News and Events

Aviation experts and tourism entrepreneurs on Nov 24 underscored the need to strengthen national flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC). Speaking at a seminar on 'Media & Air Accessibility: Key Factors for Tourism Development' organized by Journalists Association for Tourism-Nepal (JAT-Nepal) to celebrate its 1st anniversary, they said a strong national flag carrier is crucial for economic development. Presenting his working paper on air accessibility and tourism development, aviation consultant Maheswar Bhakta Shrestha said tourism industry and national flag carrier and inter-related to each other. "Records show, Nepal's tourism industry has prospered when national flag carrier is strong and vice versa. This fact underlines the need for a strong national flag carrier for our tourism industry," Shrestha said. He also said the share of national flag carrier in total air passengers has dropped to less than five percent in recent years. Former executive chairman of NAC Sugat Ratna Kansakar in his working paper said there is no alternative to adding new aircraft to NAC. "If we can't add new aircraft, we better scrap it," Kansakar said, requesting authorities concerned to look into flaws in our aviation and tourism policies. Commenting on the working papers, former CEO of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Prachanda Man Shrestha said the target of welcoming one million visitors could have been achieved had the government added new aircraft to NAC's fleet. Earlier, Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Lokendra Bista Magar inaugurated the seminar by unveiling 'JAT Nepal Souvenir'. Similarly, Minister of State for Tourism and Civil Aviation Dilip Maharjan launched 'Paryatan Khabar' (www.paryatankhabar.com) -- online tourism news portal of JAT Nepal. Speaking on the occasion, JAT Nepal President Hari Raj Joshi expressed commitment serving Nepal's tourism industry by practicing professional journalism. Representatives of different travel trade associations extended their best wishes to JAT-Nepal on the occasion of its first anniversary.