May records lowest growth in arrivals: Tourist Arrival Data 2012

Political upheavals have hit tourist arrivals in May which recorded the lowest growth rate in 2012. According to the Nepal Tourism Board’s (NTB) latest statistics, arrivals increased 9.3 percent compared to the same month last year.

Travel trade entrepreneurs said the growth rate in May was lower that what they had expected. According to the NTB, arrivals from the South Asian countries were up 13.9 percent in May. India, which constitutes the major market for Nepal, recorded a robust growth of 16.1 percent to 20,138 visitors. Similarly, arrivals from China, one of the fastest growing tourist markets for Nepal, rose 10.2 percent. However, there has been a decline in arrivals from other Asian countries, mainly Thailand, South Korea and Singapore. An overall growth of 8.3 percent has been observed from the European market with arrivals from the UK, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Russia and Czech Republic remaining positive.

However, arrivals from Switzerland, Italy, Norway and Austria have declined marginally compared to the same month last year. Likewise, tourist arrivals from Australia and the US have gone up by 9 percent and 12.3 percent respectively. According to the NTB, tourist arrivals in the first five months of 2012 have increased by 20.5.

source: The Kathmandu post, 3 June 2012