Soaring tourist arrivals in Nepal bring smiles to faces of travel-related entrepreneurs
Thursday, 6 December 2007
KATHMANDU, Dec 5 (PTI): Soaring tourist arrivals in Nepal has brought smiles to the faces of travel-related entrepreneurs and operators in the Himalayan state which is hoping for peace dividends after the end of the decade-long insurgency last year.
After a prolonged slump, tourist arrivals have bounced back with vengeance. If tourist inflow continues at the current rate, Nepal may well receive over 5,00,000 tourists by the end of 2007.
According to data provided by the Immigration Department and Nepal Tourism Board, 466,506 tourists have already visited Nepal in the last 11 months. Annual figures in the last seven years have never been as high. The largest number of 491,504 tourists visited Nepal in 1999.
In the first 11 months of this year, the number of visitors who came by air jumped by 28.6 per cent to 330,455, up from 257,054 last year.
"Things are looking very promising," said Anil Pathak, general manager of Hotel Soaltee Crowne Plaza. "Both occupancy and room rates have bounded up."
He said hotel occupancy is around 82 per cent, up from around 70 per cent last year. "Likewise, the rate has increased by over 20 per cent," he was quoted as saying by the Kantipur online today.
Rebounding of business in Thamel, the major hangout area for tourists, is also visible. Namgyal Lama, president of Thamel Tourism Development Council, said all sorts of businesses, from handicraft, restaurants and hotels to trekking, have experienced growth of around 30 per cent in sales.
Rajendra Bajgain, managing director of 'Gorkha Encounter', a trekking agency, said he was facing shortage of tour guides and lodges in the mountains to cope with the growing numbers of tourists to Nepal.
After a prolonged slump, tourist arrivals have bounced back with vengeance. If tourist inflow continues at the current rate, Nepal may well receive over 5,00,000 tourists by the end of 2007.
According to data provided by the Immigration Department and Nepal Tourism Board, 466,506 tourists have already visited Nepal in the last 11 months. Annual figures in the last seven years have never been as high. The largest number of 491,504 tourists visited Nepal in 1999.
In the first 11 months of this year, the number of visitors who came by air jumped by 28.6 per cent to 330,455, up from 257,054 last year.
"Things are looking very promising," said Anil Pathak, general manager of Hotel Soaltee Crowne Plaza. "Both occupancy and room rates have bounded up."
He said hotel occupancy is around 82 per cent, up from around 70 per cent last year. "Likewise, the rate has increased by over 20 per cent," he was quoted as saying by the Kantipur online today.
Rebounding of business in Thamel, the major hangout area for tourists, is also visible. Namgyal Lama, president of Thamel Tourism Development Council, said all sorts of businesses, from handicraft, restaurants and hotels to trekking, have experienced growth of around 30 per cent in sales.
Rajendra Bajgain, managing director of 'Gorkha Encounter', a trekking agency, said he was facing shortage of tour guides and lodges in the mountains to cope with the growing numbers of tourists to Nepal.