Socialtours made their mark at ITB Berlin 2012

socialtours | nepal stand at ITB 2012

With our presence in recent years at ITB and for the second time with our own stand this year in the Eco & Adventure Hall, the world's leading travel trade show has become a regular meeting point for both old and new friends of Nepal.

We were again very happy with our attendance at ITB – some very promising and exciting new contacts were made and the quality of discussions were very high.

The goal of an event like this isn't to just to make business - though that can happen too - but to meet people face to face – and we enjoyed every minute of it! 

Go Local presentation on the Eco & Adventure Stage

This year's highlights for us included the presentation on Go Local Series – There's some great new stuff coming to discover hidden secrets, for example trekking with a monk and travelling the new metro in Delhi with a local guide, as part of our Green Triangle tours. The presentation slides will be available online very soon. 

This year ITB Berlin also featured some very interesting RT Clinics at The Blue Yonder Stand during the three trade visitor days, where experts shared their experiences, offered practical tips and responded to questions on how to put responsible tourism measures into practice. The clinics turned out to be a very good experiment and we will definitely make them more prominent next year as part of the official RT programme.

RT Clinic at The Blue Yonder stand

See the RT Clinic with Helena Egan, Head of Destination Marketing, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa, presenting TripAdvisor reviews and impacts on businesses here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX9Y2z4q5bk&feature=youtu.be 

The role story telling has in promoting responsible tourism businesses by Zainab Kakal, Chief Enthusiasm Officer at The Blue Yonder provided some really good insights from different stakeholders: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=jLrRDG0aNrg

This year the RT Networking Event and Inspirational Stories presentation was organised by The Green Circuit, The Blue Yonder and Tripbod with support from Pocket Village, and our media partner VISION TravelMole.

The event was live streamed and you can watch the whole recording from it here (60 minutes): http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/20986768. It was also great to see the pitches - people taking the stage and letting others know what they do - perfect opportunity to tell your story and connect with others who think alike.

The one conclusion again is that we need to be there! We are making the mark and getting more visibility every year. ITB is the perfect occasion to strengthen our network. When people make their future travel plans with responsible focus, we want to be the first to come to their mind. All in all, very successful event - "after the trade show is before the trade show" - see you again in ITB 2013.

Press Release: Responsible Tourism Events in the Spotlight at ITB Berlin 2012

Kathmandu, Nepal – 23 February 2012 | At ITB Berlin 2012 socialtours and its sustainable partners will get together to present the latest innovations in responsible travel.

Raj Gyawali, Founder and Managing Director of socialtours, will give a presentation on the GO LOCAL | Insider Tours on Friday, 9 March at 13.00h in Hall 4.1b, ITB Eco & Adventure Stage. The popular series includes an amazing collection of tours from cooking courses to village walks and learning to make paper from elephant dung. The GO LOCAL series will even take you on cross-border tours – for example the Green Triangles of India and Nepal to explore the two countries from a responsible perspective.

This year socialtours will partner with the Blue Yonder and the Green Circuit to feature a series of Responsible Travel Clinics during the trade visitors days 7-9 March, where experts will share their experiences in building sustainable tourism businesses. Topics include social media for destination promotion, power of story telling, moving beyond conventional tourism and power of networking. All the clinics will take place in Hall 4.1/201 at the Blue Yonder stand. Please contact us for a more detailed schedule of these events.

The annual Responsible Networking Event on Friday, 9 March at 17:30h in Hall 4.1 will provide a perfect opportunity to get connected, interact and listen to inspiring stories from destinations as well as short pitches from responsible tourism initiatives around the world.

About us

socialtours | nepal is an award-nominated, National Geographic Adventure and Lonely Planet recommended soft adventure specialist based in Nepal covering Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and India, offering local, active, immersive and involving experiences tailor-made to individual requirements.

The Blue Yonder, recipient of Condé Nast Traveler World Savers Awards and prestigious First Choice Responsible Tourism Award is a pioneering and most innovative travel company promoting sustainable and responsible travel in India.

The Green Circuit is an initiative to bring together the best responsible tour operators in the Indian sub-continent.

For more information, please email raj@socialtours.com. During the week of 6-11 March 2012, please call +43 664 73533483. 

Press Release: GO LOCAL | Insider Tours: Discover Hidden Secrets of Nepal Only Locals Know

Kathmandu, Nepal – 23 February 2012 | With the GO LOCAL series socialtours now combines a soft adventure tour with an insider's view of Nepal, giving the traveller memorable and meaningful experiences to fulfill their holiday.

Socialtours launched the GO LOCAL | Insider Tours last year. The popular series now includes cooking courses, pottery classes, organic farm stays, coffee farm visits, village walks, cycling tours, watching a city wake up, learning the process of converting elephant dung into paper - an amazing collection of experiences to give an insight into the culture, people and nature of Nepal.

The GO LOCAL series will even take you on cross-border tours – for example the Green Triangles of India and Nepal to explore the two countries from a responsible perspective.

At ITB Berlin 2012 Raj Gyawali, Founder and Managing Director of socialtours, will give a presentation on the GO LOCAL series on Friday, 9 March at 13.00h in Hall 4.1b, ITB Eco & Adventure Stage.

All the tours are fully customized to meet time requirements and special interests of the traveller. They are ideal for families and people on a short visit to Nepal and can take place both in Kathmandu and Pokhara, highlighting the cities’ hidden secrets only known to locals. A well-trained, local guide will accompany each tour.

For those inspired, socialtours GO LOCAL series is a perfect way to explore deeper into the rich cultural heritage of Nepal and discover something new and out of the ordinary.

About socialtours | nepal

socialtours | nepal is an award-nominated, National Geographic Adventure and Lonely Planet recommended soft adventure specialist based in Nepal, covering Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and India, offering local, active, immersive and involving experiences tailor-made to individual requirements.

For more information or to schedule a meeting in Berlin, please email raj@socialtours.com.

During the week of 6-11 March 2012, please call +43 664 73533483. 

Advanced Guide Training | day one

Twenty four guides got together at socialtours today to start day one of the Advanced Guide Training. The group was lively and presented many issues to the trainers to discuss. It started with introductions from Raj Gyawali and Robin Boustead and then continued into main sessions.

Ian Wall took the session on Understanding the Mountain Environment and sensitised the participants on the issues of weather patterns, and how it manifests itself in the mountain environment. Also how this effects guiding. He also stressed on the importance of being really interested in learning about the mountain environment.

After this, Robin and Amrit took over to explain about maps and map reading. There was active participation on this session as participants wanted to learn well how to read a map, obviously a skill some of them lacked. They learnt about contours, measuring distances, calculating times required of trekking, and for finding out the coordinates to provide the helicopter for the rescue.

NOTE: Rule of thumb is that in one hour, a person with a backpack can walk about 3.2 kms on a normal track, but if we are climbing, for every 300 meters, one has to add one hour extra.

Prem later spoke informally about how we need to prepare well, and make sure that we have the right equipment with us when we travel as guides. A lot of this build respect for the guide which then helps establish a positive relationship between guides and clients.

Sarita took over after this on the essential of First Aid. She explained about common problems, how to handle a thermometer, how to recognise AMS. Rajesh took over for a while explaining in detail, with demonstrations, on how to handle difficult health situations on a trek. Later, a Gammow bag was taken out to explain how to use it in an extreme situation.

Raj and Ian then took the last session on leadership, going over the Good GUIDE LIST and also other issues in consideration relating to leadership in guiding.

Advanced Guide Training | Schedule

The following is the schedule decided for the Guide Training. Lead Instructors are mentioned below. They will be supported by other instructors too.

Please remember that punctuality is extremely important.

22nd Feb 2012

1000 hrs:
Introduction to the training - Raj Gyawali, Robin Boustead

1015 - 1200 hrs:
Understanding the Mountain Environment and what it means to guiding - Ian Wall
Navigation | Orientation | Map Reading - Amrit Ale, Prem Guvaju

Tea & Snacks Break

1400 - 1600 hrs:
First Aid - the box and how to use it - Sarita Lama
Leadership Skills - Raj Gyawali, Ian Wall, Prem Guvaju, Amrit Ale


23rd Feb 2012

1000 hrs:
How important is the guide to the company he/she works for?

1015-1200 hrs:
Responsible Tourism - understanding what it relates to guiding, Raj Gyawali
Rescue & Insurance Implications - Prem Guvaju, Amrit Ale, Ian Wall, Raj Gyawali

Tea & Snacks Break

1400 - 1600 hrs:
Client Expectations - understanding and managing them, Ian Wall, Raj Gyawali
Questions & Answers - Final session

END