Indian tourist arrivals drop

The first two months of 2013 observed a fall in the arrival of Indian tourists.Visitor arrivals from India, which is the largest source market for the country, witnessed a decline of 26.1 per cent in the first month of 2013 and the trend continued in February with a decline of 18.2 per cent.

“Travelling to Nepal is comparatively more expensive than travelling to countries in the Middle East, therefore, Indian tourists who are looking for quality holiday packages are now more attracted to the Middle East,” said manager - Operation of Arihant Holidays Sabina Bajracharya.

According to tour and travel operators, hotels are over priced, which has made our country an expensive destination. “There is lack of proper marketing and there must also be economy packages for tourist markets of the country,” they said.

According to them, bookings and reservations from neighbouring India are quite slow as Indian tourists are getting diverted to other destinations that offer economy packages.Meanwhile, according to Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), it is all set to bring new plans and programmes to promote tourism and Nepal as a major tourist destination.

The board also said that it is planning to appoint public representatives in its major markets — China and India — to monitor them more effectively. NTB has a budget of Rs 570 million for marketing, publicity, product development and research.

It has allocated a budget of Rs 120 million for marketing, Rs 60 million for publicity, Rs 80 million for product development, Rs 20 million for research, and the remaining for other necessary programmes.

However, tourism entrepreneurs have stated that the absence of a chief executive officer at Nepal Tourism Board has disrupted the overall promotion of Nepal as a tourist destination.

source: The Himalayan Time, 6 march 2013