TravTalk India Online Magazine
PATA Nepal Chapter, in association with PATA India Chapter and PATA China Chapter, is all set to organise Nepal India China Expo (NICE) from February 22-25, 2020. The event is aimed at strengthening the tourism ties between the three neighbours and tapping their potential to the fullest.
Nisha Verma
Nepal India China Expo (NICE) is a first-of-its-kind initiative, a tri-nation tourism exposition that aims to bring together tourism and hospitality stakeholders from India, Nepal, and China. The main objective of the event is to contribute hugely to bridging the tourism divide and tapping the huge potential of the region by expediting cohesion among the three countries.
A lot of Chinese want to come to India and Nepal because of Buddhism; we have been able to tap only 0.1% of this – Sunil Sakya
PATA Nepal Chapter recently updated members of the Indian travel trade on NICE at an event in New Delhi, where Sunil Sakya, Immediate Past Chairman, PATA Nepal Chapter, said that the programme was geared up towards the outbound tourism potential of China, India and Nepal, so that tourism could move around between the three countries. “We have many tourists coming from India to Nepal, and thereafter to Kailash Mansarovar and Tibet. We would also like to promote that. PATA Nepal Chapter has a vision of achieving five million tourists by 2030 and for that purpose, we are working on a number of events,” he shared. According to him, the Buddhist circuit is another shared tourism segment between the three nations. “There are a lot of Chinese who want to come to India and Nepal because of Buddhism. There are tremendous opportunities and we have been able to tap only 0.1 per cent of this outbound market. We should go short-haul because there is a slowdown in long-haul travel globally, so this is the right time to tap this sector,” Sakya said.
Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA, was also present in Delhi for the meeting. He said that the idea behind the event was to share the concept with the audience in India, what the event was all about, and why it’s important for the three neighbouring countries to work together. “We’d like to bring the three countries together to understand the potential for developing tourism in the respective destinations to, from, and within them,” he said.
Bibhuti Chand Thakur, Chairman, PATA Nepal Chapter, was also present at the event. He said, “We decided to organise something historical, where tourism entrepreneurs of the three nations could come together on a single platform. The event would not just be based in Kathmandu; the second edition of the event can be held in any of the cities in India, and the third edition could be held in one of the cities in China.”
Ajeet Bajaj, MD, Snow Leopard Expeditions, has been made the brand ambassador for NICE. He said that the event will be a force multiplier, bringing the three nations closer through tourism.
