Nepal's Biggest Travel Trade Show Just Booked 2,400 Meetings in Four Days
The 6th Himalayan Travel Mart drew 600+ delegates from 27 countries to Kathmandu this June — a sign of how fast Nepal's tourism industry is scaling to meet record visitor demand.
Over four days in June, more than 600 people from 27 countries sat down in Lalitpur and booked over 2,400 business meetings between them. That's the Himalayan Travel Mart (HTM) 2026, Nepal's largest annual travel trade event, and its sixth edition just wrapped with numbers that outpace anything the show has done before — a quiet but telling signal for anyone wondering whether Nepal's tourism industry can actually handle the visitor growth it's currently posting.
Key facts
- HTM 2026, the 6th edition, ran 1–4 June 2026 at The Plaza in Lalitpur, themed "New Frontiers in Tourism."
- More than 600 delegates from 27 countries attended, including over 100 international participants.
- 75 global buyer companies met with more than 80 exhibiting Nepali tourism organisations.
- The B2B sessions on 3–4 June alone generated over 2,400 pre-scheduled business appointments.
- Jointly organised by the PATA Nepal Chapter, the Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Airlines.
HTM matters more this year than in most, because it landed right in the middle of Nepal's strongest tourism run in years. The country logged 91,363 foreign arrivals in June 2026 alone — up 19.5% year-on-year and above pre-pandemic levels — and more than 621,000 visitors for the first half of the year overall, according to Nepal Tourism Board figures reported by local outlets. A trade show that connects 75 international buyers directly with 80-plus Nepali operators, lodges, airlines and DMCs isn't just a networking event against that backdrop; it's the machinery that turns rising demand into actual flight seats, itineraries and hotel beds on the ground.
| Group | Count |
|---|---|
| International delegates | 100+ |
| Global buyer companies | 75 |
| Exhibiting organisations | 80+ |
| Countries represented | 27 |
The event also marked the first public appearance of Nepal Tourism Board's new CEO, Hikmat Singh Ayer, in the role — a leadership moment for the body that's steering campaigns like Nepal ASEAN Tourism Year 2026 and the push toward Nepal Wellness Year 2027. Coverage from the Kathmandu Post and TTR Weekly both frame HTM 2026 as evidence that Nepal is actively courting new source markets beyond its traditional India/China base, with delegations and buyers drawn from as far as Europe, the Gulf and Southeast Asia.
What this means for trekkers and travellers
What this means for you
None of this changes what a trek costs or how it's booked tomorrow — but it's the reason new direct flight routes, fresh partner hotels and unusual itineraries (multi-country Himalaya combos, wellness-focused add-ons, off-season packages) tend to appear on the market within a year or two of a strong HTM. If you've been eyeing a trek and noticed more flight options or itinerary variety than a couple of years ago, meetings like this are a big part of why. For agents and group organisers specifically, it's also a reminder that Nepal's ground operators are actively building new B2B relationships right now — something we work through directly via our own travel-trade and group partner programme.
Whether you're planning your own trip or building group travel around Nepal, a tourism industry investing this heavily in international connections is one more reason 2026 is shaping up as a strong year to book.
Source: The Himalayan Times, with additional reporting from The Kathmandu Post.
Cover photo: Volker Meyer via Pexels (Pexels License).
Source: The Himalayan Times
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