Forex earnings drop

Foreign exchange earnings have dropped by 0.34 per cent to Rs 16.76 billion during the first eight months of 2009-10. Compared with the preceding year, foreign exchange earnings in the first eight months of 2009-10 was less than half. Foreign exchange earnings in 2008-09 had increased by 49.9 per cent to Rs 27.96 billion, compared with a year ago, according to the Economic Survey.
Asians topped the chart of tourists visitng Nepal at 56 per cent, the annual report of the government said adding that "Out of the total tourists arrivals during the calendar year 2008, eight per cent were from North America, 1.3 per cent from Central and South America, 27.7 per cent from Western Europe, 2.5 per cent from Eastern Europe, 0.2 per cent from Africa and 18.4 per cent from India, 3.5 per cent from Australia and Pacific Region, and 37.6 per cent from other countries."
The number of tourists visiting from the Central and South America, Eastern Europe and Africa has decreased while their number has increased from other parts of the world.
Similarly, the number of hotels and hotel beds in 2008 shows that the number of star-hotels reached to 97, while the number of non-star hotels has been 647 with the addition of 74 non-star hotels. "The number of hotel beds in hotels other than star-hotels increased by 2,381 reaching to 19,124 while beds in the star-hotel have reached 9,369 with additional 49 beds compared to a year ago.
The data reveals that the number of mountaineering teams has also increased by 73 to 235 by mid-March 2009. The number of mountaineers has reached to 1,519 with 510 more climbers. "The government collected a royalty of Rs 252.5 million, that was Rs 35.426 million a fiscal year ago," the report added.