Namaste

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M o n t h l y e - n e w s l e t t e r o f H o t e l A s s o c i a t i o n N e p a l , M A y 2 0 1 9

HAN 46th AGM

Guided by the quote "Good enough is not enough", the 46th AGM of Hotel Association Nepal was organized on May 9, 2019 at

Soaltee Crowne Plaza. More than six hundred guests including representatives of different associations, government officials, member hoteliers, media personnel were present at the event. Mrs. Shreejana Rana was elected as the first women President in the 53 years history of HAN. Similarly the AGM elected Mr Binayak Shah from Airport Hotel as 1st Vice President, Mr Prabin Bahadur Panday from Hotel Shangri-La as 2nd Vice President, Mr Sajan Shakya from Kathmandu Prince Hotel as Secretary General, and Mr Vishal Kumar from Hotel Vaishali as the Treasurer. HAN president Mrs Shreejana Rana who is also

a member of the Visit Nepal Year 2020 Program Implementation Committee added "I plan to work with the Government to conduct various initiatives and programs at the provincial level to bring in more tourists in 2020 and beyond."

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Mr Binayak Shah 1st VP, HAN gave an insightful presentation on the second version of White Paper on Tourism which was unveiled by Mr Suresh Acharya, Officiating Secretary, MoCTCA. Chief Guest, Officiating Prime Minister Hon'ble Mr Ishwar Pokhrel graced the event and highlighted key notes for the success of VNY 2020 and tourism in the country. Colorful cultural program was presented at the event which was followed by a cocktail dinner where a multiple number of heritage cuisines were served.

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An interaction with Presidents of Regional Hotel Associations

was organized at Royal Empire Boutique Hotel on 8th May 2019. Then First Vice President Mrs. Shreejana Rana giving an opening remarks highlighted the importance of such a program and possible collaboration in future with regional associations. She also underscored on the potentials for improvement of rapport and tie ups with RHAN for sales mission both domestically and internationally. MICE Tourism and its prospect was also discussed. Then Secretary General Mr Binayak Shah welcomed all the Presidents, Trade Union Presidents and others. Then all the Presidents viewed on the status of tourism, focusing hospitality industry and possible collaboration to uplift the present standard into a new height. Mr Ghanendra B Shrestha, former treasurer of HAN elaborated on the Social Security Fund followed by presentation on Service Charge and Labor Act by Mr

Khadananda Kandel, HAN advocate. Mr Surya Bahadur Kuwar, President NIHWU shed light on service charge issues and appealed to RHAN Presidents to help implement it. Meanwhile, he also revealed about provincial trainings and awareness campaigns that were discussed to be jointly coordinated by HAN and JTFC. Then President Mr Amarman Shakya, chair of the event, concluded the workshop with vote of thanks.

HAN Regional Presidents' Workshop

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Under the leadership of President Mrs Shreejana Rana the first Executive Committee Meeting was organized at the

HAN secretariat on 17th May 2019 at 5:00 pm. The Newly Elected Board Members were welcomed by Mr Sajan Shakya, Secretary General, HAN and

the formal meetings agendas were addressed by the President.The oath taking ceremony was conducted by chief election commissioner Prof. Dr. Gandhi Pandit. The meeting formed committees and sub-committees to strengthen HAN's vision.

First Executive Committee Meeting

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HAN President Mrs. Shreejana Rana and EC members including Young Hoteliers joined the reception program hosted by Embassy of India on May 16, 2019. On the occasion, Mrs. Rana, newly elected president was introduced to the guests by His Excellency the Ambassador H.E. Manjeev Singh Puri. Mr Sanjeev Kapur, a renowned celebrity of gastronomy along with delegates interacted with Nepali private sector. The program paved a way for further promoting scope of food tourism in Nepal.

Insight on FOODTREX Mr Erik Wolf, Executive director of World Food Travel Association (WFTA) was welcomed at HAN secretariat on 23rd May, 2019 by the Officiating President Mr Binayak Shah along with 2nd VP Mr Prabin B. Panday. Mr Wolf shed

light on the concept of FOODTREX i.e. food travel excellence. On behalf of HAN Mr Shah added "Culinary tourism is one of the major leads for the betterment of the overall hotel industry".Mr Prabin Panday also expressed his thoughts on this regards.Mr Pramod Jaiswal, President of REBAN along with other members from the WFTA were present in the meeting.

Similarly, FoodTrex Kathmandu concluded at 26 May, 2019 at Park Village, Kathmandu. The Food Summit discussed on the issues of food tourism and its prospect in terms of globalizing it. The panel session was moderated by Tek B Mahat, Chief Operating Officer of HAN discussed on the theme of 'Nepal's Food Tourism in Global Tourism Market'. Hotel Association

Nepal's officiating President Mr. Binayak Shah speaking as a panelist presented the current status of culinary tourism in Nepal. He also mentioned about the joint venture campaign initiated a year back and its impact in the tourism industry. Other panelists also shared their thoughts and experiences on the ways of promoting gastronomy tourism with proper identification, product development and marketing strategies

both nationally and internationally. Keynote Speakers including Mr. Erik Wolf, Executive Director of World Food Travel Association and Saurav Dixit presented global scenario of food tourism. Guest Speakers including Mr. Karna Shakya and Deepak R Joshi, NTB CEO, also stress on various aspects of promoting food tourism and its benefits to a country like Nepal.

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- HAN Secretary General Mr. Sajan Shakya attended a program organized by the Ministry of Labor, Employment & Social Security regarding Skilled Manpower in Tourism Industry of Province No. 2 & 3 on May 12, 2019. Secretary General Mr. Shakya assured the forum that HAN has already been taken initiatives for organizing the training program in all the provinces with the support of NATHM for the skilled manpower. The meeting was chaired by Joint Secretary of Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation and attended by various tourism organizations.

- HAN President Mrs. Shreejana

Rana attended VNY 2020 Committee Meeting on May 16, 2019. The meeting dwelt on the issue of promotion. Private sectors including HAN has been provided with the option of destination promotion in the prime source market.

- HAN President Mrs. Shreejana Rana attended the program organized at Nepal Tourism Board regarding MICE tourism on May 16, 2019. At the meeting President Mrs. Rana shared her views on the potentials and capacity of MICE tourism in all provinces of Nepal.

- Hotel Association Nepal submitted its suggestion related to tourism industry in general

& hotel industry in particular to the Finance Ministry for upcoming budget 2076-077.

- Hotel Association Nepal 2nd Vice President Mr. Prabin Bahadur Panday met with the Secretary of Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation Mr. Mohan Krishna Sapkota with regard to forthcoming Budget 2076-077 and suggestions on the part of HAN. Secretary General Mr. Sajan Shakya and former Ghanendra Bahadur Shrestha, consultant, also attend the meeting. They raised the issues of industry friendly budget and requested government's support to resolve the pending issues as requested by hospitality sector.

HAN Executive Members (2019-2021)Name Des. OrganizationMrs. Shreejana Rana President Hotel AnnapurnaMr. Amar Man Shakya IP President Amar HotelMr. Binayak Shah 1st VP Airport HotelMr. Prabin B. Panday 2nd VP Shangri-La HotelMr. Sajan Shakya Secretary General Kathmandu Prince HotelMr. Vishal Kumar Treasurer Hotel VaishaliMr. Dinesh Bista Exec. Member Soaltee Crowne PlazaMs. Bidhata Shrestha Exec. Member Hotel Radisson Mr. Binod S. Shrestha Exec. Member Hotel ShankerMr. Dinesh Tuladhar Exec. Member Hotel HimalayaMr. Biplab Paudel Exec. Member Hotel BarahiMr. Gopal Rana Exec. Member Dreamland Gold ResortMr. Tseten Tsatultsang Exec. Member Hotel ShambalaMr. Ram Kumar Puri Exec. Member Hotel KamalMr. Youb Raj Shrestha Exec. Member Hotel Crown PlazaMr. Thakur Prasad Pokharel Exec. Member Hotel Ganesh HimalMr. Rajan Shrestha Exec Member Hotel Swagatam Mr. Rajendra Bhatta Exec. Member Hotel YambuMr Gyanendra Kumar Bista Exec. Member Hotel RainforestMr Rahul Shakya Exec Member Hotel AmbassadorMr. Hem Bahadur Gurung Exec. Member Hotel ManangMr. CP Shrestha Exec. Member Hotel NanscMr. Asit SJB Rana Exec. Member Hotel SnehaMr. Rahul Chaudhary Exec. Member Meghauli Serai-A Taj Safari;s LodgeMr Bharat Raj Parajuli Exec. Member RHAN Pokhara

upDAtEs

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Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), P.O. Box: 2151, Subarna Shamsher Marg, Gairidhara, Kathmandu, Nepal, Tel No : +977-1-4412705, 4410522, Fax : 0097-1-4424914, Email: han@ntc.net.np, Website : hotelassociationnepal.org

Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), P.O. Box: 2151, Subarna Shamsher Marg, Gairidhara, Kathmandu, Nepal, Tel No : +977-1-4412705, 4428946, Email: han@ntc.net.np, Website : hotelassociationnepal.org.np

(This issue of HAN Newsletter is supported by Patanjali Divya Jal)

Hotel Association Nepal participated at 12th International Everest Day procession and program on May 29, 2019 in Kathmandu. Hotel Association HAN's Officiating President Mr. Binayak Shah, Secretary General Mr. Sajan Shakya and EC members, general members along with secretariat staffers took part in a rally from Sanchayakosh premises to the city hall where official program was held.