In the first month of the 2013, tourist arrivals dipped to 35,330 as against 42,031 recorded in the same period last year owing to reduction in number of tourists flying in from major destinations like India, China and Europe, shows the latest report of the Immigration Office at the Tribhuvan International Airport.[break]
“The fall in arrival of Indian tourists, who contribute to over 24 percent of total tourist arrivals, played a key role in dragging down the entire tourist arrival figure,” Bharat Joshi, resident manager of Hotel Yak & Yeti, told Republica.
Indian tourist arrivals fell by 26.1 percent to 7,548 in January as cheap packages introduced by countries like Thailand and Malaysia attracted tourists to these destinations, according to Joshi.
As other major tourist destinations started launching promotional activities in an aggressive manner, growing political instability in the country further discouraged many foreign tourists from visiting Nepal.
“Political problems that have cropped up lately have largely squeezed the flow of corporate tourists, as the number of dealers´ conferences and sales meetings, mostly held by Indian parties, has started declining,” Joshi said.
Host of these problems also hit Chinese tourist arrivals triggering 40.3 percent decline in the number of Chinese incoming visitors in January. A total of 3,958 Chinese came to Nepal in the first month of 2013.
Incoming tourists from other major Asian markets such as South Korea and Japan, however, posted positive growth of 11.2 percent and 16.8 percent to 3,265 and 1,993, respectively.
Tourist arrivals from major European markets like the UK also witnessed growth of 6.6 percent to 1,818 in January. But slackness seen in flow of tourists from other European markets, like Germany, France and the Netherlands, caused the aggregate tourist arrival figure from Europe to take a 15 percent dip to 6,720 in the month.
“The prolonged economic crisis in Europe, which has eroded purchasing power of many, was the major reason that hampered the flow of European tourists to Nepal,” Joshi said.
The only positive news came from markets like Oceania and Americas from where tourist inflow expanded by 27.1 percent and 3.3 percent to 1,618 and 3,581, respectively.
The report shows tourist arrivals posting a 13 percent growth from the US to 2,976, while arrivals from Australia grew by 27.3 percent to 1,483. Arrivals from Canada, however, recorded a negative growth of 27.4 percent to 605.
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