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Tourist arrivals up by 16 4pc
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| KOL Report KATHMANDU, Sept 4 - On the back of whopping rise in the number of Indian tourists, the Nepali tourism industry recorded a steady growth of 16.4 percent in the overall tourist arrivals in August. According to a data released by the Ministry of Culture, Civil Aviation and Tourism, the number of tourists visiting the country totaled 25,974 during that period, as compared to 22,311 tourists same month last year. Thanks to increasingly fierce price war among the airlines on the Kathmandu-New Delhi route, and the cutthroat competition among hoteliers to slash room rates, the number of Indian tourists grew by a hefty 79.6 percent. Some 10,703 Indian tourists came in August, up from 5,960 tourist the same month last year. "With steep reduction in air fares and hotel room rates, Nepal has become a 'cheap' destination for Indians. So, their number has been climbing up," said a tourism entrepreneur. However, the number of tourists from third countries shrank by 6.6 percent, with the number decreasing to 15,271, down from 16,351. "It is good to see a considerable rise in the tourist arrivals at a time when the peak season is around the corner," said the entrepreneur. "But, still, a lot needs to be done to lure tourists from third countries as their inflow has continued to decline." However, officials at Nepal Tourism Board attributed the rise to their marketing campaigns in India. Country-wise tourist arrivals data shows that the number of Bangladeshi tourists soared by 186.4 percent to touch 819, up from 286. Likewise, tourist arrivals from Sri Lanka and Singapore increased by 31.3 percent and 22.7 percent respectively to 88 and 99. The industry also posted a considerable growth in the number of Chinese tourists with 620 visiting the country. However, the inflow of tourists from major tourism markets has gone down. The number of US tourists decreased to 976, down from 1,014. The number of French, German, Japanese and Italian tourists fell by 7.6 percent, 2.7 percent, 21.3 percent and 30.2 percent respectively. Meanwhile, the total number of tourists coming into the country recorded a decline of 17.2 percent in the first eight months of this year. A total of 157,184 tourists came into the country during that period, as compared to 189,724 tourists during the corresponding period last year. |
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