The 47th edition of the PATA Travel Mart, aimed at promoting Nepal’s tourism products and facilitating the exchange of travel packages among international buyers and sellers, has successfully concluded.
The event, organized by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), focused on themes such as sustainable tourism development, cross-border partnerships, and destination promotion. Over 900 representatives from 45 destinations participated, including 266 representatives from 168 seller organizations across 24 destinations and 191 buyers from 173 organizations across 31 source markets.
Often regarded as a major event in the tourism sector, the Mart saw the participation of 18 companies from Nepal’s public and private sectors. This year’s Mart also recognized Nepal with prestigious awards, including the PATA Gold Award. The event was held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand, marking the 25th anniversary of PATA’s headquarters relocation to Thailand.
The PATA Nepal Chapter received the ‘PATA Award of Excellence’ in recognition of its outstanding activities in promoting, marketing, and developing sustainable tourism in line with PATA’s mission for the year 2023-24. The award was presented during the PATA Power of Networking event on August 29 in Bangkok. The award was accepted by PATA Nepal Chapter President Khem Lakai, Past President Vibhuti Chandra Thakur, General Secretary Narendra Bhatt, and CEO Suresh Singh Budal.
Upon receiving the award for the best chapter, President Lakai stated, “What matters is not the reasons, but the results. The work done by the PATA Nepal Chapter during challenging times has gained global recognition, and we are proud as Team Nepal. We believe in shared prosperity through tourism in our country.”
Additionally, during the PATA Gold Awards ceremony on August 28, the Nepal Tourism Board’s STL-R Project won the PATA Gold Award in the Community-Based Tourism category. Intrepid DMC Nepal was honored with the Grand Title Winner Award in the Sustainability and Social Responsibility category.
The Nepal Pavilion at the PATA Travel Mart included 18 tourism service providers, such as Nepal Airlines, Heritage Tours and Travels, Lemon Tree Premier, Bhrikuti Himalayan Treks, Destinago Tours and Travels, Hotel Himalaya, Expedition Himalaya, and Hotel Ratna Sambhava. Other participants included the Community Homestay Network, Luxury DMC Travels, Himalayan Holidays Trekking, Buddhist Circuits, Siddhartha Business Group of Hospitality, KGH Group of Hotels, Euro Asia Tours and Travels, Mountain Tiger Nepal, Visit Himalaya Treks, Off the Wall Trekking, and Nepal Yoga Home.
PATA CEO Noor Ahmad Hamid highlighted that the PATA Travel Mart has reinforced the collective commitment to the future of Asia-Pacific tourism. “The Mart serves as a platform for high-quality buyers and sellers within and outside the region. It reflects the organization’s goal of promoting sustainable tourism development and strengthens PATA’s long-standing partnership with the Thai tourism organization,” he said.
Hamid also emphasized that the event has bolstered Thailand’s reputation as a leading MICE destination in the Asia-Pacific region. PATA Nepal CEO Budal expressed that Nepal’s enthusiastic participation in the Mart has helped enhance international tourism cooperation and promote Nepal’s unique attractions and tourism products in the global market.
