March 22: The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Annual Summit and Mart 23 will take place in Pokhara, a major tourist destination of Nepal, from 29 May to June 1. 

Co-organised by the Government of Nepal, the Nepal Tourism Board, and the PATA, this is the first time that the Summit is taking place in Pokhara since Nepal got its international membership in 1975, said the NTB chief executive officer, Dr Dhananjaya Regmi at a press conference in Pokhara on Wednesday. 

The local government will coordinate the Summit. For the event, a main organising committee has been formed under the chairpersonship of the NTB chairperson, and organisations relating to tourism are members. 

This conclave is expected to be a milestone in the promotion of tourism in Nepal in general, and Pokhara and Gandaki Province in particular, at a time when the sector hit-hard by the COVID-19 pandemic is reviving, Regmi said.

The summit has also provided an opportunity for Nepali and international tourism entrepreneurs to meet and share at the same platform, Regmi added.

“This is the third time that Nepal is hosting the Adventure Mart, and the first time that the Summit is taking place in Nepal. We expect the summit  to further boost Nepal’s tourism and return the tourism situation to the same pre-COVID by the end of 2023 by increasing inflows of tourists,” said Regmi.

 Around 300 representatives from 15 different countries and the PATA executive board members are expected to participate in the event. 

 A wide range of issues from sustainable tourism to crisis management, aviation safety, and adventure and mountainous tourism will be discussed, said Secretary of the PATA International, Suman Pandey. 

The Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanraj Acharya pledged to provide required assistances to make the PATA Summit a success. ---RSS