Achyut Prasad Sigdel
Achyut Prasad Sigdel has been elected unopposed as the President of the Nepal Tourism Development Entrepreneurs’ Association (NTDEA). The association’s sixth general assembly, held in Kathmandu on Tuesday, elected a nine-member executive committee under Sigdel’s leadership.
According to Election Committee Coordinator Dilliram Subedi, Bhagwat Simkhada was elected Vice President, Bharat Prasad Timalsina as General Secretary, Amit Basti as Joint Secretary, and Raju Thapaliya as Treasurer, all unopposed. The elected members of the executive committee include Rishiraj Upadhyay, Upadesh Kunwar, Sunita Bhattarai, and Bidit Shrestha.
Speaking at the inauguration of the general assembly, Acting President of the Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Deepak Kumar Malhotra, emphasized the immense potential Nepal holds in attracting international tourists due to its religious and natural landmarks including Pashupatinath for Hindu pilgrims, Lumbini for Buddhists, and Mount Everest for adventure seekers. He called for better promotion and management of these sites.
Malhotra highlighted how, despite Tribhuvan International Airport once being at par with Bangkok’s airport five decades ago, the latter has now become one of the busiest in the world due to tourism. He stressed the need to upgrade Nepal’s airport infrastructure to support increased tourist inflow.
Rohini Khanal, Director at the Nepal Tourism Board, stated that the board is actively working towards establishing Nepal as a prime international tourism destination. Meanwhile, Professor Dr. Som Prasad Khatiwada, Chairperson of the Nepal Association for Religious and Cultural Studies and former head of Tribhuvan University’s Central Department of History, Archaeology and Culture, pointed out that many tourists visiting Lumbini do not travel to Kathmandu, and that the situation in Kapilvastu remains poorly managed, requiring urgent attention.
Sagar Pandey, President of the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN), called for unity to create a more conducive environment for entrepreneurship. Similarly, Thakur Prasad Pandey, Senior Vice President of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, noted improvements in facilitating the Mansarowar pilgrimage.
Newly elected President Sigdel stated that research on religious and cultural sites such as Panauti, Helambu, Chandragiri, and Nuwakot has been conducted and that future activities will be based on those findings.
During the event, several individuals were honored for their outstanding contributions to Nepal’s tourism sector. Honorees included tourism entrepreneur Ramsharan Nepal, tourism transport entrepreneur Kedar Nath Kattel, tourism entrepreneur Bikash Thapa, tea businessman Rameshwor Maharjan, tourism guide Rajkaji Maharjan, and hotelier Chiranjivi Bhatta.
