As part of its ambitious Nepal Tourism Year – 2011, which is set to unveil on Jan.14, Nepal is gearing up to host more than 200,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) tourists, a country that is pioneering in gay rights activities.
Nepal hopes to welcome more than 1 million tourists during the year. The country only recently surfaced from a deadly decade-long conflict in which 13,000 people were killed.
Nepal’s president, Dr. Ram Baran Yadav, is scheduled to inaugurate Nepal Tourism Year 2011 next Friday amid a gala ceremony in Kathmandu. According to Aditya Baral, of the Nepal Tourisn Board, 49 international media organizations will attend the opening day.
The Blue Diamond Society, a pioneering organization in LGBTI rights, is planning to invite gay tourists from across the globe. The group's chairman and Member of Parliament Sunil Babu Panat, who is also gay, has established Pink Mountain Travels and Tours to help welcome the gay fraternity to Nepal.
The newly established travel agency provides holiday and travel packages that include wedding, honeymoon and anniversary celebrations exclusively for LGBTI. “The response from international clients is very much encouraging,” said Panata, who hosted a gay marriage in Kathmandu last year. The BDS organized the same-sex marriage of an Indo-British couple last August in Nepal.
“We are encouraged by the response extended by our target tourist. As of now two proposals of same-sex marriages were confirmed. And some have expressed commitment for trekking and adventures,” Panta said.
Nepal’s two economic giants, India and China, are the marketing focus of the Pink agency.
Globally, gay tourism is estimated to be over US$100 billion a year.
“The U.S. alone makes $68 billion every year through gay tourism,” said Panta. “We are one of the fastest growing South Asian countries to accept the natural characteristics of being LGBTI. We can reap this benefit to boost the economy of the country.”
Research conducted by the Community Marketing International (CMI) in the United States found that 98 percent of LGBTIs have at least one overnight trip a year.
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