Tourist arrivals decline

Tourist arrivals in June observed a fall of 4.6 per cent.According to figures released by the Immigration Office at Tribhuwan International Airport, tourist arrivals dropped to 41,259.

In aggregate, the South Asian segment registered a negative growth of 12.5 per cent. India, which is a major market of Nepal, recorded negative growth of 15.3 per cent. In addition, arrivals from Pakistan decreased by 28.8 per cent. However, arrivals from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka increased by 53.8 per cent and 62.9 per cent, respectively.

Arrivals from Asia other than South Asia recorded a growth of 20.8 per cent in aggregate. Visitor arrivals from China grew by 25.7 per cent compared to the same month last year. Similarly, arrivals from Malaysia and Singapore increased by 195.1 per cent and 3.5 per cent, respectively.

Japan, South Korea and Thailand saw declines of 10.5 per cent, 23.4 per cent and 18.8 per cent, respectively.

An overall growth of 1.4 per cent was observed from the European markets with arrivals from markets such as the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain up by 2.6 per cent, 14.7 per cent, 24.5 per cent, 6.1 per cent and 15.9 per cent, respectively.

However, arrivals from France and Russia declined by 2.3 per cent and 10.6 per cent, respectively.

source: the himalayan times,5 July 2013