Interview with Chhetup Tamang, CEO and founder of Treknepal.travel

Treknepal.travel is a leading Nepal-based trekking and expedition agency with unparalleled local expertise and strong ethic and integrity principles. Today, .travel interviews the charismatic founder of the company.

. Travel: What does your business do?

Chhetup Tamang: Treknepal.travel is the official website of Altitude Randonnee Trekking Pvt. Ltd. We are a Kathmandu-based local trekking and expedition agency, registered under the Nepal Government Ministry of Culture, Civil Aviation & Tourism.

.Travel: What is your main business identity and what are your core values?

Chhetup Tamang: We have been recognized as a professional and leading trekking and expedition company for the last 20 years through our hard work and the vast experience, professional and total dedication of our team.

Our values include safety. We select the most experienced field staff such as climbing guides, trekking guides, assistant guides, trekking cooks and trekking porters who are familiar with the routes, the local culture, geographic condition and difficulty level of trekking paths in the region. We also have a strong team work & team spirit and form a single family during our time with our guests, with whom we share our knowledge and experience. We also scrupulously adhere to the International Labor Organization standards to ensure that our staff and their families suffer no exploitation or discrimination. We pay fair salaries to our employees and show great respect towards all our field staff and porters.

.Travel: Let’s talk about the type of excursions and destinations that are most in demand

Chhetup Tamang: Our most popular expeditions are trekking tours in Nepal, then Bhutan and Tibet. Easy treks are popular with less experienced travelers who want to visit the region at their own leisurely pace and without too much physical exertion. However, thanks to our established reputation as a leading trekking expert organization, we have a lot of demand for major expeditions lasting several weeks, as well as peak climbing. Thematic tours are also increasingly popular and range from honeymoon/wedding tours to mountain, cycling, helicopter, Buddhism, Shamanism and Hinduism tours.

.Travel: You are today one of the leading trekking and expedition specialists in Nepal and the region. How did you achieve this position and how and when did it all start?

Chhetup Tamang: I was born in 1981 in Kavre district, in the Eastern part of Nepal. My father was a cook for the camping treks and mountain expeditions. So, I began to work as a trekking porter in 1996 when I was just 16 years old. I learned English in university and French at the Alliance Francaise in Kathmandu. Then, I took a certified diploma license trekking guide training from the Nepal Government and a rescue and first aid training from Federation Francaise de Sauvetage Secourisme. Having worked for many years as a trekking/mountain guide across Nepal and for various local Nepalese agencies and international agencies, I decided to set up my own trekking and expedition agency in Nepal and registered Altitude Randonnee Trekking Pvt. Ltd or ART, as an adventure tourism trademark. Since then, the business has grown from strength to strength through sheer dedication, unsurpassed local knowledge and expertise and the support of my outstanding Team. We have acquired a clientele that includes visitors from across the globe. In 2013, I visited France and Switzerland where I met local experts and clients and promoted our organization. In 2016, I participated in Adventure Travel Show in Washington DC, USA where I further raised Treknepal.travel profile.

Fewa Lake, Pokhara, Nepal

Sunset in Dhaulagiri

Mount Manaslu

.Travel: What trends and developments are impacting the tourism sector and your business today?

Chhetup Tamang: There is a growing awareness in the industry and among tourists of the importance of responsible & sustainable tourism. We are fully committed to running eco-tourism activities so that our environment isn’t damaged by pollution. We highlight the importance of the development of village tourism to visitors, who can explore the local culture and traditions. Sustainable tourism also means supporting local communities and I am proud to say that Treknepal.travel is taking the lead in this field: We organize charity events where we raise money for our community, staff and the families who have been affected by natural events or hard economic conditions. Following the earthquake, we helped construct two school buildings in the Kavre district with the support of the French association EDM (Enfances du Monde).

In terms of our growth strategy for 2018 and beyond, we continue to develop new partnerships across the globe with major travel agents, individuals, associations and adventure clubs. We also want to set up joint ventures in order to contribute to the development of adventure tourism whilst upholding international trade standards and raising the awareness of sustainable tourism.

.Travel: An adequate tourism promotion strategy requires having an attractive and effective website. How does your website differentiate itself?

Chhetup Tamang: For our business, it is crucial that potential clients from around the world can get as much information as possible aboutTreknepal.travel before embarking on their journey. We try to highlight every aspect of the trip, from safety to sustainable tourism and the multitude of trekking levels and experience required. Every award, license and diploma that we have received is uploaded on our site in the spirit of complete honesty, trust and transparency.

.Travel: How and when did you find out about .travel and began to use a .travel ending name? What has been the development?

Chhetup Tamang: I had heard of and seen .travel for a number of years. When we re-designed and re-launched our website, we didn’t want to go back to a corporate style website, so we decided that treknepal.travel would be the most pertinent and suitable name for our organization.

.Travel: Choosing the right domain/brand on the internet is the first step towards online success. In your view, what are the main benefits that .travel domain offer to your website?

Chhetup Tamang: As a sustainable tourism company with strong ethics and professional credentials, we chose treknepal.travel as our main website to convey our strong sense of identity, respectability and the credibility that we have acquired over the last 2 decades.

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Mount Everest View from Kalapathar

Mount Everest West View