TOURISTS’ ARRIVAL NUMBER SLIGHTLY RISES
The number of foreign tourists who visited Nepal last month increased by 5 per cent to 27,676, compared to the corresponding month last year, according to figures released by the Immigration Office, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Tuesday.
During the month, arrivals from China saw a whooping growth of 87 per cent. Similarly, arrivals from Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand also increased by 27 per cent, 44 per cent, 21 per cent and 9 per cent respectively.
But the number of tourists from Malaysia and China’s Taipei decreased by 13 per cent and 21per cent. However, in aggregate, the Asian segment registered a positive growth of 26 per cent.
Among the countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), arrivals from Bangladesh and Pakistan saw a growth of 23 per cent and 22 per cent respectively. But arrivals from India decreased by 10 per cent as compared to the same month last year. The number of tourists from Sri Lanka also declined by 1 per cent.
Arrivals from the European countries increased by 11 per cent. The number of tourists from France, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain and Denmark went up by 9 per cent, 34 per cent, 20 per cent, 9 per cent and 50 per cent respectively. However, arrivals from the UK decreased by 24 per cent, according to Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).
Tourist arrivals from New Zealand and Canada also recorded a growth of 22 per cent and 88 per cent respectively. Arrivals from the United States of America remained stable, while the Australian market declined by 4 per cent as compared to the same month last year.
August was the third consecutive month that Nepal has witnessed growth in international tourist arrivals.
A total of 33,685 foreign tourists departed from TIA last month, up by 20 per cent compared to the same month last year. The number of Nepalese arrivals stood at 46,852 while 51,653 Nepalese departed from TIA during the same month.
Source www.egorkhapatra.com 02 September 2009 ( By staff reporter)