Tourist arrivals decline by 3.9 percent

The number of foreign tourists who arrived in Nepal during the last six months ended June has decreased by 3.9 percent compared to the figures reported during the corresponding period last year.

Figures released by the Immigration Office at the Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA) show that 282,249 tourists visited the country during the review period, down from 294,019 reported during the period last year. Arrivals from SAARC countries declined by 19 percent to reach 88149 while the number of European tourists dropped by 6.3 percent to 66,535 in the period.

Tourist arrivals in the month of June dropped by 4.6 percent this year, compared to the figures recorded during the same month last year. 41,259 tourists visited the country during the review month.

Tourists from South Asian countries declined by 12.5 percent to 21,898. Arrival of tourists from India, the key tourist source country, dropped by 15.3 percent, while those from Pakistan dropped by 28.8 percent. However, arrivals from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka went up by 53.8 percent and 62.9 percent respectively.

Arrival from Asian countries other than South Asia also grew by 20.8 percent in aggregate.

Visitor arrivals during the review month from China reached 3,491, increasing by 25.7 percent compared to the figure of same month last year.

Similarly, arrivals from Malaysia and Singapore increased by 195 percent and 3.5 percent respectively.

A marginal growth of 1.4 percent was seen from the European market with arrivals from markets such as the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain going up during the period.

source: republica,4 July 2013