Foreign tourists arrivals surge 8 percent to 975,557

In October alone, Nepal welcomed 143,870 foreign tourists. Foreign tourists arrivals surge 8 percent to 975,557

Tourists pose for a photo on a trekking trail in Myagdi. POST FILE PHOTO

Post Report

Published at : November 8, 2019

Updated at : November 9, 2019 10:29

Kathmandu

Foreign tourist arrivals in Nepal grew 8 percent to 975,557 individuals in the first ten months of this year, helped by a sharp rise in arrivals from China, according to the latest statistics released by Nepal Tourism Board.

Of the total arrivals, 820,499 international visitors came by air and 155,058 came overland.

The figure shows that in October alone, Nepal welcomed 143,870 foreign tourists, up 10 percent as compared to the same month last year.

Arrivals from India increased 9.1 percent to 12,906 individuals in October. Overall, the statistics show that Nepal received 169,952 Indian visitors in the January-October period, up 4.9 percent year-on-year.

Likewise, arrivals from China grew 11.5 percent to 15,037 in the month of October. Nepal received 134,281 tourists from the northern neighbour in the first ten months of 2019, up 9.2 percent year-on-year.

The two-day state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Kathmandu in October has lifted the hopes of the local tourism industry which expect a surge of Chinese tourist arrivals to Nepal in the days ahead. Nepal aims to attract 2 million foreign tourists during the Visit Nepal 2020 campaign next year, including 350,000 Chinese visitors.

The statistics show that tourists from Bangladesh jumped 58.6 percent to 2,786 in the month of October. Overall, arrivals from South Asian countries registered a growth of 7 percent in October as compared to the same month last year. Nepal received 250,243 tourists from South Asian nations in the first ten months of 2019.

Similarly, visitor arrivals from Thailand, South Korea and Japan were 3,698, 3,032 and 2,541 in the month of October.

The European arrivals have also surged with sustained growth from key markets with 42,297 arrivals in October 2019. Arrivals from the United Kingdom, Germany and France in October were 8,672, 7,308, and 6,777 respectively. Total European visitors in the first ten months (January-October) reached 199,003.

Likewise, arrivals from the US dropped 2.5 percent to 12,109 in October. The total US arrivals in the first ten months of 2019 totaled 77,798, up 5 percent over the figure in the same period last year.

Likewise, the number of Australian and Canadian visitors to Nepal was 5,625 and 2,624 respectively in October.

Deepak Raj Joshi, chief executive officer at Nepal Tourism Board said that the growth of international visitors to Nepal was possible only because of the synergy in our efforts along with the private sector, diplomatic missions, media and other stakeholders.

Foreign tourist arrivals in Nepal crossed the coveted one-million mark in 2018 for the first time with 1.17 million tourists streaming into the country.