Tourist arrivals from Europe down by 15.6 per cent

Total tourist arrivals from the European market in the first seven months of this year decreased by 15.6 per cent. In the first seven months, a total of 66,535 European tourists visited the country while the number was 78,828 in the same period last year.

“Lack of direct air connectivity and quality products might be the reasons behind the decreasing number of tourists from the European market,” said general secretary of Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents Madhusudan Acharya.

“Europeans are high-end tourists and they have high spending capacity but we don’t have quality products to attract them,” he said. On an average, a European tourist spends 200 euros a day, but those travelling to Nepal hardly spend 100 euros a day. “We don’t need more destinations. What we need are quality products where tourists can make quality spending,” he said.

According to travel and tour operators, tourists from European countries usually visit Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan and Lumbini, and are attracted to mountain flights. They also love to go for a 10-12 day trekking. “Some quality products could be the standard of the hotels they visit, and the service and quality of vehicles they are being provided.”

According to Acharya, another main reason behind the decrease in the number of quality European tourists is lack of direct air connectivity. There is no direct air access for Europeans. “They usually arrive via airlines from the Middle East due to which they do not want to repeat the same destination each time they want to travel to Nepal which can be another reason for the drop in arrivals,” he said.

Recent statistics of the Immigration Office of Tribhuwan International Airport states that the European market is the second largest contributor to Nepali tourism. Europe contributes 23.6 per cent to the country’s total arrival figures.

In July, a total of 8326 European tourists came to Nepal, which is an increment of 6.59 per cent as compared to the same month last year.

source: the himalayan times,4 august 2013