The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Nepal, has launched a free online training course titled “Travel Specialist – Basic Level”, aimed at enhancing the knowledge, skills, and service standards of tourism professionals.
The course was officially inaugurated by Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Bedu Prasad Pandey during the opening ceremony of the Himalayan Travel Mart in Kathmandu. The training is part of NTB’s broader efforts under the Sustainable Tourism Project (STP), which runs from 2025 to 2028, and aligns with the government’s Tourism Decade initiative targeting 3.5 million foreign tourists by 2032.
The program, hosted on NTB’s e-learning platform, is designed for travel agents, guides, tour operators, trekking companies, and tourism students. It includes training in:
- Nepal’s geographical, cultural, and biological diversity
- Key tourism products such as trekking, adventure travel, and cultural heritage
- Sustainable tourism principles and destination conservation
- Climate resilience and responsible travel practices
- Customer service skills and effective visitor engagement
NTB CEO Deepak Raj Joshi highlighted the course’s role in building digital capacities and promoting inclusive tourism. The project especially targets women and marginalized communities, with the goal of creating 2,500 jobs and training 5,000 individuals.
The initiative complements NTB’s commitment to professionalizing Nepal’s tourism workforce while promoting locally driven and climate-resilient tourism development.
