On June 17th, 2025, 11 00 AM -1200 PM, EMBARK College conducted a very exuberant and valid event as a part of the very effective series of events called, Entrepreneurship Week which was covered by the very influential series known as Better You Series. This workshop, which was a part of the schedule of Global Convention 2018 named as Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Tourism: Learn How Values-Driven Business Can Shape the Future of Travel and Local Economies, was organized by Raj Gyawali of socialtours Nepal. The audience of students attended with interest and enthusiasm and could not wait to be educated on how to make tourism better to people, planet, and future.

Raj Gyawali began the session by posing a huge question, which was, what would happen when business can become beneficial rather than damaging to the world? People are not actually seeing it as tourism but as some fun or sight-seeing. When it is practiced correctly it can benefit the local population, conserve the environment and exchange cultures in a non degrading manner. He told the audience how his business, socialtours, concentrates on employing local guides, about making use of locally produced food, not violating local culture and ensuring that ownership is maintained by the local people. According to him, Nepal is beautiful and we need to ensure that the people of Nepal gain out of this beauty.

One of the crucial things Raj talked about was how to spot fake promises in business.He gave us the concepts of greenwashing and greenhushing. Greenwashing refers to the situation where companies claim to be environmentally-friendly but they do nothing to actually be eco-friendly. Greenhushing is where firms do what is right but remain silent about it so as they will not be bothered. According to him, both of them are issues and what is required is transparency or plain speaking, to encourage others to do the same.
To facilitate that, Raj came up with a device referred to as STOMP, which is an abbreviation of Sustainable Tourism Operations Management Platform. It is like a to-do list that enables tourism companies to demonstrate that they are good as they claim to be to the planet, to people and to the place they operate in.
Another fascinating thing that he provided was the RESONATE, a storytelling platform. It assists tourism firms to give genuine accounts; that of peoples, cultures, food and traditions, in a manner that is true and honorable. Tourism is not all about making pictures and departing. It must be about meeting, learning, and sharing, Raj opined.
He even discussed the hashtag of Nepal which comes out to be #NEPALNOW, and which was made to demonstrate to the world that Nepal is open, accessible, and favorable to visitors who will be concerned about a difference-making travelling to the nation.
Raj narrated numerous tales during the session- such as, how a small village evolved into a homestay destination, where the tourists are living with families, eating traditional food items and contributing towards the community maintenance. He said that by selecting local experiences, the tourists spare the jobs and culture.
The learners put forward brilliant inquiries, such as, how do I know when a company is actually sustainable and how do we balance business and doing the right thing. Raj ordered them never to stop asking questions, reasoning them through, and being sensitive to the effect of what they were doing. True entrepreneurship is all about values, he said to everyone.
The small and comfortable organization at EMBARK College aided in making an open discussion. All, including interested students or young leaders, were in full activities.
This session under “The Better You Series” was more than just a talk; it was a lesson on how to build businesses that help people, protect places, and tell honest stories. Raj Gyawali left everyone feeling hopeful and ready to build a better, fairer, and more sustainable future, starting right here in Nepal.