KATHMANDU: More than 120 tourism stakeholders gathered in Kathmandu on Monday for a workshop focused on crisis communication, coordination and recovery following the 2026 floods.

The workshop, titled “Crisis to Recovery: Communication, Coordination and Rebuilding Nepal's Tourism Corridor”, was organised by PATA Nepal Chapter in collaboration with PATA Headquarters, the PATA Foundation and e-Tourism Frontiers, with Hotel Yak & Yeti as the hospitality partner.

The event brought together representatives from hotels, tour operators, tourism organisations, airlines, destination management companies, media and content creators.

Sarah Mathews, CEO of e-Tourism Frontiers and trustee of the PATA Foundation, presented data on changes in online search behaviour, traveller sentiment and booking interest in Nepal following the floods. She stressed the need for accurate, timely and coordinated information during crises.

Participants discussed establishing a single online crisis communication toolkit containing verified information, approved wording and imagery for use by tourism operators and destinations. The proposed system would also address location accuracy, use of generated imagery and conduct at affected sites.

Mathews also presented a four-stage recovery framework, React, Resource, Rebuild and Return, developed from PATA and PATA Foundation's post-2015 earthquake work and updated for the 2026 floods.

The framework proposes parallel national and affected-corridor tracks, with the national track focused on keeping unaffected tourism areas operating and the corridor track focused on restoring livelihoods in flood-hit areas.

The workshop also discussed the Nepal Tourism Recovery Fund established by the PATA Foundation and ongoing marketing efforts to maintain Nepal's presence in international source markets.

PATA Nepal Chapter Chairman Khem Raj Lakai said the chapter was working with the Embassy of Switzerland in Nepal, Kathmandu University School of Management and public and private sector partners to develop a national-level crisis management handbook for tourism stakeholders.