The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) appointed Hikmat Singh Ayer, Senior Director of the Tourism Product and Resource Development Department at the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), as Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective May 5, 2026, after the government abruptly removed his predecessor through a sweeping ordinance.
The ministry selected Ayer on the basis of seniority to ensure continuity in daily administration, policy implementation, programme coordination, and international tourism promotion. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment: Nepal recorded more than 107,000 international arrivals in April 2026 alone, while leadership uncertainty threatens the momentum generated under the board’s 2026–2035 strategic plan and the ongoing Nepal–ASEAN Tourism Year 2026.
Hikmat Singh Ayer is a 26-Year NTB Veteran Who Has Led During Crises Before
The Kathmandu Post reported that President Ramchandra Paudel issued the “Special Provision Ordinance on Removal of Public Office Bearers, 2026,” which automatically terminated all public appointments made prior to March 26, 2026 — a sweeping measure that ousted more than 1,200 officials across institutions governed by 110 different laws. Nepal News English confirmed that NTB CEO Deepak Raj Joshi, who had been reappointed for a four-year term only in September 2024, was among those removed.
Ayer is not an unfamiliar face in Nepal’s tourism establishment, nor in the acting CEO chair specifically. Nepal On The Web reported that he has worked at the Nepal Tourism Board for 26 years, spent the last 15 leading various departments, and has previously served as acting CEO during earlier leadership vacancies at the board. His permanent role as Senior Director of Tourism Product and Resource Development places him at the canter of NTB’s product strategy — the division responsible for designing new tourism offerings, upgrading trekking infrastructure, and leading community-based tourism development.
In his first public statement as acting CEO, Ayer signaled a clear thematic priority. In a different piece, Nepal On The Web quoted him as stating:
“Nepal is naturally one of the world’s most unique destinations for wellness travel — wellness is not just a service but a lifestyle deeply connected with Nepal’s culture, traditions, and natural environment.”
This framing aligns directly with the Wellness Tourism Strategy 2026–2035 formally launched by the NTB in April 2026 under the preceding CEO, which also announced Nepal Wellness Year 2027.
As a prolific contributor to The Kathmandu Post, Ayer has previously written on the strategic importance of Nepal’s Indian and Chinese markets, and on the imperative to build accurate tourism data infrastructure — positions that prefigure the board’s current strategic direction.
How the Ordinance Led to Deepak Raj Joshi’s Exit
The ordinance that removed Joshi was not targeted specifically at NTB leadership, but at political appointments across Nepal’s public sector writ large. The Kathmandu Post’s report described the “Special Ordinance on Removal of Public Office Holders, 2026 BS” as mandating automatic termination of all appointments made before March 26, irrespective of tenure, contractual terms, or sector — sweeping out vice-chancellors of universities, board members of Nepal Airlines Corporation, directors of public hospitals, and the NTB CEO in a single instrument.
Joshi, who had served his first CEO term from December 2015 to January 2020, had been reappointed after a competitive shortlisting process and had been at the helm of the board during the rollout of the Nepal–ASEAN Tourism Year 2026 declaration and the launch of the Wellness Tourism Strategy.
Travel Trade Journal confirmed that his September 2024 reappointment had followed a period during which the NTB lacked permanent leadership for over eight months — a gap that caused delays in budget planning and promotional programming. The ordinance effectively resets that governance clock.
The move drew no specific public criticism directed at the NTB appointment itself, unlike other removals — such as the Nepal Airlines Corporation board dismissals — which drew industry commentary about timing. However, aviation and tourism analysts noted the irony of removing an experienced CEO mid-strategy cycle during Nepal’s strongest tourism recovery period since the 2015 earthquake.
Photo: Ivan G. Somlai
Nepal’s Tourism Arrivals In 2026: The Numbers Ayer Now Must Sustain
The scale of the task Ayer inherits is best understood through the trajectory of inbound numbers. The Tourism Times reported that Nepal recorded 92,573 international arrivals in January 2026 — a 15 percent increase over January 2025 and 14 percent above January 2019, the pre-pandemic benchmark. Nepal On The Web confirmed that February 2026 extended the momentum with 105,441 arrivals, led by India (22,745), China (10,816), and the United States (9,710).
India, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia — precisely the markets referenced in the Travel and Tour World headline framing the NTB leadership story — constitute Nepal’s five most consequential inbound sources. Tourism Info Nepal’s January data breakdown shows:
- India at 28.8 percent of all arrivals
- China at 9.8 percent, the US at 9.1 percent
- Bangladesh at 6.3 percent
- Australia at 5.4 percent.
Travel and Tour World’s April 2026 report confirmed a total of 107,934 international arrivals that month, with South Asia (SAARC) contributing 31 percent, Europe 20 percent, and Oceania — largely Australia — contributing 5,898 visitors.
Not all months have held steady. Prokerala reported NTB data showing that March 2026 overall arrivals fell 1 percent year-on-year to 120,516, with the West Asia conflict — which disrupted transit routing through the Gulf — reducing European arrivals 18.9 percent, American arrivals 25.4 percent, and West Asian arrivals 37.1 percent.
Joshi’s last public statement as CEO acknowledged the headwind directly, saying:
“Although arrivals from Europe and the US have declined, the increase in tourists from neighboring countries, including India, is a positive sign.”
Ayer steps into a board that is mid-execution on several high-profile strategic commitments. At the NTB’s 27th founding anniversary in December 2025, Joshi formally declared 2026 as the Nepal–ASEAN Tourism Year after the country welcomed 107,000 tourists from ASEAN nations in 2025 — a figure the board now aims to significantly increase.
Travel and Tour World’s ASEAN strategy report noted that the NTB intends to market Buddhist spiritual tourism, nature-based adventure, wellness retreats, and cultural tourism to Southeast Asian travelers who have historically overlooked Nepal in favor of better-marketed Himalayan alternatives.
The Wellness Tourism Strategy 2026–2035, launched in April 2026, designates 2027 as Nepal Wellness Year — a commitment Ayer has already publicly endorsed in his first press engagement as acting CEO. Nepal Tourism Board’s own official announcement described the strategy launch as including yoga and meditation sessions, mantra chanting, and a national wellness framework aligned with International Wellness Day 2026.
Separately, Travel Daily News’ Nepal tourism outlook report identified the operationalization of Pokhara International Airport (PHH), the construction of which was mired in corruption scandal and led to the arrest of a minister and Bhairahawa International Airports, which in order to increase the flights is looking for fifth-freedom flights, as structurally important to decentralizing tourism flows beyond Kathmandu.
The NTB’s 2026–2035 strategic plan, referenced in The Annapurna Express, focuses on:
- participatory approaches
- digital-inspired professionalism
- innovative policy coordination
This framework implementation now rests, at least temporarily, on a senior director appointed on the basis of seniority rather than competitive selection.
Ayer’s Appointment Amid Previous NTB Leadership Changes
Nepal’s history of NTB CEO transitions reveals a recurring pattern of political disruption followed by interim management. Travel Trade Journal’s September 2024 report documented that following the end of Dhananjaya Regmi’s tenure until Joshi’s September 2024 reappointment. Over this gap, budget planning and promotional decisions stalled. Ayer himself served as acting CEO during at least one of those prior vacancies.
The pattern stands in contrast to peer national tourism organizations in South Asia. India’s Ministry of Tourism and Tourism Australia maintain career professional leadership structures that insulate promotional continuity from political cycles. Nepal’s model, where the Board of Directors appoints the CEO under governmental influence, makes the system structurally vulnerable to the kind of disruption that the May 2026 ordinance delivered.
For now, the MoCTCA’s circular mandates Ayer to oversee all board functions: daily administration, policy implementation, programme coordination, and international tourism promotion. A permanent CEO appointment process is expected to follow once the government’s broader institutional restructuring stabilises.