Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has taken initiative to help and support attempts of Nepali tourism industry to bounce back after the earthquake. A recovery plan with clear guidelines and action plan will be prepared by mid-June with the help of PATA experts, according to PATA officials.
PATA Vice President Andrew Jones and Crisis Management Expert Bert Van Walbeek, who have a long experience on crisis management have helped countries like the Philippines, Thailand, Bali, Sri Lanka to name a few cope with natural calamities and after war effects, are in Nepal in this context.
To help them in the initial preliminary task, an interaction with the entrepreneurs and representatives from the private and public sectors was organized recently to explore and exchange ideas on tourism recovery initiatives in the aftermath of April 25 earthquake.
Speaking at the program, Jones suggested using the expertise of professionals, to have more promotional programs and engage celebrities. He further assured to mobilize PATA network to help Nepal for overcoming the recent crisis.
PATA is also recommending its action-oriented plan to the government, PATA Nepal Chapter and PATA headquarters.
Walbeek presented various ideas on the recovery process. He asked Nepali tourism stakeholders to believe in positive things and suggested not to offer discount packages but give additional value added services to the guests.
Similarly, National Planning Commission (NPC) Member Chandra Mani Adhikari requested stakeholders to work on to rebuild damages, try to showcase the heritage sites which are intact, and be positive toward daily business life. He believed that the input from PATA experts will help Nepal to formulate short-term, mid-term, and long-term plans for revival of tourism industry. Tourism Secretary Suresh Man Shrestha highlighted the importance of an experts’ view to make recovery plans and informed participants of the interaction about the programs being carried out by the Tourism Recovery Committee (TRC).
PATA Secretary Basanta Mishra said that if things go smoothly, Nepal’s tourism can bounce back in the upcoming season starting from September.
Similarly, Administrative Chief of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Ramesh Adhikari highlighted two major things to do at the time of crisis — repairing and preparing. “Repairing for now and preparing for tomorrow can be done by the stakeholders through common effort and joint initiative,” he added.
Source: Myrepublica
