Himalayan Travel Mart 2019 is scheduled to start on Thursday in Kathmandu with the aim of redefining adventure tourism and establishing Nepal as the gateway to the Himalayas, the organiser said on Monday.

The third edition of the trade fair is expected to attract 700 delegates from 41 countries. There will be more than 140 international and national guests and delegates participating in the four-day event. The organiser said 38 international travel bloggers, influencers and media delegates had been invited as part of the international travel bloggers and media conference.   

The event is expected to benefit all stakeholders with its insightful conference, tourism promotion, networking and mutually fruitful business opportunities between the registered sellers and hosted buyers.

Speaking at a press meet, Nepal Tourism Board CEO Deepak Raj Joshi said that the Himalayan Travel Mart had set a good example of public-private partnership by its success and effectiveness in the last two years.  

Furthermore, he said that the event would be a perfect platform for knowledge sharing with the participation of international delegates. “The event will help expose the tourism potential to a large segment of the international population,” he said.

The event will also become the launching pad for Visit Nepal 2020, said Suresh Singh Budal, CEO of the Pacific Asia Travel Association. “The event will be helpful in networking and making strategies to welcome 2 million tourists during Visit Nepal 2020,” he said.

The organisers are planning to hold an international media briefing session during the conference among hundreds of national and international media, bloggers and influencers targeting the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign. “We believe that it will be one of the best platforms for promoting the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign,” the organiser said in a press statement.

Himalayan Travel Mart 2019 will offer pre-mart familiarisation tours for hosted buyers and international bloggers, media and influencers, a conference and a buyers and sellers business-to-business session.  

The business-to-business mart will witness the participation of 58 buyer organisations from the US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, Asia and the Gulf region. The mart will host 54 seller organisations and exhibitors from six countries—Nepal, China, India, Pakistan, Bhutan and Thailand.   

The Himalayan Travel Mart is estimated to cost Rs60 million, and the Nepal Tourism has chipped in Rs20 million. The fair is held annually with the theme and vision of establishing Nepal as the gateway to the Himalayas.