HITT Program for Mountain Leaders concludes
January 13 , 2014
The High Impact Tourism Training (HITT) Program for Mountain Leaders has concluded.
The program was implemented by European Commission (EC) and
SNV Nepal in partnership with the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal
(TAAN) and Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA).
Altogether 17 trainers were produced during the project
period. The trainers trained a total of 394 trekking workers.
Speaking at the concluding ceremony, Minister for Culture,
Tourism and Civil Aviation Ram Kumar Shrestha hoped that the training would be
helpful in enhancing safety in Nepali mountain tourism. He also thanked the
organizers for implementing the project in Nepal.
TAAN President Ramesh Dhamala said time has come for
adventure tourism operators to focus on quality by providing necessary
trainings for trekking guides, crew and support staff. Hailing the training
methodology, Dhamala assured that TAAN would continue to train trekking workers
by following the methodology. “Contribution of TAAN and Nepal Mountaineering
Association (NMA) alone is not enough, time has come for all stakeholders of
Nepali tourism industry to sit together and devise strategy and action plan to
promote responsible tourism practices,” he added.
Dhamala also distributed logbooks and training manuals to representatives
of organizations and companies that conducted trainings for trekking workers.
Along with TAAN and NMA, 17 trekking companies had conducted
the trainings for trekking workers. TAAN trained a total of 55 trekking
workers.
SNV Nepal’s Country Director Rim Neefjes said the HITT
project covered sectors like hygiene, hospitality, trekking and home stay. “We
will now apply the HITT approach in agriculture sector,” he said, adding that SNV
was closing its work in tourism sector.
NMA President Zimba Zangbu Sherpa expressed willingness to
work together with stakeholders to continue the training.
A representative of European Commission (EC) in Nepal was
also present on the occasion.
Earlier, Tanguy Cano, international associate advisor of HITT
Program, thanked all partners for their support for the training.
