International Mart from May 23 To Promote Buddhist Pilgrimage Tourism in Nepal

Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) is organizing the third edition of Buddhist International Travel Mart from May 23 to 25 in Kathmandu and Lumbini.
 

The mart states in its website that the main objective of the event is to exploit the immense potentials that Nepal has in Buddhist pilgrimage tourism. 
It states that the mart will not only promote Buddhist heritage sites in Kathmandu Valley and Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, but will also offer new tourism products that Nepali tourism entrepreneurs can sell in the international market. It will highlight the Buddhist sites of Nepal spreading the message that Nepal is the center for world peace and a gateway to the Buddhist Circuits. It will create the opportunity for niche market of pilgrimage in Nepal and help expand travel products and help develop Lumbini as the most important travel destination.

Also, the mart will play a key role in diversifying and decentralizing Nepali tourism, which is heavily reliant on adventure tourism an focused on handful of areas of the country. NATTA plans to organize the mart under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, together with Nepal Tourism Board and Lumbini Development Trust as well as different travel trade associations of the country.
 

Participating countries include major Buddhist countries like China, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, India and Malaysia. More than 1,000 visitors including national and international tourism professionals, Buddhist pilgrims and media professionals are expected to attend this mart. 
 

Speaking at a program organized to inform about the mart, Tourism Board CEO Deepak Raj Joshi said Nepal has a rich potential for Buddhist heritage, which will have an emotional connection with millions of people around the world.

Joshi expressed belief that this program will give Nepal a prominent position in the field of international Buddhist pilgrimage tourism. President of NATTA, Kumarmani Thapalia, said the mart offers an opportunity to introduce Nepal not only as the birthplace of Buddha, but also as a country of deep Buddist cultural, historical and spiritual significance.