Tourist arrivals grow significantly in October

Nov 2, 2007, 13:19 GMT

Kathmandu - Nepal's tourism industry continued to record significant growth for the tenth consecutive month propelled by strong arrivals from Europe and the US, tourism officials said Friday.

The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) said tourist arrivals through Nepal's only international airport in Kathmandu was 18 per cent higher in October compared to the corresponding period last year.

'A total of 43,468 tourists arrived in Nepal in October, which is 6,617 more than the same period last year,' NTB said. 'The October figures pushed the total tourist arrival in the Himalayan nation to 295,855 since January 2007.'

Figures released by NTB said October saw strong influx of visitors from Europe, the United States and Australia.

'Overall, positive growth in arrivals from Denmark, Austria, Norway, Belgium and Germany with more than 50 per cent growth clearly shows the revival of Nepalese tourism from these high-yield markets.' NTB said.

Arrivals from the US and Canada also grew by more than 40 per cent, the NTB said.

India which is the biggest market for the Nepalese tourism industry however, recorded negative growth for the second successive month with the arrival figures showing a drop of 27.4 per cent.

But Nepalese officials said they were hopeful that the arrivals would pick up with the start of more flights between Kathmandu and other Asian cities.

'The launching of services by Silk Air of Singapore and Etihad Airways of the United Arab Emirates in October has given a positive massage to the world that Nepal is a happening destination,' NTB said.

NTB said the preliminary data of arrivals only accounted for those entering the country via air and did not include those arriving overland from India and Tibet.

Nepal officials said they were expecting 500,000 people to visit the country in 2007.

The tourism industry is one of Nepal's biggest foreign exchange earners, bringing in millions of dollars to the impoverished country and providing employment to hundreds of thousands of people.

However, it suffered considerably during the Maoist insurgency, which scared off travellers planning to visit Nepal.