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Tourist arrivals down 16pc in January

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Tourist arrivals shrunk 15.9 percent to 35,330 in January 2013. Arrivals from major source markets — China and India — dropped 40.3 percent and 26.1 percent, respectively.

The number of tourists from Saarc countries decreased by 30.8 percent, while that from European markets dropped by 15 percent. Arrivals from rest of Asia also fell by16.4 percent in January.

Industry watchers attributed the decline in the number of Indian and Chinese visitors to two particular factors — Chinese New Year and Maha Kumbh Mela of India. They said the 2013 Maha Kumbh Mela, one of the world’s largest religious gatherings that began on Jan 14, diverted Indian tourists.

The Maha Kumbh Mela takes place every 12 years in four places - Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik in India. “As a majority of Indian visitors come to Nepal for pilgrimage, the Mela’s effect is visible,” said Hari Sarmah, chief executive officer of Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents.Similarly, the Chinese New Year starts from February 10.“Nepal has been receiving fewer tourists from the European markets due to economic recession in most of the European countries,” he said.

The decline in tourist numbers has already affected big hotels in Nepal, which have adopted tariff under-cutting measures since December, 2011.

Hoteliers also attributed the Maha Kumbh Mela for the fall in Indian tourist numbers. However, a number of hotels have reported some improvement in bookings for February.

“Although, January was disappointing, we see some improvement in corporate movement in February,” said Bharat Joshi, resident manager at Hotel Yak & Yeti. “Chinese travel is also expected to improve from mid-February.”

However, travel trade entrepreneurs have warned Nepal could possibly lose high-end visitors due to the ongoing political crisis and extended power cuts. “As travel demand in South East Asia has picked up due to a decline in airfares and destination promotion, Nepal is likely to feel its effect this year,” Joshi added.

Official statistics show arrivals from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka dropped by 62.6 percent and 42.6 percent, respectively. However, arrivals from Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea were up 16.8 percent, 10.3 percent, 4.3 percent, 42.6 percent and 11.2 percent, respectively.

In the European segment, the number of visitors from major markets such as Germany, France and the Netherlands dropped by 12.2 percent, 38.2 percent, and 29 percent, respectively. However, 6.6 percent more Britons visited Nepal in January compared to a year ago.

Tourist arrivals from Australia, New Zealand and USA were up 27.3 percent, 25 percent, and 13 percent, respectively. A negative growth of 27.4 percent was recorded from Canada. A total of 45,667 foreign tourists departed from TIA in January 2013.

MARKET SEGMENT
Region    Arrivals    Change (in%)
Asia    8,666    -30.8
Asia others    11,177    -16.4
Europe    6,720    -15.0
Oceania    1,618    27.1
Americas    3,581    3.3

MAJOR SOURCE MARKETS
Country    Arrivals    Change (in %)
India    7,548    -26.1
China    3,958    -40.3
Bangladesh    692    -62.6
Chinese Taipei    802    -29.4
France    885    -38.2
Germany    853    -12.2
Netherlands    422    -29.0
Switzerland    200    -50.2
Spain    334    -22.5
Canada    605    -27.4

(Source: NTB)

News Source: The Kathmandu Post,2 feb 2013