Kathmandu. The Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NIKKI) is organizing its first-ever Nepal Tourism Roadshow in Varanasi on January 30, 2019. The event is an important step towards further strengthening tourism cooperation and people-to-people relations between Nepal and India.

A delegation of more than a dozen members from Nepal reached Varanasi on Friday to participate in the roadshow. The delegation is led by Srijana Rana, Immediate Past President of Nikkei. The delegation includes Executive Member of Nikkei Group Mr. Kunal Kayal, Executive Member Mr. Shashi Kanta Agrawal and leading tourism entrepreneurs and hoteliers of Nepal.

The main objective of the roadshow is to establish Nepal as an attractive tourist destination especially for Indian tourists from eastern Uttar Pradesh and surrounding regions. The event will showcase Nepal’s diverse tourist destinations – pilgrimage and spiritual tourism, adventure tourism, health tourism, cultural heritages and hospitality programs through direct interaction with local tourism and hoteliers.

As a major spiritual and cultural centre with deep historical and religious ties to Nepal, Varanasi has been chosen for Nikkei’s first tourism-focused roadshow in India. According to Nikki officials, Varanasi’s strong spiritual identity makes it the perfect platform for promoting cross-border tourism cooperation.

A major attraction of the event will be the release of a book titled “Religious and Spiritual Circuit of Nepal and India”. It highlights the shared spiritual heritage and pilgrimage routes of both the countries. The book contains details on various spiritual paths including the Ramayana Circuit, Shiva and Shakti Circuit, Buddha Circuit and Sikh Circuit.

Chairman of Chaudhary Group, renowned industrialist and former MP Binod Chaudhary will deliver the keynote address in the roadshow. He is the only Nepalese dollar billionaire listed in Forbes.

More than 80 travel and tourism organizations and business leaders from India are participating in the event. This initiative is expected to promote business-to-business networking among tourism stakeholders of both the countries, explore new collaboration opportunities and help increase the number of tourists in Nepal in the upcoming tourism season.

According to Sunil KC, chairman of Nikki, the roadshow aims to connect Kashi Vishwanath with Pashupatinath and Sarnath with Lumbini along with other major spiritual and religious connectivity. “This programme is our shared commitment to further deepen cross-border cooperation along with the promotion of rich cultural, religious and spiritual heritage of Nepal and India,”

he said.

The roadshow is being organized by Nepal Tourism Board in coordination with Nikki, Buddha Air, and Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi.