Nepal.

Previously, STLRP received the PATA Gold Award in 2022 and 2023 as well. In 2023, it was recognised for its initiatives in women's empowerment through tourism, sustainability, and social responsibility under the Tourism Destinations Resilience category.

Nandini Lahe Thapa, Acting CEO of NTB, emphasised that the project's consistent receipt of the PATA Award reflects its significant contributions to the tourism sector. The award serves as an evaluation and encouragement to continue their impactful work.

Shraddha Shrestha, NTB's Manager and National Programme Coordinator, highlighted that STLRP generated short-term employment for approximately 10,000 tourism workers and provided capacity-building training to 4,000 others across various rural municipalities in all seven provinces after the Covid 19 pandemic.

During this period, STLRP developed a river guide for women, a trekking guide for sexual and gender minorities, and a tourism strategy for 150 rural municipalities. Additionally, they have established a national sustainable tourism club in 130 schools, implemented a programme to raise public awareness about tourism, and collaborated with private stakeholders in the industry. Shrestha also mentioned the production of tourist guide manuals covering various genres.