Kathmandu : As Nepal is hosting the First Rainbow Tourism International Conference on coming April 20-21, the registration has officially opened.

The announcement was made amid a press conference here in Kathmandu. Interested participants can register at https://mayakopahichan.com/

The conference has been observed as a milestone in the LGBTIQ+ communities and the entire tourism industry of Nepal. As Nepal stands out to be more liberal for the sexual and gender minorities globally, the conference will help boost its image, said experts.

Besides, it helps create more job opportunities for the communities, who would otherwise face hardship in getting jobs just for their identities, and boost the overall economy of the country through pink tourism, they argued.

Nepal should not miss the opportunity of tapping into the multi-billion-dollar pink tourism by promoting rainbow tourism, said Sunil Babu Pant, the Asia’s first openly gay former parliamentarian. The country’s economy could be boosted through the industry while creating job opportunities for the communities, he added.

“Nepal’s slowly recovering tourism industry will be further supported through the pink tourism.” Global pink tourism business is lucrative and growing.

According to research by LGBTI Capital, corporate advisory and asset management company, the global annual LGBTIQ+ spending power is estimated at $4.7 trillion in 2022. LGBTIQ+ household wealth is estimated at $30 trillion globally.

According to a 2021 research conducted by Ipsos, a market research and consulting firm with headquarters in Paris, France, on average about 80 percent of people worldwide identified as heterosexual, 3 percent as gay, lesbian or homosexual, 4 percent as bisexual, 1 percent as pansexual or omnisexual, 1 percent as asexual, 1 percent as ‘other’ and 11 percent don’t know or won’t say. The firm interviewed the participants in 27 countries spanning all continents.

Pant, who is also the cultural ambassador for Rainbow Tourism, urged national and international tourism professionals, hoteliers, sexual and gender minorities, government and international partners to provide support to make the conference a success.

He emphasised the promotion and protection of country’s original things like culture, lifestyle, customs, festivals, food etc. through pink tourism.

“The rights of sexual and gender minorities communities in two big neighboring countries, India and China, are not that much protected,” Pant said, “Rainbow tourists from India and China are very likely to visit Nepal as the country is much open and safe for the communities. We have to welcome them.”

Shedding light on the importance of pink tourism in Nepal, Nandini Lahe Thapa, senior director at Public Relation & Publicity, Nepal Tourism Board, emphasised pink tourism as a new market segment for Nepal, which she said could create an environment for more equitable societies while offering economic benefits.

The announcement of the event has created a wave of positive impacts in the world signifying that Nepal is more open and heartily welcomes international LGBTIQ+ tourists, she said.

Nepal appoints their first openly gay MP as a Cultural Emissary to promote Pink Tourism

Lex Limbu, a renowned UK-based blogger, expressed his pleasure in supporting the event. The conference will potentially help support the acceptance of the communities in the society while offering employment opportunities to them, he said, adding, “Nepal could be a hub for global LGBTIQ+ visitors where they can visit with pride, security and self-esteem.”

Similarly, Pabanraj Bhandari, Sales Manager of Aloft Hotel, the hotel partner for the conference, expressed his pride to be part of this conference as the hotel partner. He thanked MayakoPahichan Nepal for providing this opportunity.

MayakoPahichan Nepal is a non-profit organisation advocating for the rights of the sexual and gender minorities and the organiser of the conference.

Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey, who are members in MayakoPahichan Nepal, are the first couple in South Asia to legally register same-sex (rainbow) marriage. On November 29, 2023, Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey legally registered their same-sex marriage in Dordi Rural Municipality of Lamjungdistrict, and got a certificate.

Priorly, MayakoPahichan Nepal held consultations with stakeholders on inclusive (rainbow) tourism potential in Nepal in collaboration with the Nepal Tourism Board and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).