KATHMANDU: The Tourist Guide Association of Nepal (TURGAN) has elected a new executive committee at its 33rd Annual General Assembly, held at Nepal Pragya Pratisthan on July 11.

Prabha Laxmi Pradhananga was elected President of the association, with Tanka Prasad Duwadi as Senior Vice President and Rajendra Raj Bajracharya as First Vice President. Raghunath Pradhan was elected Second Vice President, Subin Sitikhu as General Secretary, Rabin Bhainatwa as Secretary, and Chan Keshari Koju as Treasurer. Eight executive members were also elected: Rameshwar Sinkhada, Krishiraj Upadhyaya (Krishna), Laxmi Giri, Sujana Subedi, Hari Krishna Silwal, Suman Maharjan, and Ravi Das Dong. The new committee will serve a three-year term.

Founded in 1989 and registered with the Government of Nepal, TURGAN is one of 15 national-level tourism organisations formally recognised to advise the government and local bodies on tourism policy. It represents licensed tourist guides — professionals trained at the Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management (NATHM, formerly HMTTC) and holding valid guiding licences issued by the Department of Tourism. Members are graduate-degree holders and collectively cover nearly all major international languages, making the association a key multilingual human resource in Nepal's inbound tourism sector.

Under Nepal's tourism regulations, only individuals holding a valid government-issued guiding licence are authorised to guide tourists; those without the requisite qualification and licence are barred from doing so under penalty of law.

TURGAN's mandate spans professional advocacy, skills development, bilateral engagement with international tourism bodies, and advisory inputs to government on tourism promotion — placing it at the intersection of Nepal's frontline tourism workforce and national policy.