A first of its kind, Nepal woed its two biggest markets in a single event in Pokhara.
The first ever tri-nation tourism expo, Nepal India China Expo (NICE 2025) concluded on a high note in Nepal’s tourism capital, Pokhara, attracting over 600 delegates from 14 countries, including more than 100 international participants and national tourism stakeholders. The three-day expo, the first of its kind, was organized by the PATA Nepal Chapter in collaboration with the Nepal Tourism Board, Pokhara Tourism Council, and key public and private sector stakeholders at local, provincial, national, and regional levels.
Honorable Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, Badri Prasad Pandey, inaugurated NICE 2025 at the Pokhara Event Center. In his address, Minister Pandey emphasized that NICE 2025 reflects the deep historical, cultural, and economic ties among Nepal, India, and China. He highlighted Nepal’s strategic role as a bridge between the two neighboring nations and its potential to benefit from their vast populations and rapidly growing economies. He said the Government of Nepal is committed to strengthening the tourism industry through infrastructure improvements, resolving challenges at Nepal’s international airports, addressing the EU Air Safety ban, streamlining visa processes, enhancing connectivity, and ensuring world-class tourism services.
Special Guest and Speaker Noor Ahmad Hamid, CEO of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), congratulated Nepal on hosting NICE 2025 and emphasized the event’s role in fostering strategic alliances and unlocking new opportunities in the tourism sector.
Anand Jha, Vice President and Head of Government Engagement for India and South Asia at Visa Inc., reaffirmed Visa’s commitment to strengthening Nepal’s tourism ecosystem. Visa has been at the forefront of promoting tourism and has developed powerful tools such as Visa Destination Insights and Visa Tourism Insights, which provide bespoke dashboards to help governments and tourism authorities promote inbound tourism worldwide.
A Pre-Expo FAM Trip on February 23rd offered international delegates two immersive itineraries: “Sunrise to Sunset in Pokhara” and “Nature & Adventure Escape in Pokhara.” These experiences were hosted by the Nepal Airports Association and High Ground Adventure.
The NICE 2025 Conference (powered by VISA), under the theme “NICE for MICE and More,” featured leading experts discussing key topics, including Where Is the Blue Ocean? – Innovations and Leadership in Tourism and Hospitality, China’s Outbound Tourism and Its Impact on South Asian Destinations, MICE Tourism, Unleashing the Power of Aviation, High-Value Wellness with High-Volume Markets: Capitalizing on Global Trends on Health & Well-being, and The Potential of Indian Weddings in Nepal.
The B2B Expo brought together 80 buyer organizations from India and China and 75 seller organizations; and facilitated over 2,100 pre-matched business appointments and networking opportunities.
The closing ceremony and farewell dinner reception, hosted by Nepal Tourism Board on February 26th at Club Catwalk, celebrated the successful completion of NICE 2025 with a night of music, dance, appreciation, celebration and feast. Sunil Bahadur Bhattarai, NICE 2025 Convener, expressed heartfelt gratitude to all partners and individuals who contributed to the event’s overwhelming success.
The success of NICE 2025 underscores Nepal’s growing prominence in the global tourism landscape and its commitment to fostering regional collaboration for sustainable tourism growth.
