Nepali beauty Shilashma Hamal Malla has won the title of ‘Mrs. Tourism Ambassador World 2020’ at the ‘Mrs. Tourism Ambassador Universe 2020’ beauty pageant.

Along with this title, she also won 3 subtitles, namely Beautiful Smile, Best in Performance and Best in Tradition Costume.

Shilashma, the winner of Beautician Nepal 2018, has represented Nepal in the ‘Mrs. Tourism Ambassador Universe 2020’ pageant which was organized in Malaysia from January 1 to January 4, 2020.

Other Title Holders of the Event:

• Tourism Ambassador Universe 2020 – Cleopatra Claire Asing (Malaysia)
• Tourism Ambassador International 2020 – Myla Villagonzala (Philippines)

The grand finale of the ‘Mrs. Tourism Ambassador Universe 2020’ pageant was held at Ming Garden Hotel, Sabah, Malaysia on January 4, 2020.

Congratulations to Mrs.Shilashma Hamal Malla!

Nepal is all set to organize an international fashion show on Mt. Everest at an altitude of 5,644 meters on January 25, 2020.

The show named ‘Mt. Everest Fashion Runway’ will set a record of being held at the highest altitude in the world.

Kasa Fashion Wear and RB Diamond Jewelers will be organizing the fashion show under the theme of ‘Sustainability’ at Kala Patthar, a prominent landmark in Himalayas.

Around 15 international models from various countries including Italy, Netherland, Finland, Poland, Nigeria, Mexico, Sri Lanka and India, and 5 Nepali Models will be participating in the show.

Miss Universe Nepal 2018 Manita Devkota will be the lead of the event.

The Mt. Everest fashion show is intended to promote the ‘Visit Nepal Year 2020’ campaign and to gain international attention.

Nepal has bagged another prestigious award at the international level.

The Himalayan nation won the ‘Country of the Year Award 2019’ as ‘Asia’s Best Nation for Mountaineering Adventures at the Top Asia Corporate Ball organized by Research House of Asia (RHA) Media, in Malaysia.

Nepal secured its top spot fighting out five Asian nations shortlisted after various research surveys, the Nepali Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said in a statement.

The Deputy Tourism Minister of Malaysia YB Tuan Muhammad Bakhtar bin Wan Chik handed over the award to Nepali Ambassador to Malaysia Uday Raj Pandey, at a special function at Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur on November 22, 2019.

Ministers of different departments, members of the royal family, CEOs of reputed organizations, business tycoons were among others present at the award ceremony.

Kathmandu, December 31

The much-awaited Visit Nepal 2020 campaign will kick off tomorrow with the aim of creating a buzz about the country’s tourism sector across the world.

During a special function to be held at Dasharath Stadium tomorrow, President Bidya Devi Bhandari is scheduled to officially announce the commencement of the mega tourism campaign. The third of its type tourism campaign, being held after 2011, primarily intends to glorify Nepal as a tourism hub, especially among visiting international tourists.

Hundreds of foreign delegates, including tourism ministers from India, China, Myanmar and Jamaica arrived today to participate in the inaugural ceremony. Around 40 media houses from across the world have also sent mediapersons to cover the inaugural ceremony of the national campaign.

To make the VN 2020 campaign successful, the government has introduced new destinations, organised national and international sales missions and appointed brand ambassadors for the event while the private sector has offered discount packages for the year-long campaign.

The event is being supervised by the VN 2020 campaign secretariat under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation in association with Nepal Tourism Board. Targeting to go beyond the regular products, MoCTCA has introduced 100 new tourist destinations. The ministry had conducted meetings with more than 100 governmental and non-governmental organisations requesting their support to promote this campaign in their respective areas.

Although the VN 2020 promotion has created quite a buzz within the country, the government is yet to put in the required effort to promote the campaign in the international market, said Vinayak Shah, first vice-president of Hotel Association Nepal. “We have enough potential to bring in high-end tourists, but we are still lagging behind in attracting such tourists due to lack of proper tourism infrastructure,” he said. “Moreover, we also have very limited areas where tourists can spend.”

Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai said VN 2020 would be the base year for the next one decade. The government is preparing to announce tourism decade from 2021. “The year 2020 alone is not enough for the development we want in tourism sector,” he said. “Tourism decade will be celebrated to bring about a massive change in the tourism industry.”

He added that the VN 2020 was a public campaign where every single Nepali had to chip in to make it successful.

Amidst this, the government has signed an agreement with the Non-Resident Nepali Association to promote the campaign in foreign countries. In cooperation with NRNA, the government is holding ‘Send one foreign friend to visit Nepal’ campaign. The government has also appointed international celebrities as brand ambassadors of the campaign.

The VN 2020 secretariat announced it would organise several grand events in 2020, including Nepal India China Expo, Mustang Trail Race, Everest Marathon, Otaku Jatra, Sustainable Summits Conference, World Trails Conference, the Great Karnali Quest and Kathmandu Triennale.

Kathmandu, January 1

Lighting the flame of unity, President Bidya Devi Bhandari officially launched Visit Nepal 2020 today with the slogan ‘Lifetime Experience’. Respective province chiefs also launched the campaign in all seven provinces at the same time.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, President Bhandari said the country’s economy was dependent on tourism, which had been affected by the long civil war and unstable political system.

“As we have already overcome political challenges, our major focus now is on economic prosperity. Tourism is the backbone of the country’s economic development,” she said.

Emphasising the immense tourism potential of Nepal, she said, “We can cater to all kinds of tourists as our country has been bestowed with cultural and natural diversity.”

President Bidya Devi Bhandari igniting the Flame of Unity to inaugurate the Visit Nepal 2020, in Dasharath Stadium, Kathmandu, on Wednesday, January 1, 2020. Photo: Naresh Shrestha/THT

She added that the campaign would play a significant role in conveying that Nepal had more to offer than just Sagarmatha, Pokhara, Chitwan and Lumbini.

She requested all Nepalis — those residing in the country and abroad — to be a part of the campaign and make it successful as Nepali culture equated ‘guest with god (Atithi Devo Bhava)’.

Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai said Nepal was a unique creation of nature and implored all visitors to come for a lifetime experience.

“Nepal is a land of cultural excellence and tourists can visit sacred religious sites and experience our diverse wildlife, flora and fauna,” he said.

Assuring that the country was moving towards the path of good governance and prosperity, the minister also claimed that the government had created a conducive environment for investment.

Stressing that tourism is the main pillar of Nepal’s economic development, he said the target of two million tourists and the campaign itself were inadequate for sustainable development of the sector. “We consider this year as the starting point and plan to follow this path and mark 2020-30 as the tourism decade.”

Tourism ministers from India, China, Myanmar and Jamaica were present during the inauguration and extended their good wishes to Nepal for the grand success of the VN2020 campaign.

The inauguration ceremony of the mega tourism campaign kicked off with chanting of mantras of seven religions — Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Kiratism, Christianity, Jainism, Sikhism — practised in the country. Viber stickers of VN2020 and mascot for the campaign, Yeti, were also released during the inauguration.

In view of the upcoming ‘Visit Nepal 2020’ event, several tourism agencies have announced special discounts offers to the foreign visitors.

Discounts at a Glance:

• Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) – 30% discount on its services
• Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) – 20% discount on its services
• Homestay Association – 20% discount on Homestay lodging and foods.
• Nepal Association of Rafting Agencies (NARA) – 15% discount on rafting and other water-related adventure sports
• Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) – 10% discount on tour packages

The agencies have come forward with these offers to aid the government’s campaign to attract 2 million visitors in 2020.

On the other hand, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal and Thamel Development Council have decided to organize various promotional events targeting the Visit Nepal 2020.

The ambitious Visit Nepal 2020 campaign is being launched on January 1, 2020.

Tourism ministers from over a dozen countries are invited for the inaugural ceremony of the campaign in Kathmandu.

Tourism ministers from Bangladesh, India, China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Japan, United Arab Emirates and Qatar among other countries are going to be part of the event.

The Nepal Government is inviting tourism ministers of 40 countries for the inauguration of the Visit Nepal Year (VNY) 2020 Campaign scheduled on January 01, 2019.

Nepal Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Yogesh Kumar Bhattarai made the announcement at the VNY 2020 Preparation Meet held by Province 3 Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment Ministry in Lalitpur on November 12, 2019.

“Extensive preparations are being made for the VNY 2020 and the Visit Year Secretariat has corresponded with the State governments within the country and all the diplomatic missions abroad about the Campaign. We have sent out the invitation to the tourism ministers of 40 countries,” said Bhattarai.

The Tourism Minister said that he was looking forward to make the inaugural event a grand success with the active participation of federal, state and local governments.

The VNY2020 inauguration program will be held at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu. Initially, it was planned to be held at Tundikhel. The VNY 2020 Secretariat is making preparations for the event to be conducted at the stadium, which is under reconstruction and will be ready around the time of the inaugural event.

The Nepal Government is also coming up with a cruise ship as part of its VNY2020 promotions. The government is planning to perform a trial run of the ship this month in Chitwan.

The ship is currently being constructed on the bank of the Narayani river beside a community forest in Bharatpur Metropolitan City.

Rhino Water Entertainment in collaboration with Indian firm Grandeur Marine is constructing the ship.

The front of the cruise ship is built to look like the head of a one-horned rhino. According to Rhino Water Entertainment Managing Director Ram Chandra Kandel, the cruise ship is 100 feet long and 25 feet wide.

While the ground deck of the cruise can accommodate 90 people, the first floor has room for 100 people. Up to 15 persons can stand on the front portion of the first floor and open space on the second floor. The first floor also has seats for 10 VIPs.

The cruise will be operated during breakfast, lunch and dinner and will last for three hours, each sail. It will be operated between Kavreghat and Golaghat.