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<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><img alt="Raja Ram Giri," src="/userfiles/images/iv.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 200px; height: 221px;" />Raja Ram Giri</strong>, an NRN based in London, is Director of Samsara Nepal Financial Services Ltd, the first money transfer company in the UK to be owned by a Nepali. He is also the Managing Editor and Publisher of Himalayas magazine, an annual publication that promotes Nepali tourism in the UK and Europe. Giri spoke to Britant Khanal of The Corporate Weekly about the performance of his businesses in the UK.<strong> Excerpts:</strong></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What is the concept behind launching a magazine like Himalayas in the UK? Who are its readers and what has been the response thus far? </strong></div>
<div>
This magazine was not the reason why I went to UK. Initially, I wanted to study Information Technology. I was studying at a university where there were no students from our side of the world which made me feel very alien. One day a professor told me that he had been to my country. But when he described what he saw, I realized he was talking about Darjeeling, not Nepal. That was when I quit IT and shifted to Tourism Studies and planned to do something that would make the world recognize my country. So, this magazine was an outcome of my ego and pride. It has been doing a decent job in making our country known in London and many parts of Europe. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What has your role been so far in promoting Nepali Tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
When I started studying tourism, Nepal was celebrating the Visit Nepal Year 1998. Since the country was celebrating a national festival, I thought of doing something along the same lines, and then contacted the Nepali embassy in the UK. With their help, I held a small cultural programme at my college in front of almost 1,300 students explaining what Nepal is and what it looks like. The programme was very much appreciated. Since then, I have been doing the same job trying to tell people how beautiful my country is and taking pride in it. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What are some tangible hindrances seen in promoting Nepali tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
What our politicians have to understand is that declaring a tourism year will not bring tourists. They will have to work on tourism policies to attract tourists instead of showering flowers from helicopters on the day of declaration and spending millions on inaugurals. They will have to explain to tourists what Nepal looks like and what our culture is. They could have come with cultural programmes in famous places of different cities like the Trafalgar Square, London or may be some place in New York, too. Another basic obstruction is transportation - the Government of Nepal has not been able to provide sufficient number of flights of the Nepali airlines to and from tourist originating areas.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You are also associated with the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda Tunnel Road. Could you tell us a little about that?</strong></div>
<div>
We have been working on the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda tunnel road and it is one of the first private sector initiatives in structural design and work. This project seems very promising for transportation. It will assist in the smooth functioning of business and economy. This project also hopes to bring a lot of investments from Samsara UK and a lot from non-resident Nepalis living in UK. There are reasons why these kinds of project are not pacing up in our country. For one, we are still using the traditional way of construction. We still see workers using hammers on the road whereas technology around the globe has taken a leap ahead. Therefore, we are working hand-in-hand with other domestic companies to bring required changes in infrastructure to speed up the pace of work.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You own a company called ‘Samsara Nepal’ in the UK. What is the function of this company and what are your future plans for Nepal?</strong></div>
<div>
Samsara Nepal is basically a company for remittance. This company too was an outcome of an incident. I was working in some other company back then in the UK and had sent some money back home which unfortunately went to Mumbai because the company I sent the money through thought Kathmandu was in India, and had written KTM India in the address. The money went to an Indian branch which was in Mumbai. Later, I filed a complaint and resent the money.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Sixteen years back, when I first went to the UK, there were no proper and reliable remittance companies to send money through. There was an informal money sending mechanism popularly known as the Hundi system of which the government has no record of. Therefore, we came up with an idea of setting up a company which would provide a safe way to send money back home. We have now been working with Sunrise Bank, Himalayan Bank and Standard Chartered Bank in sending hard earned remittances back home. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Besides sending money from London to Nepal, this company also wants to promote our national economy. Samasara Nepal wants to suggest the government to impose a certain level of taxes on the remittance which immigrants could use after returning back to the country. This would benefit the individual and the nation overall, because while an amount approximately equal to 27 per cent of Nepal’s GDP comes in as remittance, it has not been invested in a productive sector as far as I know. The government should focus on capitalizing on remittance by investing it in productive sectors.</div>',
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<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><img alt="Raja Ram Giri," src="/userfiles/images/iv.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 200px; height: 221px;" />Raja Ram Giri</strong>, an NRN based in London, is Director of Samsara Nepal Financial Services Ltd, the first money transfer company in the UK to be owned by a Nepali. He is also the Managing Editor and Publisher of Himalayas magazine, an annual publication that promotes Nepali tourism in the UK and Europe. Giri spoke to Britant Khanal of The Corporate Weekly about the performance of his businesses in the UK.<strong> Excerpts:</strong></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What is the concept behind launching a magazine like Himalayas in the UK? Who are its readers and what has been the response thus far? </strong></div>
<div>
This magazine was not the reason why I went to UK. Initially, I wanted to study Information Technology. I was studying at a university where there were no students from our side of the world which made me feel very alien. One day a professor told me that he had been to my country. But when he described what he saw, I realized he was talking about Darjeeling, not Nepal. That was when I quit IT and shifted to Tourism Studies and planned to do something that would make the world recognize my country. So, this magazine was an outcome of my ego and pride. It has been doing a decent job in making our country known in London and many parts of Europe. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What has your role been so far in promoting Nepali Tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
When I started studying tourism, Nepal was celebrating the Visit Nepal Year 1998. Since the country was celebrating a national festival, I thought of doing something along the same lines, and then contacted the Nepali embassy in the UK. With their help, I held a small cultural programme at my college in front of almost 1,300 students explaining what Nepal is and what it looks like. The programme was very much appreciated. Since then, I have been doing the same job trying to tell people how beautiful my country is and taking pride in it. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What are some tangible hindrances seen in promoting Nepali tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
What our politicians have to understand is that declaring a tourism year will not bring tourists. They will have to work on tourism policies to attract tourists instead of showering flowers from helicopters on the day of declaration and spending millions on inaugurals. They will have to explain to tourists what Nepal looks like and what our culture is. They could have come with cultural programmes in famous places of different cities like the Trafalgar Square, London or may be some place in New York, too. Another basic obstruction is transportation - the Government of Nepal has not been able to provide sufficient number of flights of the Nepali airlines to and from tourist originating areas.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You are also associated with the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda Tunnel Road. Could you tell us a little about that?</strong></div>
<div>
We have been working on the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda tunnel road and it is one of the first private sector initiatives in structural design and work. This project seems very promising for transportation. It will assist in the smooth functioning of business and economy. This project also hopes to bring a lot of investments from Samsara UK and a lot from non-resident Nepalis living in UK. There are reasons why these kinds of project are not pacing up in our country. For one, we are still using the traditional way of construction. We still see workers using hammers on the road whereas technology around the globe has taken a leap ahead. Therefore, we are working hand-in-hand with other domestic companies to bring required changes in infrastructure to speed up the pace of work.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You own a company called ‘Samsara Nepal’ in the UK. What is the function of this company and what are your future plans for Nepal?</strong></div>
<div>
Samsara Nepal is basically a company for remittance. This company too was an outcome of an incident. I was working in some other company back then in the UK and had sent some money back home which unfortunately went to Mumbai because the company I sent the money through thought Kathmandu was in India, and had written KTM India in the address. The money went to an Indian branch which was in Mumbai. Later, I filed a complaint and resent the money.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Sixteen years back, when I first went to the UK, there were no proper and reliable remittance companies to send money through. There was an informal money sending mechanism popularly known as the Hundi system of which the government has no record of. Therefore, we came up with an idea of setting up a company which would provide a safe way to send money back home. We have now been working with Sunrise Bank, Himalayan Bank and Standard Chartered Bank in sending hard earned remittances back home. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Besides sending money from London to Nepal, this company also wants to promote our national economy. Samasara Nepal wants to suggest the government to impose a certain level of taxes on the remittance which immigrants could use after returning back to the country. This would benefit the individual and the nation overall, because while an amount approximately equal to 27 per cent of Nepal’s GDP comes in as remittance, it has not been invested in a productive sector as far as I know. The government should focus on capitalizing on remittance by investing it in productive sectors.</div>',
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<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><img alt="Raja Ram Giri," src="/userfiles/images/iv.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 200px; height: 221px;" />Raja Ram Giri</strong>, an NRN based in London, is Director of Samsara Nepal Financial Services Ltd, the first money transfer company in the UK to be owned by a Nepali. He is also the Managing Editor and Publisher of Himalayas magazine, an annual publication that promotes Nepali tourism in the UK and Europe. Giri spoke to Britant Khanal of The Corporate Weekly about the performance of his businesses in the UK.<strong> Excerpts:</strong></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What is the concept behind launching a magazine like Himalayas in the UK? Who are its readers and what has been the response thus far? </strong></div>
<div>
This magazine was not the reason why I went to UK. Initially, I wanted to study Information Technology. I was studying at a university where there were no students from our side of the world which made me feel very alien. One day a professor told me that he had been to my country. But when he described what he saw, I realized he was talking about Darjeeling, not Nepal. That was when I quit IT and shifted to Tourism Studies and planned to do something that would make the world recognize my country. So, this magazine was an outcome of my ego and pride. It has been doing a decent job in making our country known in London and many parts of Europe. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What has your role been so far in promoting Nepali Tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
When I started studying tourism, Nepal was celebrating the Visit Nepal Year 1998. Since the country was celebrating a national festival, I thought of doing something along the same lines, and then contacted the Nepali embassy in the UK. With their help, I held a small cultural programme at my college in front of almost 1,300 students explaining what Nepal is and what it looks like. The programme was very much appreciated. Since then, I have been doing the same job trying to tell people how beautiful my country is and taking pride in it. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What are some tangible hindrances seen in promoting Nepali tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
What our politicians have to understand is that declaring a tourism year will not bring tourists. They will have to work on tourism policies to attract tourists instead of showering flowers from helicopters on the day of declaration and spending millions on inaugurals. They will have to explain to tourists what Nepal looks like and what our culture is. They could have come with cultural programmes in famous places of different cities like the Trafalgar Square, London or may be some place in New York, too. Another basic obstruction is transportation - the Government of Nepal has not been able to provide sufficient number of flights of the Nepali airlines to and from tourist originating areas.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You are also associated with the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda Tunnel Road. Could you tell us a little about that?</strong></div>
<div>
We have been working on the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda tunnel road and it is one of the first private sector initiatives in structural design and work. This project seems very promising for transportation. It will assist in the smooth functioning of business and economy. This project also hopes to bring a lot of investments from Samsara UK and a lot from non-resident Nepalis living in UK. There are reasons why these kinds of project are not pacing up in our country. For one, we are still using the traditional way of construction. We still see workers using hammers on the road whereas technology around the globe has taken a leap ahead. Therefore, we are working hand-in-hand with other domestic companies to bring required changes in infrastructure to speed up the pace of work.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You own a company called ‘Samsara Nepal’ in the UK. What is the function of this company and what are your future plans for Nepal?</strong></div>
<div>
Samsara Nepal is basically a company for remittance. This company too was an outcome of an incident. I was working in some other company back then in the UK and had sent some money back home which unfortunately went to Mumbai because the company I sent the money through thought Kathmandu was in India, and had written KTM India in the address. The money went to an Indian branch which was in Mumbai. Later, I filed a complaint and resent the money.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Sixteen years back, when I first went to the UK, there were no proper and reliable remittance companies to send money through. There was an informal money sending mechanism popularly known as the Hundi system of which the government has no record of. Therefore, we came up with an idea of setting up a company which would provide a safe way to send money back home. We have now been working with Sunrise Bank, Himalayan Bank and Standard Chartered Bank in sending hard earned remittances back home. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Besides sending money from London to Nepal, this company also wants to promote our national economy. Samasara Nepal wants to suggest the government to impose a certain level of taxes on the remittance which immigrants could use after returning back to the country. This would benefit the individual and the nation overall, because while an amount approximately equal to 27 per cent of Nepal’s GDP comes in as remittance, it has not been invested in a productive sector as far as I know. The government should focus on capitalizing on remittance by investing it in productive sectors.</div>',
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<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><img alt="Raja Ram Giri," src="/userfiles/images/iv.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 200px; height: 221px;" />Raja Ram Giri</strong>, an NRN based in London, is Director of Samsara Nepal Financial Services Ltd, the first money transfer company in the UK to be owned by a Nepali. He is also the Managing Editor and Publisher of Himalayas magazine, an annual publication that promotes Nepali tourism in the UK and Europe. Giri spoke to Britant Khanal of The Corporate Weekly about the performance of his businesses in the UK.<strong> Excerpts:</strong></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What is the concept behind launching a magazine like Himalayas in the UK? Who are its readers and what has been the response thus far? </strong></div>
<div>
This magazine was not the reason why I went to UK. Initially, I wanted to study Information Technology. I was studying at a university where there were no students from our side of the world which made me feel very alien. One day a professor told me that he had been to my country. But when he described what he saw, I realized he was talking about Darjeeling, not Nepal. That was when I quit IT and shifted to Tourism Studies and planned to do something that would make the world recognize my country. So, this magazine was an outcome of my ego and pride. It has been doing a decent job in making our country known in London and many parts of Europe. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What has your role been so far in promoting Nepali Tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
When I started studying tourism, Nepal was celebrating the Visit Nepal Year 1998. Since the country was celebrating a national festival, I thought of doing something along the same lines, and then contacted the Nepali embassy in the UK. With their help, I held a small cultural programme at my college in front of almost 1,300 students explaining what Nepal is and what it looks like. The programme was very much appreciated. Since then, I have been doing the same job trying to tell people how beautiful my country is and taking pride in it. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What are some tangible hindrances seen in promoting Nepali tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
What our politicians have to understand is that declaring a tourism year will not bring tourists. They will have to work on tourism policies to attract tourists instead of showering flowers from helicopters on the day of declaration and spending millions on inaugurals. They will have to explain to tourists what Nepal looks like and what our culture is. They could have come with cultural programmes in famous places of different cities like the Trafalgar Square, London or may be some place in New York, too. Another basic obstruction is transportation - the Government of Nepal has not been able to provide sufficient number of flights of the Nepali airlines to and from tourist originating areas.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You are also associated with the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda Tunnel Road. Could you tell us a little about that?</strong></div>
<div>
We have been working on the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda tunnel road and it is one of the first private sector initiatives in structural design and work. This project seems very promising for transportation. It will assist in the smooth functioning of business and economy. This project also hopes to bring a lot of investments from Samsara UK and a lot from non-resident Nepalis living in UK. There are reasons why these kinds of project are not pacing up in our country. For one, we are still using the traditional way of construction. We still see workers using hammers on the road whereas technology around the globe has taken a leap ahead. Therefore, we are working hand-in-hand with other domestic companies to bring required changes in infrastructure to speed up the pace of work.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You own a company called ‘Samsara Nepal’ in the UK. What is the function of this company and what are your future plans for Nepal?</strong></div>
<div>
Samsara Nepal is basically a company for remittance. This company too was an outcome of an incident. I was working in some other company back then in the UK and had sent some money back home which unfortunately went to Mumbai because the company I sent the money through thought Kathmandu was in India, and had written KTM India in the address. The money went to an Indian branch which was in Mumbai. Later, I filed a complaint and resent the money.</div>
<div>
</div>
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Sixteen years back, when I first went to the UK, there were no proper and reliable remittance companies to send money through. There was an informal money sending mechanism popularly known as the Hundi system of which the government has no record of. Therefore, we came up with an idea of setting up a company which would provide a safe way to send money back home. We have now been working with Sunrise Bank, Himalayan Bank and Standard Chartered Bank in sending hard earned remittances back home. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Besides sending money from London to Nepal, this company also wants to promote our national economy. Samasara Nepal wants to suggest the government to impose a certain level of taxes on the remittance which immigrants could use after returning back to the country. This would benefit the individual and the nation overall, because while an amount approximately equal to 27 per cent of Nepal’s GDP comes in as remittance, it has not been invested in a productive sector as far as I know. The government should focus on capitalizing on remittance by investing it in productive sectors.</div>',
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<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><img alt="Raja Ram Giri," src="/userfiles/images/iv.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 200px; height: 221px;" />Raja Ram Giri</strong>, an NRN based in London, is Director of Samsara Nepal Financial Services Ltd, the first money transfer company in the UK to be owned by a Nepali. He is also the Managing Editor and Publisher of Himalayas magazine, an annual publication that promotes Nepali tourism in the UK and Europe. Giri spoke to Britant Khanal of The Corporate Weekly about the performance of his businesses in the UK.<strong> Excerpts:</strong></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What is the concept behind launching a magazine like Himalayas in the UK? Who are its readers and what has been the response thus far? </strong></div>
<div>
This magazine was not the reason why I went to UK. Initially, I wanted to study Information Technology. I was studying at a university where there were no students from our side of the world which made me feel very alien. One day a professor told me that he had been to my country. But when he described what he saw, I realized he was talking about Darjeeling, not Nepal. That was when I quit IT and shifted to Tourism Studies and planned to do something that would make the world recognize my country. So, this magazine was an outcome of my ego and pride. It has been doing a decent job in making our country known in London and many parts of Europe. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What has your role been so far in promoting Nepali Tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
When I started studying tourism, Nepal was celebrating the Visit Nepal Year 1998. Since the country was celebrating a national festival, I thought of doing something along the same lines, and then contacted the Nepali embassy in the UK. With their help, I held a small cultural programme at my college in front of almost 1,300 students explaining what Nepal is and what it looks like. The programme was very much appreciated. Since then, I have been doing the same job trying to tell people how beautiful my country is and taking pride in it. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What are some tangible hindrances seen in promoting Nepali tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
What our politicians have to understand is that declaring a tourism year will not bring tourists. They will have to work on tourism policies to attract tourists instead of showering flowers from helicopters on the day of declaration and spending millions on inaugurals. They will have to explain to tourists what Nepal looks like and what our culture is. They could have come with cultural programmes in famous places of different cities like the Trafalgar Square, London or may be some place in New York, too. Another basic obstruction is transportation - the Government of Nepal has not been able to provide sufficient number of flights of the Nepali airlines to and from tourist originating areas.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You are also associated with the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda Tunnel Road. Could you tell us a little about that?</strong></div>
<div>
We have been working on the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda tunnel road and it is one of the first private sector initiatives in structural design and work. This project seems very promising for transportation. It will assist in the smooth functioning of business and economy. This project also hopes to bring a lot of investments from Samsara UK and a lot from non-resident Nepalis living in UK. There are reasons why these kinds of project are not pacing up in our country. For one, we are still using the traditional way of construction. We still see workers using hammers on the road whereas technology around the globe has taken a leap ahead. Therefore, we are working hand-in-hand with other domestic companies to bring required changes in infrastructure to speed up the pace of work.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You own a company called ‘Samsara Nepal’ in the UK. What is the function of this company and what are your future plans for Nepal?</strong></div>
<div>
Samsara Nepal is basically a company for remittance. This company too was an outcome of an incident. I was working in some other company back then in the UK and had sent some money back home which unfortunately went to Mumbai because the company I sent the money through thought Kathmandu was in India, and had written KTM India in the address. The money went to an Indian branch which was in Mumbai. Later, I filed a complaint and resent the money.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Sixteen years back, when I first went to the UK, there were no proper and reliable remittance companies to send money through. There was an informal money sending mechanism popularly known as the Hundi system of which the government has no record of. Therefore, we came up with an idea of setting up a company which would provide a safe way to send money back home. We have now been working with Sunrise Bank, Himalayan Bank and Standard Chartered Bank in sending hard earned remittances back home. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Besides sending money from London to Nepal, this company also wants to promote our national economy. Samasara Nepal wants to suggest the government to impose a certain level of taxes on the remittance which immigrants could use after returning back to the country. This would benefit the individual and the nation overall, because while an amount approximately equal to 27 per cent of Nepal’s GDP comes in as remittance, it has not been invested in a productive sector as far as I know. The government should focus on capitalizing on remittance by investing it in productive sectors.</div>',
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<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><img alt="Raja Ram Giri," src="/userfiles/images/iv.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 200px; height: 221px;" />Raja Ram Giri</strong>, an NRN based in London, is Director of Samsara Nepal Financial Services Ltd, the first money transfer company in the UK to be owned by a Nepali. He is also the Managing Editor and Publisher of Himalayas magazine, an annual publication that promotes Nepali tourism in the UK and Europe. Giri spoke to Britant Khanal of The Corporate Weekly about the performance of his businesses in the UK.<strong> Excerpts:</strong></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What is the concept behind launching a magazine like Himalayas in the UK? Who are its readers and what has been the response thus far? </strong></div>
<div>
This magazine was not the reason why I went to UK. Initially, I wanted to study Information Technology. I was studying at a university where there were no students from our side of the world which made me feel very alien. One day a professor told me that he had been to my country. But when he described what he saw, I realized he was talking about Darjeeling, not Nepal. That was when I quit IT and shifted to Tourism Studies and planned to do something that would make the world recognize my country. So, this magazine was an outcome of my ego and pride. It has been doing a decent job in making our country known in London and many parts of Europe. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What has your role been so far in promoting Nepali Tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
When I started studying tourism, Nepal was celebrating the Visit Nepal Year 1998. Since the country was celebrating a national festival, I thought of doing something along the same lines, and then contacted the Nepali embassy in the UK. With their help, I held a small cultural programme at my college in front of almost 1,300 students explaining what Nepal is and what it looks like. The programme was very much appreciated. Since then, I have been doing the same job trying to tell people how beautiful my country is and taking pride in it. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What are some tangible hindrances seen in promoting Nepali tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
What our politicians have to understand is that declaring a tourism year will not bring tourists. They will have to work on tourism policies to attract tourists instead of showering flowers from helicopters on the day of declaration and spending millions on inaugurals. They will have to explain to tourists what Nepal looks like and what our culture is. They could have come with cultural programmes in famous places of different cities like the Trafalgar Square, London or may be some place in New York, too. Another basic obstruction is transportation - the Government of Nepal has not been able to provide sufficient number of flights of the Nepali airlines to and from tourist originating areas.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You are also associated with the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda Tunnel Road. Could you tell us a little about that?</strong></div>
<div>
We have been working on the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda tunnel road and it is one of the first private sector initiatives in structural design and work. This project seems very promising for transportation. It will assist in the smooth functioning of business and economy. This project also hopes to bring a lot of investments from Samsara UK and a lot from non-resident Nepalis living in UK. There are reasons why these kinds of project are not pacing up in our country. For one, we are still using the traditional way of construction. We still see workers using hammers on the road whereas technology around the globe has taken a leap ahead. Therefore, we are working hand-in-hand with other domestic companies to bring required changes in infrastructure to speed up the pace of work.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You own a company called ‘Samsara Nepal’ in the UK. What is the function of this company and what are your future plans for Nepal?</strong></div>
<div>
Samsara Nepal is basically a company for remittance. This company too was an outcome of an incident. I was working in some other company back then in the UK and had sent some money back home which unfortunately went to Mumbai because the company I sent the money through thought Kathmandu was in India, and had written KTM India in the address. The money went to an Indian branch which was in Mumbai. Later, I filed a complaint and resent the money.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Sixteen years back, when I first went to the UK, there were no proper and reliable remittance companies to send money through. There was an informal money sending mechanism popularly known as the Hundi system of which the government has no record of. Therefore, we came up with an idea of setting up a company which would provide a safe way to send money back home. We have now been working with Sunrise Bank, Himalayan Bank and Standard Chartered Bank in sending hard earned remittances back home. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Besides sending money from London to Nepal, this company also wants to promote our national economy. Samasara Nepal wants to suggest the government to impose a certain level of taxes on the remittance which immigrants could use after returning back to the country. This would benefit the individual and the nation overall, because while an amount approximately equal to 27 per cent of Nepal’s GDP comes in as remittance, it has not been invested in a productive sector as far as I know. The government should focus on capitalizing on remittance by investing it in productive sectors.</div>',
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‘Nepal Needs Urgent Reforms, Not Tourism Year Gimmick’
5 min 1 sec to read
Raja Ram Giri, an NRN based in London, is Director of Samsara Nepal Financial Services Ltd, the first money transfer company in the UK to be owned by a Nepali. He is also the Managing Editor and Publisher of Himalayas magazine, an annual publication that promotes Nepali tourism in the UK and Europe. Giri spoke to Britant Khanal of The Corporate Weekly about the performance of his businesses in the UK. Excerpts:
What is the concept behind launching a magazine like Himalayas in the UK? Who are its readers and what has been the response thus far?
This magazine was not the reason why I went to UK. Initially, I wanted to study Information Technology. I was studying at a university where there were no students from our side of the world which made me feel very alien. One day a professor told me that he had been to my country. But when he described what he saw, I realized he was talking about Darjeeling, not Nepal. That was when I quit IT and shifted to Tourism Studies and planned to do something that would make the world recognize my country. So, this magazine was an outcome of my ego and pride. It has been doing a decent job in making our country known in London and many parts of Europe.
What has your role been so far in promoting Nepali Tourism to the rest of the world?
When I started studying tourism, Nepal was celebrating the Visit Nepal Year 1998. Since the country was celebrating a national festival, I thought of doing something along the same lines, and then contacted the Nepali embassy in the UK. With their help, I held a small cultural programme at my college in front of almost 1,300 students explaining what Nepal is and what it looks like. The programme was very much appreciated. Since then, I have been doing the same job trying to tell people how beautiful my country is and taking pride in it.
What are some tangible hindrances seen in promoting Nepali tourism to the rest of the world?
What our politicians have to understand is that declaring a tourism year will not bring tourists. They will have to work on tourism policies to attract tourists instead of showering flowers from helicopters on the day of declaration and spending millions on inaugurals. They will have to explain to tourists what Nepal looks like and what our culture is. They could have come with cultural programmes in famous places of different cities like the Trafalgar Square, London or may be some place in New York, too. Another basic obstruction is transportation - the Government of Nepal has not been able to provide sufficient number of flights of the Nepali airlines to and from tourist originating areas.
You are also associated with the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda Tunnel Road. Could you tell us a little about that?
We have been working on the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda tunnel road and it is one of the first private sector initiatives in structural design and work. This project seems very promising for transportation. It will assist in the smooth functioning of business and economy. This project also hopes to bring a lot of investments from Samsara UK and a lot from non-resident Nepalis living in UK. There are reasons why these kinds of project are not pacing up in our country. For one, we are still using the traditional way of construction. We still see workers using hammers on the road whereas technology around the globe has taken a leap ahead. Therefore, we are working hand-in-hand with other domestic companies to bring required changes in infrastructure to speed up the pace of work.
You own a company called ‘Samsara Nepal’ in the UK. What is the function of this company and what are your future plans for Nepal?
Samsara Nepal is basically a company for remittance. This company too was an outcome of an incident. I was working in some other company back then in the UK and had sent some money back home which unfortunately went to Mumbai because the company I sent the money through thought Kathmandu was in India, and had written KTM India in the address. The money went to an Indian branch which was in Mumbai. Later, I filed a complaint and resent the money.
Sixteen years back, when I first went to the UK, there were no proper and reliable remittance companies to send money through. There was an informal money sending mechanism popularly known as the Hundi system of which the government has no record of. Therefore, we came up with an idea of setting up a company which would provide a safe way to send money back home. We have now been working with Sunrise Bank, Himalayan Bank and Standard Chartered Bank in sending hard earned remittances back home.
Besides sending money from London to Nepal, this company also wants to promote our national economy. Samasara Nepal wants to suggest the government to impose a certain level of taxes on the remittance which immigrants could use after returning back to the country. This would benefit the individual and the nation overall, because while an amount approximately equal to 27 per cent of Nepal’s GDP comes in as remittance, it has not been invested in a productive sector as far as I know. The government should focus on capitalizing on remittance by investing it in productive sectors.
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<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><img alt="Raja Ram Giri," src="/userfiles/images/iv.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 200px; height: 221px;" />Raja Ram Giri</strong>, an NRN based in London, is Director of Samsara Nepal Financial Services Ltd, the first money transfer company in the UK to be owned by a Nepali. He is also the Managing Editor and Publisher of Himalayas magazine, an annual publication that promotes Nepali tourism in the UK and Europe. Giri spoke to Britant Khanal of The Corporate Weekly about the performance of his businesses in the UK.<strong> Excerpts:</strong></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What is the concept behind launching a magazine like Himalayas in the UK? Who are its readers and what has been the response thus far? </strong></div>
<div>
This magazine was not the reason why I went to UK. Initially, I wanted to study Information Technology. I was studying at a university where there were no students from our side of the world which made me feel very alien. One day a professor told me that he had been to my country. But when he described what he saw, I realized he was talking about Darjeeling, not Nepal. That was when I quit IT and shifted to Tourism Studies and planned to do something that would make the world recognize my country. So, this magazine was an outcome of my ego and pride. It has been doing a decent job in making our country known in London and many parts of Europe. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What has your role been so far in promoting Nepali Tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
When I started studying tourism, Nepal was celebrating the Visit Nepal Year 1998. Since the country was celebrating a national festival, I thought of doing something along the same lines, and then contacted the Nepali embassy in the UK. With their help, I held a small cultural programme at my college in front of almost 1,300 students explaining what Nepal is and what it looks like. The programme was very much appreciated. Since then, I have been doing the same job trying to tell people how beautiful my country is and taking pride in it. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What are some tangible hindrances seen in promoting Nepali tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
What our politicians have to understand is that declaring a tourism year will not bring tourists. They will have to work on tourism policies to attract tourists instead of showering flowers from helicopters on the day of declaration and spending millions on inaugurals. They will have to explain to tourists what Nepal looks like and what our culture is. They could have come with cultural programmes in famous places of different cities like the Trafalgar Square, London or may be some place in New York, too. Another basic obstruction is transportation - the Government of Nepal has not been able to provide sufficient number of flights of the Nepali airlines to and from tourist originating areas.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You are also associated with the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda Tunnel Road. Could you tell us a little about that?</strong></div>
<div>
We have been working on the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda tunnel road and it is one of the first private sector initiatives in structural design and work. This project seems very promising for transportation. It will assist in the smooth functioning of business and economy. This project also hopes to bring a lot of investments from Samsara UK and a lot from non-resident Nepalis living in UK. There are reasons why these kinds of project are not pacing up in our country. For one, we are still using the traditional way of construction. We still see workers using hammers on the road whereas technology around the globe has taken a leap ahead. Therefore, we are working hand-in-hand with other domestic companies to bring required changes in infrastructure to speed up the pace of work.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You own a company called ‘Samsara Nepal’ in the UK. What is the function of this company and what are your future plans for Nepal?</strong></div>
<div>
Samsara Nepal is basically a company for remittance. This company too was an outcome of an incident. I was working in some other company back then in the UK and had sent some money back home which unfortunately went to Mumbai because the company I sent the money through thought Kathmandu was in India, and had written KTM India in the address. The money went to an Indian branch which was in Mumbai. Later, I filed a complaint and resent the money.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Sixteen years back, when I first went to the UK, there were no proper and reliable remittance companies to send money through. There was an informal money sending mechanism popularly known as the Hundi system of which the government has no record of. Therefore, we came up with an idea of setting up a company which would provide a safe way to send money back home. We have now been working with Sunrise Bank, Himalayan Bank and Standard Chartered Bank in sending hard earned remittances back home. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Besides sending money from London to Nepal, this company also wants to promote our national economy. Samasara Nepal wants to suggest the government to impose a certain level of taxes on the remittance which immigrants could use after returning back to the country. This would benefit the individual and the nation overall, because while an amount approximately equal to 27 per cent of Nepal’s GDP comes in as remittance, it has not been invested in a productive sector as far as I know. The government should focus on capitalizing on remittance by investing it in productive sectors.</div>',
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<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><img alt="Raja Ram Giri," src="/userfiles/images/iv.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 200px; height: 221px;" />Raja Ram Giri</strong>, an NRN based in London, is Director of Samsara Nepal Financial Services Ltd, the first money transfer company in the UK to be owned by a Nepali. He is also the Managing Editor and Publisher of Himalayas magazine, an annual publication that promotes Nepali tourism in the UK and Europe. Giri spoke to Britant Khanal of The Corporate Weekly about the performance of his businesses in the UK.<strong> Excerpts:</strong></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What is the concept behind launching a magazine like Himalayas in the UK? Who are its readers and what has been the response thus far? </strong></div>
<div>
This magazine was not the reason why I went to UK. Initially, I wanted to study Information Technology. I was studying at a university where there were no students from our side of the world which made me feel very alien. One day a professor told me that he had been to my country. But when he described what he saw, I realized he was talking about Darjeeling, not Nepal. That was when I quit IT and shifted to Tourism Studies and planned to do something that would make the world recognize my country. So, this magazine was an outcome of my ego and pride. It has been doing a decent job in making our country known in London and many parts of Europe. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What has your role been so far in promoting Nepali Tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
When I started studying tourism, Nepal was celebrating the Visit Nepal Year 1998. Since the country was celebrating a national festival, I thought of doing something along the same lines, and then contacted the Nepali embassy in the UK. With their help, I held a small cultural programme at my college in front of almost 1,300 students explaining what Nepal is and what it looks like. The programme was very much appreciated. Since then, I have been doing the same job trying to tell people how beautiful my country is and taking pride in it. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What are some tangible hindrances seen in promoting Nepali tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
What our politicians have to understand is that declaring a tourism year will not bring tourists. They will have to work on tourism policies to attract tourists instead of showering flowers from helicopters on the day of declaration and spending millions on inaugurals. They will have to explain to tourists what Nepal looks like and what our culture is. They could have come with cultural programmes in famous places of different cities like the Trafalgar Square, London or may be some place in New York, too. Another basic obstruction is transportation - the Government of Nepal has not been able to provide sufficient number of flights of the Nepali airlines to and from tourist originating areas.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You are also associated with the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda Tunnel Road. Could you tell us a little about that?</strong></div>
<div>
We have been working on the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda tunnel road and it is one of the first private sector initiatives in structural design and work. This project seems very promising for transportation. It will assist in the smooth functioning of business and economy. This project also hopes to bring a lot of investments from Samsara UK and a lot from non-resident Nepalis living in UK. There are reasons why these kinds of project are not pacing up in our country. For one, we are still using the traditional way of construction. We still see workers using hammers on the road whereas technology around the globe has taken a leap ahead. Therefore, we are working hand-in-hand with other domestic companies to bring required changes in infrastructure to speed up the pace of work.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You own a company called ‘Samsara Nepal’ in the UK. What is the function of this company and what are your future plans for Nepal?</strong></div>
<div>
Samsara Nepal is basically a company for remittance. This company too was an outcome of an incident. I was working in some other company back then in the UK and had sent some money back home which unfortunately went to Mumbai because the company I sent the money through thought Kathmandu was in India, and had written KTM India in the address. The money went to an Indian branch which was in Mumbai. Later, I filed a complaint and resent the money.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Sixteen years back, when I first went to the UK, there were no proper and reliable remittance companies to send money through. There was an informal money sending mechanism popularly known as the Hundi system of which the government has no record of. Therefore, we came up with an idea of setting up a company which would provide a safe way to send money back home. We have now been working with Sunrise Bank, Himalayan Bank and Standard Chartered Bank in sending hard earned remittances back home. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Besides sending money from London to Nepal, this company also wants to promote our national economy. Samasara Nepal wants to suggest the government to impose a certain level of taxes on the remittance which immigrants could use after returning back to the country. This would benefit the individual and the nation overall, because while an amount approximately equal to 27 per cent of Nepal’s GDP comes in as remittance, it has not been invested in a productive sector as far as I know. The government should focus on capitalizing on remittance by investing it in productive sectors.</div>',
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<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><img alt="Raja Ram Giri," src="/userfiles/images/iv.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 200px; height: 221px;" />Raja Ram Giri</strong>, an NRN based in London, is Director of Samsara Nepal Financial Services Ltd, the first money transfer company in the UK to be owned by a Nepali. He is also the Managing Editor and Publisher of Himalayas magazine, an annual publication that promotes Nepali tourism in the UK and Europe. Giri spoke to Britant Khanal of The Corporate Weekly about the performance of his businesses in the UK.<strong> Excerpts:</strong></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What is the concept behind launching a magazine like Himalayas in the UK? Who are its readers and what has been the response thus far? </strong></div>
<div>
This magazine was not the reason why I went to UK. Initially, I wanted to study Information Technology. I was studying at a university where there were no students from our side of the world which made me feel very alien. One day a professor told me that he had been to my country. But when he described what he saw, I realized he was talking about Darjeeling, not Nepal. That was when I quit IT and shifted to Tourism Studies and planned to do something that would make the world recognize my country. So, this magazine was an outcome of my ego and pride. It has been doing a decent job in making our country known in London and many parts of Europe. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What has your role been so far in promoting Nepali Tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
When I started studying tourism, Nepal was celebrating the Visit Nepal Year 1998. Since the country was celebrating a national festival, I thought of doing something along the same lines, and then contacted the Nepali embassy in the UK. With their help, I held a small cultural programme at my college in front of almost 1,300 students explaining what Nepal is and what it looks like. The programme was very much appreciated. Since then, I have been doing the same job trying to tell people how beautiful my country is and taking pride in it. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What are some tangible hindrances seen in promoting Nepali tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
What our politicians have to understand is that declaring a tourism year will not bring tourists. They will have to work on tourism policies to attract tourists instead of showering flowers from helicopters on the day of declaration and spending millions on inaugurals. They will have to explain to tourists what Nepal looks like and what our culture is. They could have come with cultural programmes in famous places of different cities like the Trafalgar Square, London or may be some place in New York, too. Another basic obstruction is transportation - the Government of Nepal has not been able to provide sufficient number of flights of the Nepali airlines to and from tourist originating areas.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You are also associated with the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda Tunnel Road. Could you tell us a little about that?</strong></div>
<div>
We have been working on the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda tunnel road and it is one of the first private sector initiatives in structural design and work. This project seems very promising for transportation. It will assist in the smooth functioning of business and economy. This project also hopes to bring a lot of investments from Samsara UK and a lot from non-resident Nepalis living in UK. There are reasons why these kinds of project are not pacing up in our country. For one, we are still using the traditional way of construction. We still see workers using hammers on the road whereas technology around the globe has taken a leap ahead. Therefore, we are working hand-in-hand with other domestic companies to bring required changes in infrastructure to speed up the pace of work.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You own a company called ‘Samsara Nepal’ in the UK. What is the function of this company and what are your future plans for Nepal?</strong></div>
<div>
Samsara Nepal is basically a company for remittance. This company too was an outcome of an incident. I was working in some other company back then in the UK and had sent some money back home which unfortunately went to Mumbai because the company I sent the money through thought Kathmandu was in India, and had written KTM India in the address. The money went to an Indian branch which was in Mumbai. Later, I filed a complaint and resent the money.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Sixteen years back, when I first went to the UK, there were no proper and reliable remittance companies to send money through. There was an informal money sending mechanism popularly known as the Hundi system of which the government has no record of. Therefore, we came up with an idea of setting up a company which would provide a safe way to send money back home. We have now been working with Sunrise Bank, Himalayan Bank and Standard Chartered Bank in sending hard earned remittances back home. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Besides sending money from London to Nepal, this company also wants to promote our national economy. Samasara Nepal wants to suggest the government to impose a certain level of taxes on the remittance which immigrants could use after returning back to the country. This would benefit the individual and the nation overall, because while an amount approximately equal to 27 per cent of Nepal’s GDP comes in as remittance, it has not been invested in a productive sector as far as I know. The government should focus on capitalizing on remittance by investing it in productive sectors.</div>',
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<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><img alt="Raja Ram Giri," src="/userfiles/images/iv.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 200px; height: 221px;" />Raja Ram Giri</strong>, an NRN based in London, is Director of Samsara Nepal Financial Services Ltd, the first money transfer company in the UK to be owned by a Nepali. He is also the Managing Editor and Publisher of Himalayas magazine, an annual publication that promotes Nepali tourism in the UK and Europe. Giri spoke to Britant Khanal of The Corporate Weekly about the performance of his businesses in the UK.<strong> Excerpts:</strong></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What is the concept behind launching a magazine like Himalayas in the UK? Who are its readers and what has been the response thus far? </strong></div>
<div>
This magazine was not the reason why I went to UK. Initially, I wanted to study Information Technology. I was studying at a university where there were no students from our side of the world which made me feel very alien. One day a professor told me that he had been to my country. But when he described what he saw, I realized he was talking about Darjeeling, not Nepal. That was when I quit IT and shifted to Tourism Studies and planned to do something that would make the world recognize my country. So, this magazine was an outcome of my ego and pride. It has been doing a decent job in making our country known in London and many parts of Europe. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What has your role been so far in promoting Nepali Tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
When I started studying tourism, Nepal was celebrating the Visit Nepal Year 1998. Since the country was celebrating a national festival, I thought of doing something along the same lines, and then contacted the Nepali embassy in the UK. With their help, I held a small cultural programme at my college in front of almost 1,300 students explaining what Nepal is and what it looks like. The programme was very much appreciated. Since then, I have been doing the same job trying to tell people how beautiful my country is and taking pride in it. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What are some tangible hindrances seen in promoting Nepali tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
What our politicians have to understand is that declaring a tourism year will not bring tourists. They will have to work on tourism policies to attract tourists instead of showering flowers from helicopters on the day of declaration and spending millions on inaugurals. They will have to explain to tourists what Nepal looks like and what our culture is. They could have come with cultural programmes in famous places of different cities like the Trafalgar Square, London or may be some place in New York, too. Another basic obstruction is transportation - the Government of Nepal has not been able to provide sufficient number of flights of the Nepali airlines to and from tourist originating areas.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You are also associated with the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda Tunnel Road. Could you tell us a little about that?</strong></div>
<div>
We have been working on the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda tunnel road and it is one of the first private sector initiatives in structural design and work. This project seems very promising for transportation. It will assist in the smooth functioning of business and economy. This project also hopes to bring a lot of investments from Samsara UK and a lot from non-resident Nepalis living in UK. There are reasons why these kinds of project are not pacing up in our country. For one, we are still using the traditional way of construction. We still see workers using hammers on the road whereas technology around the globe has taken a leap ahead. Therefore, we are working hand-in-hand with other domestic companies to bring required changes in infrastructure to speed up the pace of work.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You own a company called ‘Samsara Nepal’ in the UK. What is the function of this company and what are your future plans for Nepal?</strong></div>
<div>
Samsara Nepal is basically a company for remittance. This company too was an outcome of an incident. I was working in some other company back then in the UK and had sent some money back home which unfortunately went to Mumbai because the company I sent the money through thought Kathmandu was in India, and had written KTM India in the address. The money went to an Indian branch which was in Mumbai. Later, I filed a complaint and resent the money.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Sixteen years back, when I first went to the UK, there were no proper and reliable remittance companies to send money through. There was an informal money sending mechanism popularly known as the Hundi system of which the government has no record of. Therefore, we came up with an idea of setting up a company which would provide a safe way to send money back home. We have now been working with Sunrise Bank, Himalayan Bank and Standard Chartered Bank in sending hard earned remittances back home. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Besides sending money from London to Nepal, this company also wants to promote our national economy. Samasara Nepal wants to suggest the government to impose a certain level of taxes on the remittance which immigrants could use after returning back to the country. This would benefit the individual and the nation overall, because while an amount approximately equal to 27 per cent of Nepal’s GDP comes in as remittance, it has not been invested in a productive sector as far as I know. The government should focus on capitalizing on remittance by investing it in productive sectors.</div>',
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<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><img alt="Raja Ram Giri," src="/userfiles/images/iv.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 200px; height: 221px;" />Raja Ram Giri</strong>, an NRN based in London, is Director of Samsara Nepal Financial Services Ltd, the first money transfer company in the UK to be owned by a Nepali. He is also the Managing Editor and Publisher of Himalayas magazine, an annual publication that promotes Nepali tourism in the UK and Europe. Giri spoke to Britant Khanal of The Corporate Weekly about the performance of his businesses in the UK.<strong> Excerpts:</strong></span></div>
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<strong>What is the concept behind launching a magazine like Himalayas in the UK? Who are its readers and what has been the response thus far? </strong></div>
<div>
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<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What has your role been so far in promoting Nepali Tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
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<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What are some tangible hindrances seen in promoting Nepali tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
What our politicians have to understand is that declaring a tourism year will not bring tourists. They will have to work on tourism policies to attract tourists instead of showering flowers from helicopters on the day of declaration and spending millions on inaugurals. They will have to explain to tourists what Nepal looks like and what our culture is. They could have come with cultural programmes in famous places of different cities like the Trafalgar Square, London or may be some place in New York, too. Another basic obstruction is transportation - the Government of Nepal has not been able to provide sufficient number of flights of the Nepali airlines to and from tourist originating areas.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You are also associated with the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda Tunnel Road. Could you tell us a little about that?</strong></div>
<div>
We have been working on the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda tunnel road and it is one of the first private sector initiatives in structural design and work. This project seems very promising for transportation. It will assist in the smooth functioning of business and economy. This project also hopes to bring a lot of investments from Samsara UK and a lot from non-resident Nepalis living in UK. There are reasons why these kinds of project are not pacing up in our country. For one, we are still using the traditional way of construction. We still see workers using hammers on the road whereas technology around the globe has taken a leap ahead. Therefore, we are working hand-in-hand with other domestic companies to bring required changes in infrastructure to speed up the pace of work.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You own a company called ‘Samsara Nepal’ in the UK. What is the function of this company and what are your future plans for Nepal?</strong></div>
<div>
Samsara Nepal is basically a company for remittance. This company too was an outcome of an incident. I was working in some other company back then in the UK and had sent some money back home which unfortunately went to Mumbai because the company I sent the money through thought Kathmandu was in India, and had written KTM India in the address. The money went to an Indian branch which was in Mumbai. Later, I filed a complaint and resent the money.</div>
<div>
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<div>
</div>
<div>
Besides sending money from London to Nepal, this company also wants to promote our national economy. Samasara Nepal wants to suggest the government to impose a certain level of taxes on the remittance which immigrants could use after returning back to the country. This would benefit the individual and the nation overall, because while an amount approximately equal to 27 per cent of Nepal’s GDP comes in as remittance, it has not been invested in a productive sector as far as I know. The government should focus on capitalizing on remittance by investing it in productive sectors.</div>',
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<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><img alt="Raja Ram Giri," src="/userfiles/images/iv.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 200px; height: 221px;" />Raja Ram Giri</strong>, an NRN based in London, is Director of Samsara Nepal Financial Services Ltd, the first money transfer company in the UK to be owned by a Nepali. He is also the Managing Editor and Publisher of Himalayas magazine, an annual publication that promotes Nepali tourism in the UK and Europe. Giri spoke to Britant Khanal of The Corporate Weekly about the performance of his businesses in the UK.<strong> Excerpts:</strong></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What is the concept behind launching a magazine like Himalayas in the UK? Who are its readers and what has been the response thus far? </strong></div>
<div>
This magazine was not the reason why I went to UK. Initially, I wanted to study Information Technology. I was studying at a university where there were no students from our side of the world which made me feel very alien. One day a professor told me that he had been to my country. But when he described what he saw, I realized he was talking about Darjeeling, not Nepal. That was when I quit IT and shifted to Tourism Studies and planned to do something that would make the world recognize my country. So, this magazine was an outcome of my ego and pride. It has been doing a decent job in making our country known in London and many parts of Europe. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What has your role been so far in promoting Nepali Tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
When I started studying tourism, Nepal was celebrating the Visit Nepal Year 1998. Since the country was celebrating a national festival, I thought of doing something along the same lines, and then contacted the Nepali embassy in the UK. With their help, I held a small cultural programme at my college in front of almost 1,300 students explaining what Nepal is and what it looks like. The programme was very much appreciated. Since then, I have been doing the same job trying to tell people how beautiful my country is and taking pride in it. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What are some tangible hindrances seen in promoting Nepali tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
What our politicians have to understand is that declaring a tourism year will not bring tourists. They will have to work on tourism policies to attract tourists instead of showering flowers from helicopters on the day of declaration and spending millions on inaugurals. They will have to explain to tourists what Nepal looks like and what our culture is. They could have come with cultural programmes in famous places of different cities like the Trafalgar Square, London or may be some place in New York, too. Another basic obstruction is transportation - the Government of Nepal has not been able to provide sufficient number of flights of the Nepali airlines to and from tourist originating areas.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You are also associated with the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda Tunnel Road. Could you tell us a little about that?</strong></div>
<div>
We have been working on the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda tunnel road and it is one of the first private sector initiatives in structural design and work. This project seems very promising for transportation. It will assist in the smooth functioning of business and economy. This project also hopes to bring a lot of investments from Samsara UK and a lot from non-resident Nepalis living in UK. There are reasons why these kinds of project are not pacing up in our country. For one, we are still using the traditional way of construction. We still see workers using hammers on the road whereas technology around the globe has taken a leap ahead. Therefore, we are working hand-in-hand with other domestic companies to bring required changes in infrastructure to speed up the pace of work.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You own a company called ‘Samsara Nepal’ in the UK. What is the function of this company and what are your future plans for Nepal?</strong></div>
<div>
Samsara Nepal is basically a company for remittance. This company too was an outcome of an incident. I was working in some other company back then in the UK and had sent some money back home which unfortunately went to Mumbai because the company I sent the money through thought Kathmandu was in India, and had written KTM India in the address. The money went to an Indian branch which was in Mumbai. Later, I filed a complaint and resent the money.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Sixteen years back, when I first went to the UK, there were no proper and reliable remittance companies to send money through. There was an informal money sending mechanism popularly known as the Hundi system of which the government has no record of. Therefore, we came up with an idea of setting up a company which would provide a safe way to send money back home. We have now been working with Sunrise Bank, Himalayan Bank and Standard Chartered Bank in sending hard earned remittances back home. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Besides sending money from London to Nepal, this company also wants to promote our national economy. Samasara Nepal wants to suggest the government to impose a certain level of taxes on the remittance which immigrants could use after returning back to the country. This would benefit the individual and the nation overall, because while an amount approximately equal to 27 per cent of Nepal’s GDP comes in as remittance, it has not been invested in a productive sector as far as I know. The government should focus on capitalizing on remittance by investing it in productive sectors.</div>',
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<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><img alt="Raja Ram Giri," src="/userfiles/images/iv.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 200px; height: 221px;" />Raja Ram Giri</strong>, an NRN based in London, is Director of Samsara Nepal Financial Services Ltd, the first money transfer company in the UK to be owned by a Nepali. He is also the Managing Editor and Publisher of Himalayas magazine, an annual publication that promotes Nepali tourism in the UK and Europe. Giri spoke to Britant Khanal of The Corporate Weekly about the performance of his businesses in the UK.<strong> Excerpts:</strong></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What is the concept behind launching a magazine like Himalayas in the UK? Who are its readers and what has been the response thus far? </strong></div>
<div>
This magazine was not the reason why I went to UK. Initially, I wanted to study Information Technology. I was studying at a university where there were no students from our side of the world which made me feel very alien. One day a professor told me that he had been to my country. But when he described what he saw, I realized he was talking about Darjeeling, not Nepal. That was when I quit IT and shifted to Tourism Studies and planned to do something that would make the world recognize my country. So, this magazine was an outcome of my ego and pride. It has been doing a decent job in making our country known in London and many parts of Europe. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What has your role been so far in promoting Nepali Tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
When I started studying tourism, Nepal was celebrating the Visit Nepal Year 1998. Since the country was celebrating a national festival, I thought of doing something along the same lines, and then contacted the Nepali embassy in the UK. With their help, I held a small cultural programme at my college in front of almost 1,300 students explaining what Nepal is and what it looks like. The programme was very much appreciated. Since then, I have been doing the same job trying to tell people how beautiful my country is and taking pride in it. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What are some tangible hindrances seen in promoting Nepali tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
What our politicians have to understand is that declaring a tourism year will not bring tourists. They will have to work on tourism policies to attract tourists instead of showering flowers from helicopters on the day of declaration and spending millions on inaugurals. They will have to explain to tourists what Nepal looks like and what our culture is. They could have come with cultural programmes in famous places of different cities like the Trafalgar Square, London or may be some place in New York, too. Another basic obstruction is transportation - the Government of Nepal has not been able to provide sufficient number of flights of the Nepali airlines to and from tourist originating areas.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You are also associated with the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda Tunnel Road. Could you tell us a little about that?</strong></div>
<div>
We have been working on the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda tunnel road and it is one of the first private sector initiatives in structural design and work. This project seems very promising for transportation. It will assist in the smooth functioning of business and economy. This project also hopes to bring a lot of investments from Samsara UK and a lot from non-resident Nepalis living in UK. There are reasons why these kinds of project are not pacing up in our country. For one, we are still using the traditional way of construction. We still see workers using hammers on the road whereas technology around the globe has taken a leap ahead. Therefore, we are working hand-in-hand with other domestic companies to bring required changes in infrastructure to speed up the pace of work.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You own a company called ‘Samsara Nepal’ in the UK. What is the function of this company and what are your future plans for Nepal?</strong></div>
<div>
Samsara Nepal is basically a company for remittance. This company too was an outcome of an incident. I was working in some other company back then in the UK and had sent some money back home which unfortunately went to Mumbai because the company I sent the money through thought Kathmandu was in India, and had written KTM India in the address. The money went to an Indian branch which was in Mumbai. Later, I filed a complaint and resent the money.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Sixteen years back, when I first went to the UK, there were no proper and reliable remittance companies to send money through. There was an informal money sending mechanism popularly known as the Hundi system of which the government has no record of. Therefore, we came up with an idea of setting up a company which would provide a safe way to send money back home. We have now been working with Sunrise Bank, Himalayan Bank and Standard Chartered Bank in sending hard earned remittances back home. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Besides sending money from London to Nepal, this company also wants to promote our national economy. Samasara Nepal wants to suggest the government to impose a certain level of taxes on the remittance which immigrants could use after returning back to the country. This would benefit the individual and the nation overall, because while an amount approximately equal to 27 per cent of Nepal’s GDP comes in as remittance, it has not been invested in a productive sector as far as I know. The government should focus on capitalizing on remittance by investing it in productive sectors.</div>',
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<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><img alt="Raja Ram Giri," src="/userfiles/images/iv.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 200px; height: 221px;" />Raja Ram Giri</strong>, an NRN based in London, is Director of Samsara Nepal Financial Services Ltd, the first money transfer company in the UK to be owned by a Nepali. He is also the Managing Editor and Publisher of Himalayas magazine, an annual publication that promotes Nepali tourism in the UK and Europe. Giri spoke to Britant Khanal of The Corporate Weekly about the performance of his businesses in the UK.<strong> Excerpts:</strong></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What is the concept behind launching a magazine like Himalayas in the UK? Who are its readers and what has been the response thus far? </strong></div>
<div>
This magazine was not the reason why I went to UK. Initially, I wanted to study Information Technology. I was studying at a university where there were no students from our side of the world which made me feel very alien. One day a professor told me that he had been to my country. But when he described what he saw, I realized he was talking about Darjeeling, not Nepal. That was when I quit IT and shifted to Tourism Studies and planned to do something that would make the world recognize my country. So, this magazine was an outcome of my ego and pride. It has been doing a decent job in making our country known in London and many parts of Europe. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What has your role been so far in promoting Nepali Tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
When I started studying tourism, Nepal was celebrating the Visit Nepal Year 1998. Since the country was celebrating a national festival, I thought of doing something along the same lines, and then contacted the Nepali embassy in the UK. With their help, I held a small cultural programme at my college in front of almost 1,300 students explaining what Nepal is and what it looks like. The programme was very much appreciated. Since then, I have been doing the same job trying to tell people how beautiful my country is and taking pride in it. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>What are some tangible hindrances seen in promoting Nepali tourism to the rest of the world?</strong></div>
<div>
What our politicians have to understand is that declaring a tourism year will not bring tourists. They will have to work on tourism policies to attract tourists instead of showering flowers from helicopters on the day of declaration and spending millions on inaugurals. They will have to explain to tourists what Nepal looks like and what our culture is. They could have come with cultural programmes in famous places of different cities like the Trafalgar Square, London or may be some place in New York, too. Another basic obstruction is transportation - the Government of Nepal has not been able to provide sufficient number of flights of the Nepali airlines to and from tourist originating areas.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>You are also associated with the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda Tunnel Road. Could you tell us a little about that?</strong></div>
<div>
We have been working on the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda tunnel road and it is one of the first private sector initiatives in structural design and work. This project seems very promising for transportation. It will assist in the smooth functioning of business and economy. This project also hopes to bring a lot of investments from Samsara UK and a lot from non-resident Nepalis living in UK. There are reasons why these kinds of project are not pacing up in our country. For one, we are still using the traditional way of construction. We still see workers using hammers on the road whereas technology around the globe has taken a leap ahead. Therefore, we are working hand-in-hand with other domestic companies to bring required changes in infrastructure to speed up the pace of work.</div>
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</div>
<div>
<strong>You own a company called ‘Samsara Nepal’ in the UK. What is the function of this company and what are your future plans for Nepal?</strong></div>
<div>
Samsara Nepal is basically a company for remittance. This company too was an outcome of an incident. I was working in some other company back then in the UK and had sent some money back home which unfortunately went to Mumbai because the company I sent the money through thought Kathmandu was in India, and had written KTM India in the address. The money went to an Indian branch which was in Mumbai. Later, I filed a complaint and resent the money.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Sixteen years back, when I first went to the UK, there were no proper and reliable remittance companies to send money through. There was an informal money sending mechanism popularly known as the Hundi system of which the government has no record of. Therefore, we came up with an idea of setting up a company which would provide a safe way to send money back home. We have now been working with Sunrise Bank, Himalayan Bank and Standard Chartered Bank in sending hard earned remittances back home. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Besides sending money from London to Nepal, this company also wants to promote our national economy. Samasara Nepal wants to suggest the government to impose a certain level of taxes on the remittance which immigrants could use after returning back to the country. This would benefit the individual and the nation overall, because while an amount approximately equal to 27 per cent of Nepal’s GDP comes in as remittance, it has not been invested in a productive sector as far as I know. The government should focus on capitalizing on remittance by investing it in productive sectors.</div>',
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Raja Ram Giri, an NRN based in London, is Director of Samsara Nepal Financial Services Ltd, the first money transfer company in the UK to be owned by a Nepali. He is also the Managing Editor and Publisher of Himalayas magazine, an annual publication that promotes Nepali tourism in the UK and Europe. Giri spoke to Britant Khanal of The Corporate Weekly about the performance of his businesses in the UK. Excerpts:
