Kathmandu, Jan 21: Nepal has hosted a national consultation on the potential for inclusive (rainbow) tourism with the appointment of Asia’s first former openly gay parliamentarian Sunil Babu Pant as cultural ambassador for Inclusive (Rainbow) Tourism by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).
The Inclusive (Rainbow) Tourism Feasibility National Consultation was organised by ‘Mayako Pahichan Nepal’, an organisation working for the rights of the sexual and gender minorities, in collaboration with the NTB and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Speaking on the occasion, Pant expressed his commitments to promoting rainbow tourism while emphasising justice and equality for the sexual and gender minority communities in Nepal, Asia and the entire world.
The consultation formed the Pink Tourism Coordination Committee under the leadership of cultural ambassador Pant. Aayam Paudel was appointed the vice president of the committee while Surenday Pandey the secretary. Bishworaj Adhikari was picked as the treasurer. Members of the committee are Trisangi Shakya, Anuj Pradhan, Smrika Rai, Tina Rai, Deepak Maharjan Hony, Aanik Rana, Saroji Neupane, Khushi Gurung, and Sunrose Maske.
The international conference of the sexual and gender minorities will be held in next April, it has been informed. The board has already provided tourism training to 25 citizens from the sexual and gender minority communities.
Nandini Lahe Thapa, senior director for the board, expressed Nepal’s readiness to accept the sexual and gender minority communities from all over the world with the guarantees of respect and identity to them.
Stating that Nepal has potential for rainbow tourism, she said, “This is just the beginning.”
Cultural ambassador Pant said rainbow tourism would be crucial for poverty alleviation and economic development while emphasising its big contribution to the economy.
Till now there was no discrimination for sexual and gender minority tourists in Nepal, he claimed. “Where there are rights of sexual and gender minority communities, there are more tourists,” Pant said, adding, “Nepal has a friendly environment for sexual and gender minority tourists.”
He further pointed out that Nepal could be a honeymoon destination for sexual and gender minority couples, and for same-sex couples from all over the world. Notably, Nepal has become the first country in South Asia to have a rainbow wedding. Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey have registered their first same-sex marriage in Dordi Rural Municipality of Lamjung.
Sexual minorities demand jobs
Ayshanie M. Labe, UNDP Resident Representative for Nepal, expressed her commitments to supporting the livelihood of sexual and gender minority communities. Thanking Mayako Pahichan Nepal and the NTB for organising the national consultation, she said that Nepal is an inclusive country.
Saying that she worked together for the rights of the sexual and gender minority communities, she praised Nepal for probably for the first time in the world counting the third gender in the 2068 census. “The statistics were not made public, but they were counted,” she said.
Jason Meeks, Deputy Chief of Mission, the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu, expressed the hope that more Americans would visit Nepal in 2024 describing the country as a potential travel destination. Stating that various programmes were organised in collaboration with the government of Nepal, he praised Nepal for being the leader in the rights of the sexual and gender minorities.
Similarly, Shraddha Shrestha, the national project coordinator at the NTB, emphasised that Nepal boasts a good potential for rainbow tourism besides offering a friendly environment for the sexual and gender minorities.
Sunrose Maskey pointed out the tourism business as a suitable area of employment for the sexual and gender minorities while sharing ordeals and discriminations the communities are facing in jobs in the country.
On the occasion, advocate Subas Devkota suggested the legal process for registering a company, and operating a business for the communities.
Miss Diamond Nepal 2021 Saroji Neupane, also Vice President of the Sahasi Kadam Nepal, said that the consultation would help spread a message that Nepal is an inclusive nation for the sexual and gender minorities.
