TAAN delegation meets Tourism minister


A delegation of Trekking Agencies\' Association of Nepal (TAAN), led by president Sitaram Sapkota, on 14 September met with Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Sharat Singh Bhandari at the latter\'s office in Singha Durbar and apprised him of the problems being faced by the tourism industry in general and the trekking sector in particular.


The delegation requested Minister Bhandari to implement the Trekkers\' Information Management System (TIMS) under one-window system through TAAN. The delegation also assured Minister Bhandari that the fees collected would be used for the wellbeing of trekking workers and to develop new trekking areas. The TAAN team also urged Minister Bhandari to end the bank guarantee system and introduce Consumers\' Protection Fund or Trust Account to ensure quality service to tourists visiting the country. It also demanded the government to give industry status to the tourism sector.


Realising the importance of mountain tourism, the delegation also requested Minister Bhandari to simplify the procedures for rescue operation through choppers.


Responding to TAAN\'s demands, Minister Bhandari said the government had recognized the tourism sector as one of the major contributors to national economy. He also assured the delegation that the government was doing groundwork to implement TIMS under one-window system.


Chitwan resorts can operate till mid-2012


The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the legislature parliament has directed the government to allow the seven resorts inside


Chitwan National Park (CNP), a UNESCO world heritage site, to operate until July 15, 2012.


A meeting of the PAC held on September 12 also made it clear that no hotel, lodge or resort will be allowed to operate inside the park


under any condition after the given deadline. The committee said it decided to allow resorts to operate till mid 2012 keeping view the upcoming Nepal Tourism Year 2011 campaign.


If the resorts decide to shift outside the national park within a year, they will be allowed to provide their services from outside the park under a new contract for five years.


The CNP had ordered seven jungle resorts – Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge, Narayani Safari, Temple Tiger Jungle Lodge, Machan Widlife Camp, Island Jungle Resort, Chitwan Jungle Lodge and Gaida Wildlife Camp – to stop operation after their lease contract expired on July 15.


The PAC has also directed the government to recover royalty, conservation fee, VAT, income tax and fine amounts within a month, before allowing them to resume operations.


Tourism workers submit memorandum to TAAN


A group of tourism workers led by UNITRAV on September 8 handed over a 21-point charter of demands to newly elected executive committee of Trekking Agencies\' Association of Nepal (TAAN). UNITRAV president Sarki Tamang handed over the memorandum to TAAN president Sitaram Sapkota and gave a 15-day ultimatum to fulfill their demands.


Receiving the memorandum, Sapokta said TAAN was positive on the demands and take necessary action by consulting with the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation. \"I would like to assure you that we will soon come up with programmes that will be in the interest of trekkers, handling agencies and the workers,\" Sapkota added.


TAAN has already forwarded the demands to its member agencies for their suggestions.


The workers have demanded TAAN to guarantee social security for workers and form workers\' welfare fund under the joint aegis of the government and representatives of workers\' unions. It has also demanded immediate rescue of workers in case of incidents and manage medical insurance of Rs 200,000 and life insurance of Rs 2,000,000. They have also demanded the formation of clothing banks in all trekking regions and use the proceeds from TIMS for the welfare of workers in the mountain regions.


UNITRAV has also urged TAAN to fix minimum daily wages and allowance for workers in trekking and mountaineering expeditions. The organisation has submitted similar demands to tourism ministry, finance ministry, department of labour, tourism industry division under the tourism ministry and a number of other organisations.


Yeti Airlines starts online ticketing


Yeti Airlines and Everest Bank Limited (EBL) on September 6 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate EBL accountholders to book tickets of Yeti Airlines and pay online.


Under the new system, customers can check available flights on required dates and do not need to visit the airlines office and the travel agents to get tickets. They can print the ticket from their places and board the flight upon showing the printed ticket at the airport.


Pradip Bikram Shah, director-sales and marketing, Yeti Airlines and BK Pradhan, deputy general manager, EBL, signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organizations.


Shah said the airlines would soon join hands with other banks to expand the service. Pradhan also said the airlines would soon sign agreement with other domestic and international airlines to offer more choices to its customers.


Nepal All Prepared To Begin Online Visa System


The Department of Immigration (DOI), in an effort to provide hassle free immigration services, is all set to introduce online visa application system for foreigners intending to visit Nepal.


The DOI is currently making necessary preparation to computerize visa issuance system at the TIA office and its Central Office in Kathmandu. Officials said the two offices will be linked with the internet.


The DOI announcement comes in the wake of the government plan to increase the number of inbound tourists to 1 million in the tourism year 2011.


Once the new system is put in place, a foreigner can apply for visa online and collect it upon arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) without having to stand in queues for hours.


Immigration officials will be able to issue visa immediately as the details of the visiting guests will be available online.


At present, it takes hours to process a visa at the TIA. However, once the new system is introduced, foreigners will no longer need to fill up the application forms with lengthy details, thereby making it easier for them to acquire visa within a short time.


“Since there is no possibility of upgrading the capacity of our airport we need to think of alternative ways to help ensure early clearance at immigration for visiting tourists,” said Director General Madhav Raj Regmi at the DoI. “The new measure will greatly help serve that purpose.”


Regmi said they were currently studying feasibility of making payments for visa fee online. “We are also procuring Document Examination Device to help quickly process visa as the device easily helps to identify forgeries in documents and passports,” said Regmi. Nepal entry visa is currently issued from eight immigration offices including Kakarbhitta, Birgunj, Tatopani, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj, Dhangadhi and Gadda Chauki, Mahendra Nagar.


Director General Regmi said that they were planning to link these offices with internet in a phase wise manner due to financial constraints.


The DOI is also developing integrated computerized data of foreigners visiting Nepal. “There will be less chance of visa misuse once we maintain updated information about the foreigners visiting Nepal in computerized networks,” he added. “This will help us tally the details in computer.”


Tourism secy promises friendly policies


Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation Nagendra Prasad Ghimire has promised to formulate favorable policies for the tourism sector.


Inauguratig the 31st annual general assembly of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) on 28 August, Ghimire said the government was committed to making the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 campaign a grand success. He also said the amendment to the Travel and Trekking Regulations would help address genuine demands of trekking agencies.


Earlier, TAAN president Jyoti Adhikari demanded the government to make the trekking sector more managed by implementing the Trekking Information Management System (TIMS) under the one-door system through TAAN.


Ram Kaji Koney, president of Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), extended best wishes for the success of the TAAN’s annual conclave.


In the closed session, the annual general meeting approved annual progress report prepared by general secretary Navaraj Dahal and financial report presented by treasurer Ishwori Poudel.


South Asia Climate Change Conference kicks off


Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal inaugurated ‘Kathmandu to Copenhagen: South Asia Climate Change Conference’ in Kathmandu on August 31.


All SAARC nations along with China and some other mountainous countries are taking part in the event. Ministers from Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are attending the regional meet on climate change. Bhutan is, however, not participating in the conference.


Speaking on the occasion, Mohan Munasinghe, vice-chairperson, Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said that sustainable development approach could only help reduce the impact of climate change on the Himalayas.


Andreas Schield, director general, Integrated Centre for Mountain Development (ICIMOD) urged the government to declare the Himalayan region as the hotspot for climate change. He appealed for more focus to mitigate the risks of the global problem.


The conference is slated to reach a consensus on the agenda for the Copenhagen Conference.


The SAARC Environment Ministerial meeting, held in Dhaka last year, adopted the SAARC Action Plan and Declaration on Climate Change and the SAARC summit, held in Colombo in August 2008, reiterated the need for strengthening the cooperation in the region to tackle the problem.


Qatar Airways to increase Nepal flights


Qatar Airways has announced to increase its flights to Nepal from 11 to 28, including seven cargo flights, according to Doha-based The Peninsula daily.


The expansion of flights became possible after aviation authorities of Nepal and Qatar inked an agreement to this effect on 31 August.


The two sides have also agreed to update provisions of the air transport agreement, especially the ones related to air safety, the daily reported.


Qatar Airways link Kathmandu to Doha, one of the major hub in the Middle East, bringing in Nepali workers from the Middle East and visitors from European countries, a niche market for Nepal’s tourism industry.


New Species Of Flora And Fauna Discovered In The Eastern Himalayas
A decade-long study made by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Nepal, India and Bhutan has revealed the discovery of at least 353 new species of flora and fauna in the Eastern Himalayas between 1998 and 2008.The discoveries include 242 plants, 16 amphibians, 16 reptiles, 14 fish, two birds, and two mammals and at least 61 new invertebrates.Forest minister Deepak Bohara released the report at a function in Kathmandu, Monday. Some of the species have been named 'nepalensis' attributing their orgin to Nepal.