Expo
2000:Marketing Nepal Abroad
Preparing
to participate in Expo 2000 later this year, a group of Nepali professionals is trying to
promote Nepal as a country quite different from what is generally perceived by the world
community
When HMG of Nepal received the first invitation to participate
in the five-month long Expo 2000 scheduled to start in Hannover, Germany in June 2000, the
theme of the Expo "Mankind – Nature – Technology" posed a challenge.
For an underdeveloped country Nepal, as it is perceived generally at home as well as
abroad, there was no technology or any such to be presented with pride to the present day
world community. The challenge was taken up by a private sector organization and the
solution it found was in looking not to the laboratories of the science or technology
institutes, but to the hands of traditional craftsmen. The result is a unique
architectural masterpiece, as Implementing Experts Group (IEG), the organizers of
Nepal’s participation in the Expo, calls it. With this structure and other related
material to be put on display in the Expo in Hannover, the hub of European economy, Nepal
will no longer be known as an underdeveloped country that keeps on seeking aid from
everywhere, but as a country of entrepreneurs and skilled craftsmen aware of their rich
cultural and natural heritage and ready to invest in their development, says Amrit Ratna
Shakya, Chairman of IEG, who is also designated by HMG as the Deputy Commissioner General
of Nepal for Expo 2000.
| IEG is a private sector business organization
incorporated in 1996 as a private limited company with participation of architects,
engineers, interior decorators, exporters, hoteliers, bankers, airline operators and
travel operators among others. The estimated cost of Nepal’s participation in
Hannover Expo is Rs. 220 million (DM 6 million) to be borne entirely by IEG. However,
there is a provision from German government to reimburse a portion of the cost of freight
of material from Kathmandu to Hannover. |
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|
Model of Nepal pavilion in Expo 2000, Hannover |
Initially it was thought of financing the project
through loan also from German development banks. But as Nepal had no international credit
rating, and thus the efforts in that direction would be time consuming, it was decided to
finance it entirely by the IEG promoters themselves, reveal IEG officials. However, Govind
P. Regmi, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, HMG, who is also the Commissioner
General of Nepal for Expo 2000, says, the government is still trying to arrange soft loan
for IEG to finance the project. According to him, German development cooperation
institute, GTZ has made available to HMG a sum of DM 1.5 million to finance the
transportation of the material to Germany. IEG is also asking the government for exchange
facility for DM 1 million, air tickets for 100 persons at excursion fare and gratis visa.
"The government is fully satisfied with the performance of IEG and is positive to
their demands", adds Regmi. But the IEG people complain that as the indications so
far show, they are not likely to get the facilities they asked for. Binayak Shah,
IEG’s Director of Marketing Promotion, publicity and PR, says, the organizing company
of the Hannover Expo had itself assured for IEG for a soft loan, but it has not
materialized as yet.
Other private sector businessmen also are supportive
and appreciative of IEG’s effort. Bharat Basnet, whose company Explore Nepal is GSA
in Nepal for Austrian Air, and who is gaining fame as a commercial activist for
Nepal’s cultural revival, describes the project as "excellent", but
suggests IEG to work more for information flow. "The success of such projects depends
a lot on information flow", according to Basnet. Likewise, Karna Shakya, another
tourism entrepreneur whose proposal was later implemented as Visit Nepal Year 1998, and
who has proposed year 2001 to be observed as Sports Himalaya Year 2001, also calls the
Expo 2000 programs excellent. But he suggests that everything should go according to a
plan. He, however complains that the event has drawn so close now, but efforts to mobilize
participation of other sections of the society has not been made yet.
Flow of information is one of the major points of
focus that IEG says it has been concentrating on. Art and architecture in Nepali temples
and stupas are mostly unrecorded. So, most of the research works in Nepali architecture,
carried out generally by foreigners are based on hearsay. IEG is preparing a complete
authoritative document recording the meaning and concept of all the material used in the
structure to be displayed in the Expo.
This is not the first time that IEG people are
involved in an international Expo participation project. According to Shakya, his
colleagues have experience of carrying out similar Expo projects in the past (see box)
even before the formation of IEG, and they have also won gold medals for Nepal on their
pavilions being adjudged the best in 1988 Brisbane Expo and 1990 Osaka Expo. Shah was the
Deputy Commissioner General of Nepal for Brisbane Expo. "It was these past
experiences of the members that helped IEG to win the assignment from HMG for Hannover
event", says Regmi. Explaining the difference between the earlier and present Expo
participation, Shah says, there used to be pagoda only in the Nepali pavilions in earlier
Expos. Whereas, this time it is a combination of a stupa and a pagoda in addition to other
items. "And this time it is also very ambitious", he says, indicating the
project cost. In previous Expos, IEG had simply copied the models of heritage sites, but
this time they have, as Shakya says, "added our modern inputs also".
Tradition is not the only thing that is being
presented in Nepal pavilion of the Expo. A reasonably ample doze of modern input is also
included in it. No stupa in Nepal has a hallowed out core, but in this design the stupa is
hollow inside and has a central pillar appropriately named ‘Meru’ – meaning
the center of the universe as mentioned in the Hindu and Buddhist legends. It has a
staircase to go to the upper story, which is to be used during the Expo for audio-visual
presentations and seminars. No other pagoda temple has a functional upper story.
Similarly, some human faces are also carved on the wood used in the temple, stupa and
sattal in the Expo. Existing such structures have faces of other legendary creatures only.
Winning the confidence of the domestic authorities
was quite easy for IEG, when compared to the problems in winning the confidence of the
organizers of Hannover Expo and the German government authorities. "Though more than
90% of the problems have been sorted out by now, we’re still fighting with the German
authorities for the rest 10%" says Shakya, who holds Masters Degree in Engineering
from Germany itself and is fluent in German language.
According to Shakya, the problem in the beginning
was of the lack of confidence among the German authorities in the capability of Nepalis to
do such a mega-project. Recounting the experience of dealing with them for this project,
Shakya recalls that they first thought that Nepal was going to seek German aid to
implement the project. "When I said in a meeting that we were not looking for aid,
but for an opportunity to invest in Germany to promote Nepal’s international trade,
they got impressed and appreciated our attitude", says he beaming with a sense of
achievement.
However, the Germans still had to be convinced about
the design of the pavilion and a model of the design had to be presented to them to
convince them that it could actually be done. "After they saw the model, they made it
a lot easier for us", Shakya says. A strategically located plot is allotted to Nepal
– at the main entrance to the Expo and in front of the railway station. Similarly, a
team from German TV station Deutsche Welle visited Nepal and prepared a series of program
which they have telecast in German and English languages. In fact, they are using the
model of Himalaya pavilion as the main selling point in the marketing of the Expo itself,
according to IEG. "This is helping us gain extra mileage in marketing our
pavilion", adds Shah. "A plot near ours was initially allotted to India’s
pavilion, but they’ve now shifted further," he informs. However, he hastens to
add that the only reason for this may not necessarily be the uniqueness of Nepali
pavilion. Still, Shah claims that the Nepali pavilion is going to be the best among the
SAARC countries, and agrees that it would be premature right now to claim it to be the
best among all the participants. Altogether 193 participants including 173 countries and
territories are putting up their pavilions in the Expo 2000.
| The
uniqueness in the design that so impressed the Germans was both technical as well as
spiritual, points out Shakya. The stupa and temple locked in a sculptural embrace depict
Nepal as a country where two major philosophies of mankind – Buddhism and Hinduism
have been living in harmony for more than 2000 years. Similarly, it is also a marriage of
circle and square – stupa is spherical and the temple is a square. Nature and its
formations are depicted by the circle, man and his creations by the square. The temple and stupa are modelled after Changu Narayan temple and
Swayambhunath stupa – the oldest existing structures in Nepal of Hindu and Buddhist
culture respectively. The central massage, according to Shakya, is that art and
architecture thrive only during peacetime and, peace prevails if countries trade, not
fight, with each other. |
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|
Nepal
Pavilion, Brisbane, Australia, 1988 |
| Shakya also
says that the pavilion will most convincingly impress the visitors that Nepal is the
birthplace of Buddha. The 50x50 meters pavilion site with 1000 sq.m. of ground coverage,
will have an open garden called "Lumbini Garden". It will be developed as a
garden with indigenous flowering plants and shrubs to create the tranquil environment of
Lumbini, according to the plan. |
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|
Nepal
Pavilion, Osaka, Japan,1990 |
| Another
problem with the German authorities was related with the construction material to be used
in the pavilion. IEG’s Master Architect Bibhuti Man Singh had originally designed the
structure in exactly the same lines as it was followed in Nepal’s traditional
buildings, where use of metal in the superstructure is negligible, and all the pillars,
cross bars and purlines are of wood. Though these material have endured for centuries in
Nepal which falls in a seismic zone, the Germans stuck to their building code and insisted
on steel reinforcing for the wood. As a consequence, IEG ended up using five tons more of
steel than originally envisaged. The temple that IEG
made for Kyoto Expo is still standing intact while most of the structure near it collapsed
when a strong earthquake hit the area last year. Still, IEG had to agree to the German
requirements. |
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|
Pagoda in Sanobe, Japan, copied from Nepal pavilion, Kyoto, 1994
|
Nepal’s participation in Hannover
Expo is a mega project involving Rs.220 million investment as per the |
 |
initial
estimates.This budget however, is estimated to have been crossed already because of what
is usual in all Nepali projects – time overrun. Work started in 1996 November
involving some 800 families of craftsmen. The 450 tons of wood, metal and stone
carvings were initially planned to be shipped to Germany in early May 1999. But the
political instability in Nepal took its toll. "Five times the ministers changed in
commerce Ministry since 1996, and the National Commissioner General also changed
twice", recalls Shakya. "Most of the time they did not understand what we were
talking about". Recounting the experience of |
German ambassador Klaus Barth and his wife examining Meru of Nepal
pavilion before shipment |
|
| dealing with HMG, Shah
says, if one has a good project it is not difficult to deal with HMG. "Now that
we’ve done it so far successfully, the government has became quite cooperative,
trying to take the credit itself. Anyway we’re now getting good help from HMG",
he adds. But he also says that it was not so easy initially. Finally, the goods were
shipped from Kathmandu in the third week of December and they are expected to reach
Hannover in early February 2000. |
| Visitors in an Expo
in Japan watching Nepali potters at work |
| Upon arrival there,
the material will be erected on the pavilion site by a team of the select craftsmen who
will be flown in there for this specific purpose. As all the material are handmade, so
will their erection, say the IEG sources. Accordingly, there will be no machine used. It
was also thought to use bamboo scaff- olding for the erection, but due to the severe co-
ld there, the plan is changed to use iron scaff- olding instead. "However, we will
use bamboo wherever possible", says Shakya. The erection activity is thus going to
take time, but Shah intends to use the opportunity for marketing the pavilion.
"Pre-ExpoVisitors will start pouring in tosee the 100% use of human hands |
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| in
building construction", he hopes and plans to prepare video record of the men at work
and show it as Expo publicity material before and during the five-month long event. "Our objective also includes of bringing
the craftsmen to the fore. The situation till now is such that these craftsmen create the
artifacts and earn wages while some middlemen derive all the profits. That should
change", says Shah.
The Himalayan Pavilion in Hannover Expo is
expected to attract about 80-85% of the estimated 40 million visitors that will come to
see the Expo. "That is more than the present population of Nepal, and if only 10% of
those who visit our pavilion decide to come to Nepal, it will mean a massive growth in
Nepal’s tourism business", points out Shakya. Lot of activities are planned to
be carried out during the 153 days of the Expo to promote Nepal’s tourism,
handicraft, hydro-electricity potential and the like. "These businesses are in line
with the theme of the Expo", further says Shakya. During the Expo, a team of
craftsmen – potters, sculptors, carvers and the like – will be staying there
displaying their skills. "In the present day world tired of machine made products, it
will be quite attractive to see products made entirely by hand", points out Shakya.
"So, the benefit to Nepali economy in terms of creating demand for such products will
be immense".
To achieve that volume of visitors, the
pavilion has to be a crowd puller, and IEG chairman says it is designed exactly for that
purpose. The pinnacles of the 23 meter high stupa and 11 meter high pagoda will be visible
from a distance. Brass with some gold plating is being used in the pinnacles.
"Whoever visits our pavilion will start loving Nepal", says Shakya summing up
the benefit of the Expo participation.
|
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According to Shah,
only some of the pavilions become ‘hits’ in an Expo. The visitors, specifically
the non-local ones, prepare a short list of pavilions to visit during the short time they
have in hand. IEG has been making strategies to encourage such visitors to include Nepali
pavilion in their short-lists. Recalling previous Expos, Shah says, seeing temple alone is
not sufficient to make people know about Nepal. They have to be made to spend some time
with the ambience inside. "So we have a closed sattal, so as to entice them to walk
in", he says. Subarna K. Shrestha, who has designed the interior decorations for the
structure, says, "once inside, the visitor will feel a typical Nepali ambience, and
when out, they would feel like visiting the country itself". In addition, Shah also
is planning some marketing gimmicks. Lucky draws will be held to award prizes like free
trip to Nepal for seven days. Simila-
rly, Nepal quiz will be held. Shah says, the management of the pavilion will be sensitive
to the likes and dislikes of the visitors, so as to make the pavilion a ‘hit’ of
this expo. The challenge before IEG now is how to get the investment back. IEG officials
say, the main objective of their venture is not to make money, but to show the world what
Nepali investors and professionals could achieve. |
| One of the wood
carvings for Nepal pavilion at Hannover Expo |
|
| Govinda Pd. Regmi |
| "Still, this is
not to deny that we have to get our investment back", says Shah. For this, they do
have plans, and Shah gives the example of Brisbane and Kyoto Expos. They had achieved
break even in those projects. Local authorities under pressure of a local organization,
Friends of Pagoda, formed during the Expo itself, retained the Brisbane pagoda there. He
hopes similar incident to happen in Germany also. "We’re already in negotiation
with some German organizations in this respect", he informs. But IEG is putting a
strict condition on the sale – the premises must be used, not as a discotheque or
casino, but as a center to |
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| promote
art and cul- ture. According to Regmi, the government also is thinking to convert it as a
permanent site for prom- otion of Nepal and its trade. "As of today, there is no such
window in this part of Europe to promote Nepal", he points out. Shah also says that
IEG itself is preparing to run such Nepal Promotion Centre. In the worst case – that is if a German buyer cannot be found
for the structure, and IEG also cannot run such a centre in Germany, IEG members are ready
to bring it back on their own cost and they have already finalized alternate plans for
such eventuality, says Shah. Back at home, the structure is likely to be used for some
business, such as a resort hotel or some other purpose that may help promote the
country’s traditional culture and craftsmanship, according to some possibilities that
Shah suggests.
Direct business opportunities in the Expo
itself are however, limited. Expos are not trade fairs, reminds Shah. Hannover Expo
management will allow maximum of five souvenir shops, which may sell items at a maximum
rate of DM 20 per unit. A restaurant also can be run there, and IEG intends to set up one
by itself to serve exclusively typical Nepali dishes. Prior approval for the dishes are,
however, to be sought from the authorities, says Shah. In addition Nepal promotion
counters like for travel booking will be there.
By Madan Lamsal
& Keshav Gautam |
"Modern
architecture is spiritually dead"
-Bibhuti Man Singh,
Master Architect, IEG
What have you
primarily emphasized in this project?
For any project, financial feasibility would
be essential. But in this case, we are not giving priority to financial gains. We are
doing this primarily for national identity. We people always blame the government and
criticize them. But what have we done on out part? So this is a contribution from us.
But the others involved with this
project might look for financial gains.
You are right. There are people who want to
know when the return is due. But we have convinced them that this is a long-term
investment. Our identity and our public relations will be the real returns. But the
business potential is always there. Some 40 million people will visit the fair. And it is
up to us to utilize the opportunity.
How do you evaluate the work of
Nepali professionals?
As far as professional standards are
concerned, Nepal is a desert and you must be able to take out water from the sands. You
can thus imagine the frustrations that people like me are going through. But if you can
still maintain your personal integrity and standard, there is nothing like it. In that
respect, I think, I have been a bit more lucky than the most of the rest. Ethics are
reflections of your personal standards or personal hygiene. If you want to dirty yourself,
there is very little that can stop you. But if you want to remain clean and have
self-esteem, then there is very little that can dirty you. I have been lucky in that
respect.
Our traditional architecture is
unique. It is also functional and has endured for ages. What happened in the middle stage?
Where did the talent go?
It could be the talent or it could be the
taste. I think the culprit is the so-called scientific rationalism that spread over the
world, and Nepal could not remain isolated. Once you are trapped within the parameters of
scientific rationality, the soul-filling aspects of architecture gets weeded out.
How do you evaluate the present
situation? Has there been any improvement?
It takes a long time to see any change or
improvement. It takes hundreds of years. Since I started practicing, I have seen no
difference. But it also is a matter of the basic needs of people. If they do not have
enough to eat, they will not think about spiritualism and aesthetics. Thus I would also
blame poverty for the sorry state of architecture.
Then, are the services of the
architects only for the well offs?
Architecture is essentially a reflection of
society. The architecture during the Malla period shows that the society then was very
rich, much richer than the society now, in many respects. That is why that sort of
architecture was possible.
What is the situation in other
countries? Are their traditional values still retained?
They are trying to revive those values. Modern
architecture is spiritually dead and discerning people are tired of modern architecture.
The current trend is also called Post-modernism, which is only a reaction against the
excessive intellectual arguments of the modernists. The general feeling is that modern
architecture has had its time. It’s almost a hundred years old now. I think it’s
time you searched for a new idiom.
Nepal is prone to Western influences just like
any other country in this age of instant communications. So we have the usual clutch of
people considering themselves smart and privileged if they can eat sausage or salami.
Totally oblivious to the glories of our past, they prefer post-modern stuff. This project
may show them the other side.
How do you evaluate your own
contribution in reviving traditional Nepali architecture?
In a way I have to be thankful to my clients
for giving me an opportunity to look back into history. For example, Amrit Ratna Shakya
wanted his house traditionally designed and I did it accordingly. Quite a few Japanese and
journalists have taken pictures of his house and some have been published
in magazines. Then I did Dwarika’s Hotel. They had godowns full of doors and windows
from the Malla period, which they wanted to be used for the hotel. And I did that. On a
smaller scale, I have done various temple houses. |
"Expo 2000 will create demand for
Nepal"
-Subarna K. Shrestha
Interior Designer, IEG
 |
How will it feel when one
enters the Himalaya Pavilion in Expo 2000?
It will be peaceful. Colour combination,
acoustics and lighting – all are synchronized to give a peaceful feeling in spite of
the crowd expected there. The floor inside the stupa’s dome is a lotus petal to make
the visitor feel that he is entering a premise that is sublime. He feels inside an womb,
and colours are arranged accordingly. The bottom level of the dome reflects the sea. As
the eyes go up, one first sees the life and condition of Nepal’s Terai, then the
hills and mountains. Above the head is the night sky as it is seen from Kathmandu.
What are the things that you have used in
depicting Nepal’s past, present and future?
The stupa, temple and sattal are the
bodies and their interior is the soul. I had never dreamt that we had so many things of
our own that could be displayed as the soul of such a structure. As I went on searching,
more and more things came out on the surface. Arts and culture are such subjects in which
no society can compete with the other. Keeping that in mind, I have designed it in such a
way that the visitor would feel like being in Nepal itself. Once he gets out of the
pavilion, he would yearn to be in Nepal.
What other artifacts have you used?
Stone spouts, statues and caskets are used
in plenty. Sattal has a lot of other artifacts as well.
How is the interior design in the temple?
The ground floor is for displaying
artifacts, and the first floor is for lectures, audio-visual shows and the like.
We have tried to replicate Akash Bhairav in
its totality, and we also plan to stage in Hannover the Akash Bhairav Jatra on the same
day as it is observed in Nepal. We also plan to observe all the festivals of Nepal of the
Expo period on the same days as they are observed in Nepal. Fortunately, most of the
festivals fall on the days during which the Expo is being held.
What about the sattal?
We’ve designed a closed sattal –
closed with latticed windows – to entice people to come in, to increase their
curiosity. Upto the temple and stupa the sidewalls of the sattal have items on display to
show the past. The sattal on the way back has the future of mankind. Our craftsmen –
including potters and carvers – will be working along the way showing their skills to
the visitors. As for the decorative items, we will be using a lot of straw mats, musical
instruments, clay pots, Nepali indigenous plants and the like. Luckily, the climate during
the Expo is suitable for our plants.
What challenges did you counter in this
project?
It is time constraint that is the main
problem. Though the structure is shipped already, the items for the interior are still
being prepared. If it is prepared in Hannover itself, the costs will be too high. Another
challenge is in presenting the artifacts as functional utility items of modern life as
well, so that there would be increased demand for these items.
As a professional, what lessons did you
learn from this project?
As a professional who studied abroad, this
as well as the previous projects were too much revealing as to the treasure of our
cultural artifacts.
The technology of making these things still
needs to be researched into. For example, these days we need a planer for woodwork. What
did our forefathers have with them when they did these exotic woodworks? Similarly,
meanings of the artifacts used in heritage sites have to be found out. Materials recording
these meanings are unavailable in most of the cases. With this project, all of us
including the craftsmen, are inspired. If we are successful with this project, we will
carry out further research into these. One most revealing fact that we learned as a team
in this project is that, contrary to general perceptions, the German bureaucracy is not
less rigid than its Nepali counterpart. With this project, we have convinced them that we
are as efficient as them in carrying out projects, and that we too have modern tools,
instruments and communication systems.
What specific achievements do you expect
from this project to the country?
First, it will dispel a number of
misunderstandings prevailing abroad about Nepal. The visitors will be convinced that Nepal
is the actual birthplace of Lord Buddha, that Nepal is not merely a country with garbage
problem, that it is a country with rich cultural, ethnic and biological diversities, and
that it offers lot more than adv- enture tourism. Overall, they will be convinced that it
is a country worth visiting, worth doing trade with, and worth investing in. It will
create distinct positive identity of the nation. It is up to us all how we utilize this
achievement for future benefits. It will create demand for Nepal, its products and its
services. Nepali business sector has to ready itself to reap the benefits by creating the
marketable supplies.
Reflections on Nepali Fairs
Fairs and exhibitions
have become common occurances. In Nepal the whole game is going well conventionally, but
needs to be modernized, writes Pramesh Pradhan
Going through the history, fairs and exhibitions
are products of thousands of years of economic practices and promotion. They are surely
developed forms of Haat Bazar or Mela in our context.
Trade fairs were developed to a large extent in the
industrialization period. The idea was to demonstrate the sample of each item, collect
orders and deliver at a later period. These sample fairs were the beginning of fair
theories and concept. The fair in Leipzig in Germany in 1894 is considered the earliest
such fair in recorded economic history. Roughly, the fair practice is one century old to
the world and to our context, it is nearly a decade only. Himalayan Export Fair (later
Himalayan Expo) in a small hall of Hotel Yak and Yeti in 1991 has ushered the fair
movement in Nepal.
Modern trade fairs are unique medium with unique
possibilities. Fairs and exhibitions are events designed to enhance specific purposes.
They are platforms for co-operative initiatives and a perfect example of marketing mix. No
other marketing tool provides such advantages as trade fairs. They are excellent sources
of information and communication, proper places to provide demonstrative explanation,
right junctures of interested and like-minded people and organizations, extremely
effective tools to renew contacts and relations, the best place to launch a new product
and symbols of organizational identity along with hundreds of other objectives and
ramification. Trade fairs encourage an extensive exchange of information and provide an
excellent overview of latest trends, technological standards as well as an opportunity to
gauge international parameters and competitors. Advantages of trade fairs are not limited
and more could be exploited because they enable to people and organizations whom it would
be otherwise impossible to trace and be in connection as prospective with.
Importance of export marketing in the field of
international trade has broadened throughout the world. Fairs are considered an integral
part of marketing. Every country irrespective of its developmental standard has put
massive emphasis on trade fairs and exhibitions because it does not only introduce a
product or service but also enhances and intensifies the trade. However, identifying and
locating the prospective buyers, importers and market is an impediment to be tackled. The
role of trade fairs and exhibitions as a very practical and important means of promoting
international trade could not be overlooked. Participation in trade fairs is one of the
most effective medium to develop local and foreign markets.
Fairs and Exhibitions in Nepal
We do also have several fairs and exhibitions going on
in various parts of country. Local demonstrations to regional exhibitions could also be
counted as fairs. There are about 20 fairs and exhibitions of national level in Nepal
annually. Most of them are concentrated only in Kathmandu. The coverage of fairs includes
computer to flower exhibitions, from specialized automobile fairs to carpet fair, from
handicraft fair to book fair and from printing fair to mega-general fairs like Himalayan
Expo and Tradex.
More than one million visitors are visiting these
fairs. The purpose of the visits, due to our under-developed fair movement and knowledge,
is to buy things. This ancient but little practical logic behind attending a fair has
given enough room for sectoral enhancement. Very encouraging turnout of the visitors is
perhaps the best side of our fair industry. The exhibitor seems also satisfied and
committed. This whole game is going on conventionally well but needs to be modernized. New
approach and vision are required to uplift the standard of fairs and to intensify their
contribution to economy. Our whole gamut of visitors, exhibitors, associations, chambers,
government and even the fair organizers have yet to learn a lot to maximize the advantage.
Problems identified
Our biggest problem in fair and exhibition industry is
the availability of exhibition halls and basic infrastructure. Our best exhibition hall,
Bhrikuti Mandap in Kathmandu, where most of the events are held is in pitiable state and
horribly managed. With the facilities available, we can’t proceed in the right
direction. The economically ignorant, inactive and carefree part of government is
controlling the hall and space, has obviously fueled it.
Lack of knowledge about the fairs from all sectors
involved has roles to play. Beating drums would not necessarily produce good music. A
corporate approach to embed the concerned is terribly lacking. Primarily, the government
has to sit down and ponder to felicitate fair facilities in Nepal and be readied to work
closely with the concerned organization and individuals.
Be it simply a local demonstration or a mega-fair in
Kathmandu, it should be a platform for business opportunities and information. It should
be beneficial to visitors in terms of market information and even shopping, beneficial to
exhibitors in terms of opening new market, go through tough market reactions, gauge the
product quality and demand and understand overall market scenario. It should be able to
attract foreign interest and investment, import better technologies, bring in more
businesses and tourists, enhance MICE (meeting, incentive, conference and exhibitions)
tourism and, above all, to produce synergy effect to accelerate economy. We really have to
work harder and re-dedicate ourselves to fulfill the dream we all cherish. |
National fairs of Nepal
S.N. |
Event |
Venue |
Month |
Field |
1 |
CAN Info-Tech |
Kathmandu |
January |
Computer, computer accessories, hardware and software |
2 |
Lalitpur Industrial Fair |
Lalitpur |
February |
Industrial and handicraft items |
3 |
Birat Utsav |
Biratnagar |
March |
General household, machineries |
4 |
Floriculture Show |
Kathmandu |
March & October |
Flower, floricultural accessories |
5 |
Print & Printing Material Fair |
Kathmandu |
March |
Printing machineries, accessories, papers |
6 |
Tradex |
Kathmandu |
March |
General household, machineries, electronics |
7 |
Auto Show |
Kathmandu |
March |
Automobiles, vehicles and accessories |
8 |
Nepal Trade Fair |
Kathmandu |
April |
Nepalese exportable products |
9 |
Himalayan Expo |
Kathmandu |
April |
General household, machineries, electronics |
10 |
Nepal Education & Book Fair |
Kathmandu |
May |
Books, career, educating materials |
11 |
Indian Goods Exhibition |
Kathmandu |
September |
Products from India |
12 |
Kathmandu Utsav |
Kathmandu |
September |
General festival items and households, electronics |
13 |
Carpet Mart |
Kathmandu |
September |
Carpet, wool and weaving accessories |
14 |
Dashain Mahotsav |
Kathmandu |
October |
General festival items and households, electronics |
15 |
Nepal Agro Expo |
Kathmandu |
October |
Agricultural products, accessories |
16 |
Bhaktapur Industrial Fair |
Bhaktapur |
November |
Industrial and handicraft items |
17 |
Machhapuchhre Utsav |
Pokhara |
December |
General household, machineries |
CAN Info-Tech
2000
| Computer Association of Nepal (CAN) is
organizing the sixth information technology show, Info-Tech 2000, from 27 to 30, January.
The exhibition, with slogan ‘Placing Nepal on the Global Information Technology
Map’, received an overwhelming response last year with 36 exhibitors and 11,000
visitors taking part in the show. This year will see the same number of stalls but
somewhere between 15,000 to 20,000 visitors, it is expected. |
|
New emblem of
CAN-Info-Tech in use from this year
The merit of the show lies in the
fact that visitors will be able to acquire enormous technological information and
knowledge under one roof, says managing director of Techno-Links Center, C.N. Upadhyaya,
who is also a founder member of CAN, Upadhyaya also informs that Info-Tech 2000 will
provide an opportunity to the visitors to learn more about Y2K – what it was and how
it got solved. A number of experts will explain it in a special seminar to be held on the
occasion.
In addition to computer software and hardware
companies, other participants in Info-Tech 2000 will be paging companies. Telex machines,
diskettes, call-accounting equipment, modems, Internet and e-mail communication facilities
are some of the principle items that will be on display at Info-Tech 2000, informs
Upadhyaya.
CAN was established in 1992 and CAN Info-Tech was started in 1995.
Info-Tech 2000 is being managed by Inter Vision, a marketing company. Other events managed
by Intervision include Mount Everest Acrobatic Show, TVS Suzuki Shaolin Mobike Show, and
the SAF Games lotto. |
|
