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Nepal's tourist arrivals increase in 2004Monday - 03rd January 2005 |
| KATHMANDU, Jan. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Tourists arriving to Nepal by airin 2004 reached a total of 288,356, up 9 percent over 2003, the Nepal Tourism Board said Monday. The growth was contributed by an increase of 13 percent from non-Indian tourists despite the marginal decline in Indian visitors by 1 percent, according to a press release issued by the semi-government bureau. Compared with the year 2003, tourist arrivals from Nepali tourist industry's traditional markets, namely the United States, Britain, France and Germany recorded increases of 5 percent, 10 percent, 20 percent and 8 percent respectively in 2004. The number of visitors from the mainland of China increased by 31 percent, and that from China's Taiwan province also grew by 26 percent in 2004. The first eight months of 2004 showed a continuous growth in visitors' arriving to Nepal. However, various strikes, blockades, and demonstrations damaged the arrival trend in the remaining months of the year, the press release said. Tourism is one of the major foreign currency earners for Nepal,which boasts of unique landscapes and cultures, and earns about 170 million US dollars for the Himalayan kingdom every year. In recent years however, the country's tourist industry suffered a downturn due to the anti-government insurgency. Enditem |
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