Nepal Tourism Board > Press Release > Nepal receives unprecedented religious and tourism mileage at SCITE 2018

Nepal receives unprecedented religious and tourism mileage at SCITE 2018Friday, September 28th, 2018

Nepal, the Country of Honor, at Sichuan International Travel Expo 2018 held in Leshan, China, held from Sep 6 to 9, 2018, received unprecedented religious and tourism mileage as the Birthplace of the Buddha.

On a special invitation of the Sichuan Province and Leshan Municipality governments, Hon’ble Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Mr. Rabindra Prasad Adhikari led the official Delegation from Nepal that included: Members of the Parliament; Mayors of Lumbini, Tansen and Ramgram municipalities; Nepal Tourism Board; Lumbini Development Trust, and private sector representatives from the tourism industry.

Hon’ble Tourism Minister addressed the opening ceremony at the SCITE and visited the Nepal Pavilion in addition to holding several high level meetings with the Governor of Sichuan, the Mayor of Leshan, Heads of the famous Dado Zen Temple and Leshan Buddha Temple to discuss mutual cooperation and promotion of tourism in the very potential China market.

The highlight of the visit was the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Leshan, in China, the home of the biggest Buddha statue in the world and Lumbini, Tansen and Ramgram, in Nepal, for promotion of Buddhist tourism.

At another special ceremony, the Holy Soil from the Lumbini Sacred Garden was officially handed over to the Leshan Giant Buddha Temple, where it has been consecrated with great honor.

Inaugurated by His Excellency, Leela Mani Paudyal, the Nepal Week, a week long exhibition and sale of Nepal’s handicrafts with over 50 stalls, culinary delights, photo exhibition , live pottery and cultural dances is being held at Leshan till Sept. 11, for the Chinese public.

Hon. Tourism Minister Mr. Adhikari and the Mayor of Leshan have expressed great commitment in strengthening the ties between Leshan and Lumbini and this will definitely go a long way in promoting Nepal’s tourism in China. A 14-member team was at the Travel Expo from the Nepal Association of Travel and Tour Agents (NATTA), and members also participated in the B2B sessions at the SCITE.