The first ever East Tourism Mart 2018 concluded successfully on Sunday. The Mart organised by Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) in joint association with Dharan Sub- Metropolitan city and different stakeholders of tourism including private travel traders and hoteliers, was held at Ex-British Army building, Dharan on June 7.

The primary objectives of the mart were to introduce tourist attractions of Province 1 among major tour operators and press from Indian border cities of West Bengal, Bihar, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

The mart also served as a strong platform to establish business relations between Indian tours operators and Nepali tourism entrepreneurs.

Earlier, Nepal Tourism Board and major tourism stakeholders from East Nepal organised a Nepal Sales Mission in the Indian border cities of Kisanganj, Purniya, Katiyar of Bihar and Siliguri and Jaygoan of West Bengal and Gangtok of Sikkim.

The mart welcomed 50 buyers and media from Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim of India, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

Renowned tourism expert and motivational speaker of India, Raj Basu, spoke during the event as a keynote speaker, stressing the need to promote rural tourism that would help in stopping the brain drain of East Nepal.

 Sherdhan Rai, Chief Minister of Province 1, stated that the economic prosperity of the Province was only possible through tourism development.

According to Rai, the mart was an ice-breaking event to cash in on the high potential that the Province possesses.

Dipak Raj Joshi, chief executive officer of NTB, requested travel and tourism traders to celebrate the success of the event by welcoming an exponential growth in the number of visitors.

Pradip Kumar Bhandari, Speaker of Province 1 expressed the importance of tourism in the east and said that the government was committed to making tourism a priority in its plans and policies.