Pandey elected NATTA President

Kathmandu, Aug. 15

Bharat Jang Pandey has been elected president of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA). He defeated Yubika Bhandari and Jiswa Tuladhar Shrestha in the association’s 59th Annual General Meeting and executive committee election held in Kathmandu on Friday.

Pandey secured 188 votes, while Bhandari received 158 votes and Shrestha 106 votes – from the total of 453 votes cast.

The panel led by Pandey won all seven office-bearer positions. Five of the eight remaining executive committee positions were also won by candidates from his panel, while three went to candidates from Bhandari’s panel.

Sunil Sharma was elected senior vice-president, Sabita K.C. Bhattarai vice-president, Raj Kumar Devkota secretary general and Ramesh Parajuli was elected secretary.

Likewise, Diki Sherpa was elected treasurer, while Jiban Koirala secured the joint-treasurer position.

The eight elected executive committee members are Smarika Thapa, Prakash Lohani, Nabin Gurung, Dinesh Mainali, Suman Lal Shrestha, Swastika Pradhan, Sanket Dahal and Bibhash Poudel.

During the inaugural session held on Friday, outgoing NATTA president Kumar Mani Thapaliya called for cooperation between the government and private sector on issues affecting the tourism and travel industry.

Hotel Association Nepal President Binayak Shah, Confederation of Nepalese Industries President Birendra Raj Pandey and FNCCI President Anjan Shrestha spoke about private-sector participation and government support for tourism businesses. They emphasised on bringing the international airports in Bhairahawa and Pokhara in operation and prioritising tourism as a sector to achieve prosperity.

Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Khadak Raj Poudel ‘Ganesh’ said tourism was important to economic growth and referred to proposed amendments to the Tourism Act. He also outlined measures being taken towards Nepal’s removal from the European Union’s aviation safety list, including restructuring the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, strengthening the national flag carrier and bringing two international airports into operation with private-sector participation.

  Published in The Rising Nepal on 16 August 2026.