KATHMANDU, July 24: The Sustainable Tourism for Livelihood Recovery Project (STLRP), launched in collaboration with the Nepal Tourism Board and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), has received the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Award for the third time.

According to PATA headquarters, the project has been honored with the 2024 PATA Gold Award in the Community-Based Tourism category.

The award recognizes the project’s efforts in creating tourism employment opportunities and enhancing sustainable tourism development. This has been achieved through the development of tourist destinations in partnership with seven provinces, 58 districts, and 85 municipalities across Nepal.

The STLRP previously won the PATA Gold Award in 2022 and 2023. In 2022, it was recognized for Tourism Destination Resilience, and in 2023, for its initiatives in women’s empowerment through tourism, sustainability, and social responsibility.

Nandini Lahe Thapa, Acting Executive Head of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), praised the project for its consistent achievements and its positive impact on the tourism sector.

Shraddha Shrestha, NTB Manager and National Program Coordinator, highlighted that the project has generated short-term employment for around 10,000 tourism workers and provided capacity-building training for 4,000 individuals since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Additionally, the project has introduced river guides for women, a guiding program for sexual and gender minorities, and developed a tourism strategy for 150 municipalities across all seven provinces. Dharam Dawadi, the acting project manager, noted that specialized tourism guide manuals have also been produced.

 
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