SESSION FOCUS AREA – VISIT NEPAL 2020 AND NEPAL’S TOURISM PROSPECTS
SYNOPSIS
The Government of Nepal, with support from the country’s travel and tour sector stakeholders, has been working to make “Visit Nepal 2020” (VNY2020) a success. The VNY2020 is one of the most ambitious tourism initiatives that Nepal has planned in recent times after running similar campaigns in 1998 and 2011. The VNY2020 aims to bring at least 2 million foreign visitors into the country in 2020. With less than two months left before the formal commencement of the campaign, NIPoRe is hosting the inaugural session of the institute’s occasional and semi-formal networking event – Coffee Sessions – to discuss about the campaign and related issues. The event also aims to gather the views of local professionals while also hearing views and experiences of foreign travelers.
SPEAKERS
Mr. Mani Raj Lamichhane
Mani is the Director of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and works as the Head of the Research, Planning and Monitoring Department. He is involved in tourism since 1998 and have worked in various private sector tourism organisations under different categories until 2008. He joined NTB as a Manager and there he looked after Tourism Products Development Unit until 2018. when I got promoted as Director and headed NTB Provincial Office at Pokhara for a year. Beside these responsibilities, he is also a life member of Tourist Guide Association and is also a founding member of Human Resource Society Nepal.
In addition, he is a part-time faculty of management and tourism at some academic institutions in Kathmandu, Nepal. Furthermore, he also does modelling and in the past, he has appeared in various TVCs of different brands including CG Cements, Maizan Oil, Dabur Vatika Shampoo, and Yamaha among others.
Mr. Nicholas Tan
Nicholas works for Qantas Australia as a People, Strategic Insights and Research Manager. An inquisitive and big picture thinker from young, his interest in protecting the great outdoors and aptitude for numbers led him to public policy and economics. Since then, he has been applying these tools and adding others, to better understand how society interacts within economies, community groups and as individuals. His goal is to work with government, the business community and the community at large to inspire and drive change that improves economic, social and environmental outcomes.
His focus on improving outcomes for society has provided me extensive experience in macroeconomics, innovation, people & culture, finance, economic development, trade and microeconomic reform, within the broader context of natural resource management and social policy. These experiences have been earned at institutions that value accountability and the skills to understand complexity quickly, accurately, and to communicate meaning and insights clearly. At these organisations, he has built strong relationships with the business community, government and local community, both in Australia and overseas.
He has an MPP from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. Earlier he attended the University of Sydney for an undergraduate course in Economics, with special focus on Resource Economics.
Mr. Yee Htet
Yee works as a Project Coordinator at the International Trade Centre (ITC) in Myanmar. He leads a tourism project on strategic and operational activities, focusing on establishing local partnerships and ensuring daily operations in. He works closely with various issue-based international consultants to ensure achievement of project activities on community-based tourism, institutional strengthening, product development, and marketing and branding.
Prior to ITC, he served in both Local and international non-governmental organizations in Thailand and in Myanmar to support community development in conflict-affected areas.
He holds an MPP from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore and a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics, & Economics from Rangsit University in Thailand.
MODERATOR
Ms. Barsha Dharel Dixit
Barsha is a development professional with over 9 years of experience in programme design, management, monitoring and evaluation, with special focus on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) mainstreaming into development programmes and policy priorities. With excellent leadership and strategic thinking skills, she is the youngest Nepalese woman to lead an international non-governmental organization (INGO) in Nepal.
Her works and overall vision for the country’s development sector has been covered by various national and international media outlets, including the BBC World Service, IBM Times and Nepal Television among others. She has published over 50 articles on pressing development issues at various national dailies and journals.
A Master of Science (MSc.) from London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in Gender, Media and Culture, she is currently engaged in end-term evaluation of a project working on combating gender discrimination in far-west region. An individual with high academic distinction, Barsha has been awarded with the various accolades and honors.
SESSION OBJECTIVES
- To highlight what Nepal can learn from tourism initiatives in Australia and Myanmar
- How guests from Australia and Myanmar view their travel experiences in Nepal so far
WHAT NEXT?
- NIPoRe will prepare a session proceeding and share it with the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and the VNY2020 Secretariat
SESSION LOGISTICS
Date: 01 December, 2019
Venue: Kyubis Kitchen, Sanepa Height
Time: 15:00 – 16:30 Nepal Standard Time (NST)
REGISTRATION*
RSVP by 17:00 NST (30 November, 2019)
via Call/Text (9801193334) or Email: events[at]niporeglobal[dot]com
*Note: We are able to accommodate only 15 professionals for the session. We will confirm registration on a first come, first served basis. To respect time and also all efforts of our colleagues at NIPoRe and Kyubis Kitchen, the registrants, if do not show up for the session, will not be allowed to sit in 2 subsequent sessions.
PARTNERS
Title Sponsor
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