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Book on 50th Anniversary of
Diplomatic relations between Australia and Nepal
Celebrating 50 Years of Australian
Mountaineering Feats and Friendships in Nepal, a
book marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic
relations between Australia and Nepal was
launched on June 25, 2010 amidst a function.
Mr. Ranjan Krishna Aryal, Acting Secretary of
Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation and
Senior Director of the Nepal Tourism Board Mr.
Subash Nirola officially launched the
commemorative publication at the Australian
Embassy in Bansbari, Kathmandu. Addressing the
function, Mr. Nirola said that the book would
help people to understand Nepal’s beauty and
Australians’ achievement on mountains and their
cooperation on different Nepali development
projects.
“This book required a lot of work within a short
span of time, but in the process I met
incredibly inspiring people. The time factor was
a big drawback but still this book has inspired
me to write more on the mountains and its
friendly people,” shared Ms. Fisher.
“Nepal is a country where people don’t remain
strangers for long. Honesty and openness of the
Nepalis and their lingering smile made my work
even easier. Nepal is definitely an
extraordinary country always expecting to meet
the unexpected,” she shared of her experience of
the country.
Expressing her gratitude to all supporters, Her
Excellency Australian Ambassador to Nepal Ms.
Susan Grace said: “This book honors a special
group of Australians who have made their mark
through mountaineering achievements, as well as
the special friendships forged with the people
of Nepal through philanthropic works. The spirit
of ‘giving something back’ is embodied in the
Australian Himalayan Foundation, a number of
whose members are featured in the book. I
believe this collection of stories of notable
Australian mountaineers is a fitting way to
celebrate 50 years of friendship between
Australia and Nepal.”
Mr. Simon Balderstone, Executive Director of
Australian Himalayan Foundation and mountaineer
Mr. Robin Boustead, were the chief guests of the
afternoon. Author of the Great Himalayan Trails,
Mr. Boustead shared his experiences saying,
“Everyone in this book is a big inspiration. For
me it’s a dream come true spending time in the
Himalayas. You will fall in love with the
mountains and the Sherpas are great companions.
This book is a gift from these people to another
country. Back home in Australia, Nepal is always
in my thoughts.”
The book tells the stories of nine notable
Australians whose achievements on the mountains
are matched by their achievements as friends of
Nepal - both on an individual level and through
their philanthropic works.
It opens with a candid interview with Late Mr.
Alfred “Greg” Gregory, mountaineer and official
photographer on the 1953 Everest expedition,
recorded just two weeks prior to his death in
February this year.
Mr. Andrew Lock’s steady determination to set
records on 8,000m-plus peaks, while committing
himself to the role of private philanthropic
organisation the Australian Himalayan
Foundation’s (AHF) first ambassador has earned
him great respect the world over.
A woman’s innate determination and sense of
intuition in the face of uncertainty, threat and
often prejudice are embodied in Ms. Brigitte
Muir’s story. Her freeness of spirit and
independent philanthropic work with communities
in rural Nepal are testament to her strength of
character.
The life of the “faceless porter” has improved
dramatically over the past couple of decades,
due largely to Dr. Jim Duff’s great efforts in
the establishment of the International Porter
Protection Group with his equally-devoted
partner Rejane.
Defying death in Everest’s icy clutches, Mr.
Lincoln Hall’s story is nothing short of a
miracle. His positive attitude and selflessness
not only prevented him from becoming another
statistic, yet another tragedy on the mountain,
but have also driven him to become a major
contributor in the AHF’s vast rural education
projects.
Mr. Peter Hillary has spent a lifetime in the
Himalayas, both as a record-setting mountaineer,
and as an active supporter of numerous
philanthropic organizations in the Solu Khumbu
region. His co-establishment of the AHF has
proven vital in the strengthening of the
Australia-Nepal connection.
Future tourism, self-sustainability and, most
importantly, the generation of mutual respect
between cultures were Mr. Robin Boustead’s
ultimate aims when he made his epic traverse of
the Great Himalayan Trail, treading paths
previously unseen by foreigners.
Late Ms. Sue Fear was loved and highly respected
by all who knew her. But despite her untimely
death on Mount Manaslu in 2006, her fearless
feats in the mountains along with her devotion
to both the Fred Hollows Foundation and the AHF
will remain her legacy for years to come.
In 1984, when Mr. Tim Macartney-Snape set foot
atop Everest with Mr. Greg Mortimer on the first
successful Australian ascent, they set new
horizons for Australian mountaineers. In 1987,
his co-establishment of the Nepal Eye Program
Australia (NEPA) also set new horizons in the
future of eye care for Nepal. NEPA’s support was
a significant contributing factor to what has
become one of the country’s greatest success
stories - Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology,
which is headed by medical director Dr. Sanduk
Ruit.
The book is for commemorative purposes only and
not commercially available. Its purpose is to
celebrate a half-century milestone while
providing an optimistic outlook for the
strengthening of diplomatic and personal
relations between Australians and Nepalis into
the future.
Visitor Arrivals Soar in June
2010
The figures released by Immigration Office,
Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) reveal
that visitor arrivals in June 2010, compared to
the same month last year, have increased by
16.3% to 26,997. This brought the cumulative
visitor arrivals for the first six months of
this year to 196,319 18.1% more than in the same
period last year.
In June 2010, all markets registered growth in
visitor arrivals. The arrivals from South Asian
region, except for the arrivals from Sri Lanka,
have gained overall positive growth of 22.2%
with Bangladesh (51.4%) and Pakistan (13%)
registering positive growth. Visitor arrivals
from India have increased by 20.9% which showed
sustained growth this year, except soft decline
in the month of April.
China, another major source market for Nepal,
also recorded double digit growth of 13.5%. As
for other short-haul markets, Southeast Asia
showed mixed reaction in terms of visitor
arrivals. Malaysia and Singapore witnessed
dramatic growth, as visitor arrivals registered
positive growth of 59.6% and 100.4%
respectively. Visitors from Japan have
registered a positive growth of 2%. However
arrivals from South Korea and Thailand have
registered a negative growth of 35.3% and 26.5%
respectively.
From long-haul markets, Europe registered
overall positive growth of 6.2% with major
source markets showing positive trend in terms
of visitor arrivals. Arrivals from Austria,
France, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, Russia and
Poland are up by 50.8%, 34.7%, 13.7%, 59.4%,
105.3%, 49.3%, and 19.6% respectively. However,
visitor arrivals from UK, the Netherlands,
Germany, and Switzerland have declined by 2.4%,
15.4%, 9.1%, and 1.4% respectively.
Likewise, arrivals from Canada and the United
States of America also registered positive
growth of 21.1% and 16.7% respectively. However,
Australia and New Zealand posted negative growth
of 4.2% and 12.9% respectively.
International tourist arrivals grew by 7% in the
first four months of 2010 according to the
latest issue of the UNWTO World Tourism
Barometer. This growth confirms the recovery
trend beginning in the last quarter of 2009 and
comes despite the challenging conditions of
recent months. While April’s results were
affected by the week-long closure of European
airspace, globally the pace of recovery is
faster than initially expected, driven largely
by emerging markets. For the full year 2010,
UNWTO forecasts international tourist arrivals
to grow by 3% to 4%.
A total of 31,987 foreign tourists departed from
TIA in June 2010.The number of Nepalese arrivals
stood at 47,592 while 63,910 Nepalese departed
from TIA in June 2010.
Australia Sales Mission 2010
Nepal Tourism Board in coordination with Nepal
Embassy, Canberra, Australia and Consulate of
Nepal in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane
organized a Sales Mission in Australia from
18-21 May, 2010. The Sales Mission was held in
Melbourne on 18th May, Sydney on 19th May and
Brisbane on 21st May, 2010 respectively.
The main focus of this Sales Mission was to
promote Nepal Tourism Year 2011 in Australia
along with other added tourism attractions of
Nepal, specially natural and cultural
attractions trekking and adventure activities.
Addressing the media and travel trade in all
three cities, H.E. Ambassador Mr. Yogendra
Dhakal informed them about the rejuvenated state
of tourism in Nepal. He stressed that Government
of Nepal and the Nepalese tourism entrepreneurs
are quite euphoric about the NTY campaign and
looking forward to welcoming a large number of
tourists from Australia. Ambassador Dhakal
pledged his full cooperation and support to the
Australian travel-tour operators in their
endeavor to send more Australians to Nepal in
2010 and especially in NTY-2011.
Senior Director of NTB and Member Secretary of
Program Implementation Committee of Nepal
Tourism Year 2011 Campaign Mr. Subash Nirola
gave a comprehensive presentation on the tourism
products and attractions of Nepal. He explained
the various activities undertaken by NTB in the
Australian market. He highlighted the aim and
objectives of NTY 2011 and the role of NTB to
make this campaign successful. Mr. Nirola
emphasized that this campaign will open new
tourism areas and activities for the Australian
tourists. He also informed the Australian
travel-tour operators that their counterparts in
Nepal are preparing themselves to offer new
packages which will make the stay of our guests
as memorable one.
The Sales Mission also appraised the Australian
travel writers and the entrepreneurs about the
present growing positive situation in Nepal and
how Nepal’s tourism industry has been
rejuvenated after the launching of Nepal Tourism
Year 2011. The launching of Nepal Tourism Year
with the slogan-"Together for Tourism” aims at
doubling the existing arrival figures of
tourists in Nepal to one million.
The number of total tourist arrivals from
Australia by air to Nepal during January to
April 2010 has increased by 10% as compared to
the same period in 2009.
The Nepal delegation also made presentations on
NTY 2011 and interacted with the Nepalese
community in all the three Australian cities
through the Non Resident Nepali Association for
their active participation and support during
NTY 2011.
The Nepal delegation at the Australia Sales
Mission in all three cities was led by His
Excellency Mr. Yogendra Dhakal, Ambassador of
Nepal to Australia and included Mr. Subash
Nirola, Senior Director, NTB, Mr. Diwakar B.
Rana, Manager, NTB and private sector trade
partners from Nepal.
Kingfisher Airlines LAUNCHES
FLIGHTS FROM NEW DELHI TO KATHMANDU
New Delhi, April 24, 2010 Kingfisher Airlines,
India’s only Five Star Airline rated by Skytrax,
today announced the launch of 2 new additional
international routes - New Delhi to Kathmandu
and New Delhi to Dubai.
With the launch of these new flights, the total
number of international destinations that
Kingfisher Airlines flies to from New Delhi goes
up to five. The other three international
destinations that Kingfisher Airlines flies to
out of New Delhi are London, Bangkok and Hong
Kong.
The flights on all these routes are being
operated with Kingfisher Airlines’ modern fleet
of Airbus A320 aircraft. The flights on the New
Delhi-Dubai route will feature a dual-class
cabin with five star luxury on Kingfisher First
and Kingfisher Class, the premium economy
service, while the flights on the New Delhi-Kathmandu
and Mumbai-Dubai route will feature Kingfisher
Class.
In Kingfisher First, guests can expect to be
pampered with the first-of-its-kind luxury right
from the airport to on-board comforts, gourmet
cuisine and in-flight entertainment. The
award-winning Kingfisher experience includes
roomy seats with a wide seat pitch and ample leg
room, in-flight entertainment, gourmet cuisine,
specially trained international cabin crew and a
host of on-board comforts.
Commenting on the launch of these new
international routes, Dr. Vijay Mallya, Chairman
and CEO, Kingfisher Airlines Limited said, “I am
delighted to announce the launch of three new
international routes including the launch of
Kingfisher Airlines’ maiden service between New
Delhi and Kathmandu. Kingfisher Airlines has
redefined the whole experience of flying and
with the launch of these new flights, discerning
flyers on these popular international routes
will now have the choice of traveling with
India’s favourite airline. “
Kingfisher Airlines has the largest network in
India and flies to many cities that are served
exclusively by Kingfisher Airlines. The New
Delhi-Kathmandu flight offers excellent
connectivity with Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Hyderabad,
Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Leh and London
amongst other cities. Kingfisher Airlines’
guests will now be able to fly in from these
cities and easily connect with the New Delhi-Kathmandu
flight. Guests flying in from Kathmandu to New
Delhi will get easy and convenient connections
to Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad
and Ahmedabad.
The New Delhi-Dubai flight offers excellent
connectivity with Pune, Jammu, Srinagar,
Chandigarh, Guwahati, Amritsar and others.
Kingfisher Airlines’ guests will now be able to
fly in from these cities and easily connect with
the Mumbai-Dubai and New Delhi-Dubai flights.
Kingfisher Airlines caters to all segments of
air travel ranging from low-fare service -
Kingfisher Red, to the premium economy service -
Kingfisher Class, to the luxurious Kingfisher
First. As India’s market-leading airline,
Kingfisher Airlines offers the maximum number of
flights offered by any single airline network in
India. Kingfisher Airlines connects 61 cities in
India and 8 international destinations and has
over 390 daily departures with a fleet of 66
aircraft. |