KATHMANDU, July 6: The Nepali Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Nepal Tourism Board, and Hotel Association Nepal jointly organized a Nepal Tourism Promotion Program under the theme ‘Next Door Nepal: Your Ultimate Travel Destination’ in Dhaka on Friday.

During the event, business-to-business and networking sessions among hotel, travel, and tour entrepreneurs from Nepal and Bangladesh were held.

Speaking on the occasion, Nepali Ambassador to Bangladesh Ghanshyam Bhandari stated that the excellent neighborly relations between the two countries were further consolidated by tourism and people-to-people linkages.

Highlighting tourism as a priority sector of the Government of Nepal, he expressed hope that the business-to-business contacts between travel and tour entrepreneurs would be instrumental in bringing the two peoples and countries together.

Head of the Marketing and Promotion Department of Nepal Tourism Board, Laxman Gautam, made a presentation highlighting Nepal’s major touristic products. He also underlined that Bangladesh remains one of the major tourist source markets for Nepal and urged the participating travel agents and tour operators to encourage Bangladeshi friends to visit Nepal.

President of the Hotel Association Nepal, Binayak Shah, stressed the vibrant and welcoming spirit of Nepal and appreciated the role played by business-to-business engagements in promoting tourism exchanges between the two countries.

Chief Executive Officer of HAN, Tek Bahadur Mahat, made a presentation on the profile of hotels participating in the event.

On the occasion, Deputy Director of Bangladesh Tourism Board, Mohammed Saiful Hassan, emphasized the need for enhanced connectivity to enrich people-to-people contacts.

Bangladeshi Mount Everest summiteers Nishat Mazumder and Babar Ali were felicitated at the function. They also shared their experiences of their successful Mt. Everest expeditions.

Meanwhile, the Hotel Association Nepal signed five separate Memoranda of Understanding with the Bangladesh International Hotel Association (BIHA), Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB), Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB), Bangladesh Outbound Tour Operators Association (BOTOA), Tourism and Hospitality Industry Skills Council (T&HISC), and Asian Tourism Fair.

Nepali folk cultural performances were also showcased during the event.

The program was attended by over 150 participants, including government officials, representatives of travel agencies, tour operators, hotels, and airlines, and other hospitality, travel, and tourism-related organizations of Bangladesh, according to a statement issued by the Embassy of Nepal in Dhaka.