Kathmandu, Sept 23: The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) will be participating in the World Travel Market (WTM) London after two years. The Board is scheduled to join the event taking place in London, Great Britain on November 5-7 this year.     

The WTM is considered a significant forum to disseminate Nepal’s attractive destinations and related information.     

NTB Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Deepak Raj Joshi said the Board has decided to participate in the WTM as it seeks to further expand its international market     

As he said, participation in the event has been the priority of the Board since he assumed office on September 8 for the second term.     

The Board had been unable to make its presence in international forums like WTM and ITB in the past two years.     

The WTM which is annually held in November is considered the second biggest travel and tourism festival after the International Tourism Exchange (ITB) which is held in March every year in Berlin, Germany.     

The Board has planned to include at least 30 companies in the event and on Sunday, it publicly called for the participation of interested companies. Nepal has been a part of WTM for the past 40 years: since 25 years under the NTB banner and the remaining previous years under the banner of the Department of Tourism.     

According to the Nepal Tourism Board Act- 2053 BS, the Board was established to develop, expand, and promote tourism business to present Nepal in the international arena as a fascinating tourist destination.     

The Board that has been established on the public-private partnership model has to spend around 70 per cent of its annual budget amounting to around Rs 2 billion for the promotion of the tourism industry in the international market.     

The delay in endorsement of the Board’s procedures of the operation of programmes in foreign soil and procurement 2078 BS prevented it from taking part in any international event and festival, it is said. (RSS)