AI for Tourism and Hospitality Excellence training begins in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU: The human resource development training titled "AI for Tourism and Hospitality Excellence" began in Kathmandu today with the participation of 60 professionals from Nepal's tourism and hospitality sector.

The training, organised jointly by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal Chapter and the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), was held at Hotel Yak & Yeti. The inauguration session was conducted by PATA Nepal Chapter CEO Suresh Singh Budal, who organised the programme and created an interactive, knowledge-enhancing learning environment for the participants.

At the onset of the programme, PATA Nepal Chapter Chair Khem Raj Lakai delivered a welcome address, emphasising the need to enhance the digital skills and AI capacity of Nepal's tourism workforce to remain competitive in the rapidly changing global environment.

Delivering the inaugural address, NTB CEO Deepak Raj Joshi outlined the increasing importance of AI in tourism promotion, market strategy and regional growth strategy, and encouraged the participants to engage actively with the trainers, interact openly and implement the lessons learned in their professional practice.

The training, led by Assistant Professor Faye Hao from the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, discussed fundamental aspects of AI, AI models and agents, the ethical dimensions of AI, and the practical application of AI in hotels, resorts, airlines, destination management and MICE and event services.

With the active participation of the Nepali travel trade, the training aimed to enhance professional competence, inspire innovation and orient Nepal towards becoming a smarter service provider and a practitioner of sustainable tourism.