19 Travel & Tour Operators on Russia-Finland Sales MissionWednesday, April 19th, 2017

HELSINKI, Finland, April 23, 2017 - In its bid to promote Nepal in the booming Russian market, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and Society of Travel and Tour Operators Nepal(SOTTO-Nepal) jointly organized a sales mission participated by 20 travel and tour operators in 3 cities of Russia-Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Helsinki, Finland from March 27 to April 3, 2017. The size of Nepali participation is historic on its own for the Russia and Finland.

Actively participated by the private sector travel trade industry, the sessions of the mission in every city were attended by more than 50 tour operators and media persons. Participation in Saint-Petersburg was overwhelming where 90 tour operators were present.

H.E. Ambassador of Nepal for Russia Mr. Rishi Ram Ghimire welcomed tour operators and reiterated commitment of Government of Nepal for tourism promotion between two countries. Honorary Consul of Nepal for Saint Petersburg, Mr. Alexander V. Terentev addressed the session in Saint Petersburg. Mr. Anil Lama, President of SOTTO Nepal with his presentation briefed tour operators on opportunities on selling Nepal.

Mr. Sudhan Subedi and Mr. Kundan Sharma Mishra, Senior Officers of NTB made multimedia presentation highlighting Nepali tourism prospect and flight connectivity between Russia and Nepal. After each session of Sales Mission participating tour operators were given certificates and were acknowledged as Nepal experts.

The tailor-made Business to Business (B2B) session was organized following the presentation where Nepali tour operators interacted with their Russian counterparts for business promotion and negotiation.

A lottery draw for all paid trip for 2 participants were done in every cities. Turkish Air has provided 2 Business Class Tickets round fair from Saint Petersburg.

NTB Honorary Public Relations Representatives Ms. Sapila Rajbhandari and Mr. Leonid Myasnikov helped with translation works and also made presentations on Nepal on the occasions. Non Resident Nepalese Association (NRNA) and Nepalese Community on these locations helped Nepal for reaching counterparts and making sales mission a success.

Russian tourists are considered to be high spending tourists. They are interested more towards adventure ends like trekking and mountaineering. The Russian outbound tourism market is expected to grow by leaps and bounds. The accelerating economic growth supported by the strong domestic demand and exports have created an ever-increasing demand for overseas travels among Russian citizens.

However, in comparison to the other destinations, Nepal is receiving only a few tourists from this enormous tourism market. Tourist arrival statistics from Russia to Nepal is below 6 thousand. Promotional programs and B2B are expected to create a buzz in the market.

Considering its rapid recovery and keeping in view its unmatched products, Nepal was voted “Number 1 Destination to Visit in 2016” by Rough Guides based in UK. Similarly, Nepal ranked 6th in National Geographic Traveler Magazine’s “Cool List 2016” and was also featured in Fodor’s “Go List 2016”, and Forbes’ “14 Coolest Places to Visit in 2016”. Lonely Planet has named Nepal ‘Best Value Destination’ for 2017 and 5th on the top 10 countries in the world to visit in 2017. Such news and positive feedback have helped the industry bounce back better.

Participating travel and tour operators are: Living Adventure Holidays, Aerolina Tours and Travels, Insight Asia Service, Anjali Travels and Tours, Farwest Travels and Tours, Snow Bird Travels and Tours, AGH Travels, Venus International Travel and Tours, Bharosa Travel and Tours, Kamal Travel and Tours, Rolex Travel and Tours, Golden Gate Holidays, Success Holidays, Utopia Travel and Tours, Success Nepal Travel and Tours, Pass Travel and Tours, Bindas Travels and Tours, Orchid Travel and Tours and Well Nepal Travel and Tours.