NEWSFLASH - April 2009
NATTA announces Tourism Journalism Awards
April 30th: Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) has announced "NATTA Tourism Journalism Awards".
The awards will be given in its upcoming anunual gerneral meeting based on the promotion of NATTA activities.
UAE Students trek to EBC for Charity
April 27th: According to Gulfnews, six boys from the Rashid School for Boys made a 16-days ardous trek to the Everest Base Camp raising Dh800,000 for two charities - the UAE Red Crescent and the Nepal-based Moving Mountains.The boys visited a number of projects in Nepal and learnt how the money raised would be used to improve education in remote mountainous regions.
Former Thailand tourism chief elected Chairman of PATA
April 26th: According to a press release issued by PATA Communications, Phornsiri Manoharn, former Thailand tourism chief has been elected as the new chairman of PATA.
Ice Collapse at Khumbu Icefall
April 23rd: According to reports by AP, a section of the Khumbu icefall collapsed on Wednesday, April 23rd. No one was injured but the route has been blocked for a few days. The Khumbu Icefall, located just above the base camp, is one of the riskiest part that leads to the summit of Mt.Everest.The ice collapse destroyed the path set by climbers and their Sherpa guides using aluminum ladders and ropes to move over the crevasses and shaky ice chunks.
World's highest Cricket Match played at Gorak Shep(5,160m)
April 23rd: The world's highest cricket match Twenty20 was played between two teams from UK at Gorak Shep(5160m). The teams, named after climbing legends Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, hopes to raise £250,000 for charity. On 21st April the match got underway and Team Hillary emerged victorious by beating Team Tenzing by 36 runs.Team Hillary was led by captain Glen Lowis, while skipper Haydn Main led Team Tenzing.Since the Gorak Shep plateau is sandy, a synthetic track was rolled out to ensure a competitive game.
Highest cybercafe opens at Everest Base Camp
April 22nd: The world's highest altitude cybercafe has opened near the Mount Everest base camp in north-eastern Nepal. The internet cafe is located at Gorak Shep, 5160m, in Khumjung district, just an hour's walk from Everest Base Camp. View the Map of Everest Base Camp for location
Our Everest Base Camp Trek
Nepal Telecom to extend its services upto Mt. Everest
April 21st: Nepal Telecom is all set to launch mobile services at the world's tallest peak Mt.Everest.The service, introduced by Nepal Telecom will be available on GSM and CDMA handsets. NT is extending its cell phone network atop Mt.Everest with the help of a satellite antenna, which will soon be installed in Gorak Shep, located at an altitude of 5,160 meters.
NAC to operate Kathmandu- Mumbai flights from May 1st
April 21st: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) will start operating its Mumbai flight from May 1st. According to the national flag carrier, there will be two flights a week(on Mondays and Fridays)on the Kathmandu-Mumbai-Kathmandu route. NAC is offering a discount on its ticket sale on the occasion of the relaunch of its Mumbai flight. The airlines had stopped operating flight to Mumbai from 2007.
Danish Trekkers visit PA Nepal, Sankhu
April 19th: A group of sixty Danish trekkers had trekked to EBC under the banner of the UN Human Rights Banner.56 of them took time out to visit Prisoners Assistance Nepal's children's home in Sankhu, 20km away from Kathmandu.The home is run by social activist Indira Rana Magar. A portion of the fund collected from their fund-raising trek will be donated to PA Nepal according to the trek leader,Christian Iversen from Kipling Travels .Apart from this sum, the trekkers also made personal donations.
NASA Scientists to trek to EBC
April 19th: A team of 11 NASA officials arrived in Kathmandu on Saturday to trek to Everest Base Camp.Though they are on an unofficial visit, the leader Chris J Johnson, said that their visit would contribute to the research activities of the NASA.
Ministry forms task force for implementation of TIMS
April 17th: Ministry ot Tourism and Civil Aviation has formed a six-member task force to study and suggest measures to implement Trekkers' Information Management System (TIMS) on a one-door basis through Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN).Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Ms Hisila Yami formed the task force after meeting with the delegation of TAAN on TIMS and other issues in the trekking sector. The task force has RB Pakhrin, Jyoti Adhikari, Ishwor Poudel, Dr Gyanendra Ratna Tuladhar, Ranjan Krishna Aryal and Purushottam Poudel as members. The task force has been mandated to recommend measures for the one-door implementation of TIMS through TAAN.
Serap Jangbu Sherpa eyes the 14 eight thousanders'
April 16th: Serap Jangbu Sherpa is on his way to become the first Nepali to ascend all 14 eight thousand meter peaks. He already holds the record for being the first Nepali to climb 10 peaks above 8,000m. At a programme held on 15th April, Serap was handed the national flag by the MoTCA Minister Hisila Yami. Serap will start the ascent of Mt Makalu (8,463m) on April 20. Last year he had ascended Everest as Sirdar with Explore Himalaya's clients from Denmark, Søren Smidt and Henrik Kristiansen of 7 Summits Aps.
Nepali cultural fest in Sydney
April 16th: The Embassy of Nepal in Canberra hosted a dinner and cultural programme at Stamford Plaza hotel in Sydney to celebrate the New Year 2066 BS on April 14.
Greeting Year 2066 with a Bungy Leap – Minister Yami promotes Adventure Tourism
April 15th: In a bid to promote Nepal Tourism Year 2011, Minister of Tourism & Civil Aviation, Hisila Yami took part in a Bungee jumping programme at The Last Resort, on 14th April.
Minister Yami and six women adventurers took part in the jump. The six sportswomen were: Maya Gurung (Everest Summiteer and Skydiver, Poojan Acharya (Everest Summiteer), Asha Kumari Singh ( Everest Summitteer), Ngawang Bhutik Sherpa ( Everest summitteer), Neerjala Tamrakar (Cyclist/ national champion) and Radha Tamang ( kayaker).
Everest Communication & Security
April 13th: According to reports from Everest, Eco Everest Expedition 2009 have made arrangements for better communication on Everest . The Eco Everest team will have telephone and internet connectivity at base station at Camp 2, one at Base Camp and one in Asian Trekking’s office in Khumjung . Their frequency is: 00 870772223518 OR 00870772223596. Ang Tshering of Asian Trekking has called on all Everest climbers to make use of this facility in case of emergency.
Nepal's Sales Mission to China
April 13th: Nepal Tourism Board with the cooperation of China Southern and six tour operators organized a Nepal Sales Mission in China. The first session was held in Guangzhou on April 7th. The second stop was Hangzhou on April 8th. Despite the Tea Festival celebrations held in the city during that particular week, the Nepal sales mission was very well received with over fifty Chinese outbound travel agents plus representatives from Hangzhou Tourism Administration and members of the media. The final stop of this sales mission was Beijing on April 10th where the sales mission was organized in close collaboration with the Nepalese Embassy. The sales mission was also an ideal platform to update Chinese travel trade and leading media on "Nepal Tourism Year 2011".
Nepal Promotion Campaign in Netherlands
April 13th: A large number of Dutch and Nepalese attended the Nepal Millennium Plaza in Amsterdam, Netherlands jointly organized by Nepal Development Academy, Non-Resident Nepalese Association, Nepali Jana Samparka Samiti, Nepal Music Foundation and the Embassy of Nepal. The objective of the event was to strengthen the relation between Nepal and the Netherlands. Nepal Plaza focused on the millennium development goals of the United Nations with regard to Nepal, such as the reduction of extreme poverty and hunger, access to primary education for all children and elimination of gender disparity.
Travel : A top pursuit among high income Asia Pacific households
April 12th: According to a survey carried by Visa, travel is the top pursuit for nearly three-quarters of high income Asia Pacific households . The ‘Spending Patterns and Perspectives of High Income Households’ survey revealed that some 73% of high income Asia Pacific households had travel as their main personal interest over the next two years, a Xinhua report said. The survey was carried out in Singapore, South Korea, Australia, India, Japan, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Two routes in Khumbu Icefall
April 12th: According to reports from Everest, there is going to be two routes up the Khumbu icefall to reduce traffic among Everest climbers. One route will be for climbers going up while the other will be used for descending.
Tibet Open for climbing
April 12th: The Tibetan peaks are now open for climbing.Climbing permits are finally being granted.
K2 Guies Kanchenjunga Expedition 2009
April 10th: Team members of K2 Guies Kanchenjunga Expedition 2009 left Kathmandu on 8th April. The expedition leader is Oscar Puig Cadiach from Spain. The team members will trek from Tambawa to Kanchenjunga Base Camp on 10th April . Tentatively, 21st April to 21st May has been fixed as the team’s climbing period. Explore Himalaya has organized the logistics for this expedition.
Official website of Everest Skydive Launched
April 9th: Explore Himalaya is organising Everest Skydive 2009. The official website of Everest Skydive was launched today. To visit the site, log onto www.everest-skydive.com.
Qatar to host UNTWO April meets
April 9th: The Qatar Tourism and Exhibitions Authority has announced that Qatar will host two major meetings of the United Nation World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in April. The ‘Qatar Summit on Addressing the Human Resource Challenge for Tourism’, will be held on 21-22 April, followed by the ‘32nd Commission for the Middle East of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation’, on 23 April.
Piotr Morawski's last climb
April 9th: A 32-year-old Polish mountaineer, Piotr Morawski, lost his life scaling Mt. Dhaulagiri in Nepal, expedition organisers said on Wednesday. Piotr suffered fatal injuries Tuesday, when he fell into a crevasse at an altitude of around 5,500 m, said Marcin Jozefowicz of Poland’s TOPR mountain rescue service. Morawski and his Slovak colleague Peter Hamor aimed to find a new route up the western face of Manaslu.
Cathay Pacific bags "Best Airline" Award
April 8th: Cathay Pacific Airways has been named the best airline in the world by the London-based Skytrax research organization. The award was presented to Cathay Pacific at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, where Skytrax was celebrating the 10th anniversary of the awards, states a press release issued on Tuesday This is the third time the Hong Kong-based airline won the prestigious award. It was also named Best Airline Asia in 2009. The selection was done based on a poll involving16.2 million people from across the world.
Jomsom Flights Increased
April 8th: Domestic airlines have increased frequency of flights to Jomsom following sudden rise in the number of pilgrims visiting Muktinath. Yeti Airlines, Agni Airlines and Sita Airlines are currently operating six flights to Jomsom from Pokhara everyday. Earlier these airlines used to operate just one or two flights to Jomsom per day. Jomsom is the gateway to Muktinath, a popular pilgrimage site in Nepal.
Appa Sherpa - In a bid to break his own record
April 7th: Appa Sherpa, who holds the world-record for the highest number of ascents up Mount Everest, wants to break his own record.He left Kathmandu on Monday for making a record 19th bid to f the world's highest peak. The 48-year-old mountaineering guide set off for Lukla with his Eco Everest Expedition 2009 team which he is leading.
Rhododendron Festival at Myagdi
April 7th: For the first time in Nepal, a three day rhododendron festival has been organized in Todke area of Myagdi district.This area is located in the midst of a dense rhododendron forest, which is at present, abloom with red and pink rhododendron flowers. Almost 16 species of rhododendrons are available in this area.
Danish Everest Ascent to mark 60 years of UN Declaration of Human Rights
April 5th: To commemorate the diamond jubilee of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, a Danish climber Morgen Jensen is all set to conquer the highest peak, Mt. Everest, without oxygen. During his expedition, Jensen will take with him the UN Human rights flag and the Declaration of Human Rights scroll, which he will unfurl and place it at the summit. A support group of 60 trekkers will meet him at the Everest Base Camp to hand over the scroll and the flag.
For details visit our blog
Spring Expeditions in the Nepal Himalayas
April 4th: According to Purushottam Paudel, Chief of Tourism Industry Division, Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, a total of 500 climbers from 49 teams have recieved permits to climb the Himalayan peaks in Nepal this spring. Among them, 180 climbers from 19 teams will be climbing Mt Everest.The team members are from China, USA, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Canada, Belgium, Mexico, Israel, Norway, Ireland, South Africa, South Korea, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Croatia, New Zealand and Poland. Highest number of climbers are from the US followed by Britain.
NTB signs MOU with WWF for Sustainable Tourism
April 2nd: Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and the WWF on Wednesday signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to make joint efforts to promote Nepal as a sustainable tourism destination by associating nature conservation and tourism. According to the MoU, they will work with each other to develop joint programs to promote 'Nepal Tourism Year 2011'
Tibet to reopen for foreign tourists from 5th April
April 2nd: According to Xinhua news agency, foreign tourists will be allowed to get into Tibet from April 5th. Entry to Tibet was restricted during March. For more information, visit Xinhua Net
NTB forms sub-committee for Nepal Tourism Year 2011
April 1st: Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has constituted the Mid-Western Regional Sub-Committee of Nepal Tourism Year (NTY) 2011, under the convenorship of regional administrator Binod Gyawali. According to NTB, all regional offices of the government, municipalities, District Chamber of Commerce and Industry, community-based organisations, security agencies and media houses in the region have also been appointed members of the sub-committee.
