First Rainbow International Tourism Conference held in Kathmandu, Nepal.
It was organised by civil society organisation, Mayako Pahichan, in collaboration with Nepal Tourism Board.
Chief Guest of the event was Bhagawati Chaudhary, Minister of Women, Children and senior citizen.
He inaugurated the event along with Sunil Babu Pant, first openly gay Member of Parliament in Asia.
LGBTQ participants and experts spoke on pink tourism.
They also spoke on making tourism sector inclusive to boost economy of any country.
LGBT travelers globally spend USD 202 billion. This can be tapped by countries to make their tourism industry LGBTQ friendly.
In a historic ruling in 2007, the Supreme Court of Nepal ordered the government to repeal all laws that discriminated against the third gender and create legislation that acknowledged their status.
An interim order from June 2023 made it possible for same-sex marriages to be legally registered in Nepal.
EU Ambassador in Nepal Veronique Lorenzo said that Nepal being LGBTQ friendly country can attract more tourists.
