As part of its global luxury travel initiative, National Geographic has brought a group of 78 high-spending (high-end) tourists to Bhutan and Nepal. While Nepal generally attracts budget-conscious travellers, this group—organised by National Geographic—arrived in Nepal on Friday, marking a shift in visitor profiles.

The trip was facilitated in Nepal by Yeti Holidays Pvt. Ltd., in collaboration with National Geographic. According to Hemanta Raj Kolakshyapati, Executive Director of Yeti Holidays, the group, which includes notable individuals such as Steve Lovatt Porter, Linda James Holmes, and Renae Macris Vernick, arrived via chartered aircraft and stayed at Hotel Dwarika’s. Around 80% of the visitors had previously travelled to Nepal.

“They spent around USD 500 per person per day,” Kolakshyapati shared. He noted that around eight such high-end groups visit Nepal each year under this program, each comprising approximately 75 to 85 members.

Branded under "Around the World by Private Jet", National Geographic regularly organises global trips for high-end travellers and subject-matter experts from different fields. These journeys are premium experiences for which National Geographic charges a fixed fee.

Yeti Holidays manages these tours during Nepal’s prime season—from October to April—and coordinates with eight different groups annually. The most recent group arrived on Friday, April 4. This initiative involves collaboration with Ventours International Travel Pvt. Ltd., a Mumbai-based travel company.

A U.S.-based company, TCS World Travel, has entrusted Ventours with managing itineraries across five South Asian countries: Nepal, India, Bhutan, Tibet Autonomous Region, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Ventours' official website also lists travel packages and information for these five destinations. Kolakshyapati noted that their four-decade-long relationship with Ventours has made it possible to welcome such elite travellers via chartered flights.

According to him, the high-end tourists visiting Nepal under this program are primarily retired members and former employees of National Geographic. Many of them have visited Nepal once or twice before. However, in recent years, they have been choosing Bhutan over Tibet (China) and are now chartering Bhutanese flights via Nepal as a transit hub.

As per Yeti Holidays, the group departed for their home countries on Monday. On this world tour across 22 countries, the group typically spends only one or two days in each destination.

Their preference often leans towards developed countries, with occasional visits to locations like Vietnam, Cambodia, and Agra in India (to see the Taj Mahal).

In Nepal, Yeti Holidays arranged their hotel accommodation at Dwarika’s, along with transport, local guides, and support vehicles. According to Kolakshyapati, the visits of eight groups this year were spread across October (2), November (1), January (1), February (2), March (1), and April (1).

This news has been updated to correct that around 80% of the visitors had previously traveled to Nepal.