Tourist arrivals post marginal growth

Robust arrivals from China pushed total arrivals via air up in May, though arrivals from India has still not improved.

May witnessed resilience in visitor arrivals after a decline in March and April, as according to the figures released by the Immigration Office, Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA), visitor arrivals in May increased by 3.1 per cent to 44,156, as compared to the same month last year.

Arrivals from Asia — other than South Asia — also recorded a healthy growth of almost 48 per cent in aggregate in the fifth month of the year. There has been a growth of 43.6 per cent in visitor arrivals from China, which is one of the fastest growing tourist markets for Nepal. Visitor arrivals from Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand registered a positive growth of 5.6 per cent, 142.7 per cent, 40.9 per cent, and 47.1 per cent, respectively.

However, visitor arrivals from Singapore registered a marginal negative growth of three per cent, it said.

Arrivals from the South Asian region recorded a negative growth of 8.1 per cent with Bangladesh (12.7 per cent) and Sri Lanka (27.4 per cent) registering positive growth.

Visitor arrivals from India, which is the largest source market for Nepal, witnessed a decline of 9.5 per cent. Likewise, visitor arrivals from Pakistan also declined by 21.2 per cent.

European markets registered a negative growth of 3.3 per cent with major destinations showing mixed reaction in terms of visitor arrivals. Arrivals from France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and Sweden were up by 3.6 per cent, 0.4 per cent, 19.8 per cent, 9.7 per cent, 33.6 per cent and 29.8 per cent, respectively, while arrivals from the UK, Denmark, Spain, Italy and Russia recorded negative growth of 1.7 per cent, 38.3 per cent, 19 per cent, 12.5 per cent and 11.1 per cent, respectively.

Tourist arrivals from the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand increased by 17.3 per cent, 12.7 per cent, 21.1 per cent and 10.8 per cent, respectively.

Nepal celebrated the Mt Everest Diamond Jubilee on May 29, commemorating the two heroic souls, Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary, amidst a grand function. It was a special occasion in the world history of mountaineering and attracted more tourists to Nepal on the occasion.

Domestic tourism stakeholders will cherish the jubilant and festive mood that saw a series of events being organised to mark the 60th anniversary. The celebration has given Nepal an unprecedented opportunity to promote it as one of the best adventure destinations in the planet through the international media that came to attend the event.

A total of 58,195 foreign tourists departed from Tribhuwan International Airport in May, whereas some 63,250 Nepalis arrived and 83,179 Nepalis departed from the only international airport of the country in May.