SKÅL International Nepal Organises Its First Meeting For The Year 2019

SKÅL International Nepal has a chain of hotels, resorts, travel agencies and aviation companies under its own belt of members. And on January 8, Soaltee Crowne Plaza, Kathmandu hosted the first general monthly meeting for the new year. 

SKÅL International Nepal has a chain of hotels, resorts, travel agencies and aviation companies under its own belt of members. And on January 8, Soaltee Crowne Plaza, Kathmandu hosted the first general monthly meeting for the new year. 

SKÅL is a professional organisation of tourism leaders around the world, promoting global tourism and friendship. It is the only international group uniting all branches of the travel and tourism industry. Its members, the industry’s managers and executives, meet at local, regional and international levels to ‘Do Business Among Friends’.

With a vision to make Visit Nepal 2020 as successful as possible, Prabin Bahadur Pandey, the Executive Director of Hotel Shangri~La and President of SKÅL International Nepal welcomed the chief guests, Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Krishna Prasad Devkota, and the CEO of Nepal Tourism Board, Deepak Raj Joshi.

The President of SKÅL said, “We are trying to promote happiness, we are trying to promote good health, we are trying to promote friendship, we are trying to promote a long life, and that’s all. We are trying to exceed the expectations of our global agenda. Today, we have the opportunity to interact with the faces of the government and the Tourism Board about the importance of SKÅL internationally. And thus, we aim to discuss what contributions can SKÅL make for the preparation and success of Nepal Tourism Year 2020.”

He further encouraged the almost 60 members of SKÅL Nepal to utilise their position and access to the global platform by saying, “My colleagues present here today represent the tourism industry of Nepal globally. The ones present here today are from different occupational backgrounds- general managers, hoteliers, tour operators, airlines among others. But we all fall under the big umbrella of the developing tourism and hospitality sector of Nepal. So whenever and wherever you travel, you have the chance to push Nepal into the global limelight.”

An informative video presentation was exhibited to the members regarding what SKÅL Nepal is and activities they are involved in. The organisation displayed its involvement in various sectors of health, education and environment and infrastructure development following the 2015 Nepal earthquake. After the presentation, some new and potential members of SKÅL Nepal were recognised: Pataleban Vineyard Resort, Aloft Kathmandu, Chandragiri Hills Resort and Qatar Airways. SKÅL Nepal also unveiled their new calendar and further talked about their Asian meeting happening in Bangalore and another congress in America. 

Deepak Joshi, the CEO, said, “When one mentions SKÅL, you think of quality tourism- a group of professionals. And in the context of Visit Nepal 2020, you can see how Nepal has this perceptual sectoral tourism. People come to Nepal generally for adventure sports; tourists are attracted to the adrenaline seeking aspect of the nation. But for 2020, we want to promote and project Nepal as a ‘Lifetime Experience’. Instead of solely basing the idea of tourism in Nepal as adventurous, Nepal could be illustrated with anything spiritual or historical or venturesome or religious or traditional.”

Ambica Shrestha, the past president of SKÅL talked passionately about the issues in the industry regarding the lack of online Visa fee payment and the inability to carry a greater amount of currency among Indian tourists. She also encouraged the Tourism Board to seriously consider taking part in future SKÅL global meetings and greatly promote Nepal for its new Tourism Year. 

Next, the General Manager of Soaltee Crowne Plaza, Upaul Majumdar talked about the major developments in his hotel. He spoke of how all the 198 rooms underwent transformations to give the entire place a more Nepali feel. By incorporating conventional Newari architecture and artwork from the Malla period in each room, they aimed to make Soaltee Crowne Plaza Kathmandu aesthetically Nepali.

The meeting ended with all the guests raising a toast to SKÅL, followed by a lunch at their Alfresco Restaurant.