PATA Nepal mourns the loss of its Founder Member and Treasurer, Jyoti Lal Khanna, who passed away in New Delhi on August 9, 2022.
A well-known pioneer and great contributor to Nepal's Tourism and Hospitality industry, Jyoti Lal Khanna, was born on May 10, 1939, in Lahore, then part of undivided India. After his graduation at 21 years of age, the young, energetic and passionate Khanna came to Kathmandu, Nepal, in 1960 and started his professional career as a Manager of Hotel Coronation at Dilli Bazar.
Khanna joined Yeti Travels in late 1968 as Director of Sales and became Managing Director in 1972. His vast experience in tourism, excellent personal contacts, and untiring efforts and inputs brought the company to the level of being the largest and one of the best tour and travel organisations in South Asia. The contribution of Yeti Travels to promoting Nepal as a tourist destination is unmatched and praiseworthy with its glorious history.
In 1975, Khanna embarked upon a journey with specific responsibilities to form PATA Nepal Chapter with the late Prabhakar SJB Rana, D.B. Rana, I.K. Pradhan, Gopal Subedi and Edward McCarthy.
Khanna served PATA Nepal Chapter from its inception as the Honorary Treasurer of the association in September 1975. He had always been on the PATA Executive Committee, serving the association for nearly three decades till 2005.
Khanna, as the head of the Finance Committee, initiated the concept of "50 Paisa Contribution" per head for each tourist handled in Nepal to raise the general fund of the association wherein members and tourism-related organisations, corporations, hotels, etc., were encouraged to contribute in the mission of intensifying the promotional and marketing efforts of Nepal as a destination at large for which PATA Nepal Chapter was and is well acclaimed and responsible.
Khanna was one of the pioneer tourism activists in Nepal who worked on different layers of services in travel and tourism associations, including the World Association of Travel Agents (WATA), American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO) as President from 2001 till 2004, and Patron of Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA) in Nepal.
Khanna has also received multiple prestigious awards and recognitions, including the Pioneer of the Pacific Award by PATA in 1976, Prabal Gorkha Dakshin Bahu (Fourth), conferred by His late Majesty King Birendra of Nepal in 1997, Sagarmatha Award by NATTA and Tourism Promotion Award by Travel Media Forum of New Delhi (India) in 1997.
The Nepali tourism industry is indebted to Khanna for his invaluable contribution, lifelong dedication, untiring efforts and notable roles for over 45 Years to the promotion and development of the tourism sector in Nepal.
