National 6 (Spotlight Weekly)

Impressive Growth

Despite adverse situation, the arrival of tourists continues to grow

By A CORRESPONDENT

Even as the political situation in the country has not improved, the arrival of tourists, happily, has been on the rise for the last couple of months.

According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the arrival of tourists by air increased by handsome 45 percent in the month of November compared to the same period previous year.

Backed by solid international publicity during the Mount Everest Golden Jubilee celebration in May and sustained promotional campaigns in Indian cities, the arrival of tourists have grown impressively. More importantly, the growth of Indian tourists arrival has led the overall growth.

Tourists in city : Encouraging trend

Indian tourists, traditionally, are the most important tourists for Nepal occupying lion’s share in the overall market. “The growth in the Indian market followed massive campaign in Indian cities like Chennai and Hyderabad where the NTB organized programs to lure religious tourists,” said Tek Bahadur Dangi, chief executive officer at the NTB.

The package of Pashupatinath tourism attracted thousands of tourists from South India, he said. “We could have attracted a lot more tourists if we could have provided them with ample air seats. Currently, the RNAC is stretched to its capacity and cannot operate more flights. If we are to promote our tourism, we must have strong national flag carrier. Otherwise, there will be no use merely promoting tourism.”

The rise in the tourist arrival despite adverse situation in the country has encouraged the entrepreneurs. The board says that in November, the arrival of tourists from China alone increased by 73 percent. The arrival of Indian tourists increased by 26 percent, American tourists by 30 percent, British by 49 percent, German by 12 percent, France by 67 percent and Japan by 45 percent.

Subash Niraula, a director at the NTB adds that since the air travel is costly and there is limited air seat capacity, the future of tourism would depend on the promotion of land travel as well. “There is a forecast that the travel of tourists by land will increase in the days ahead. So we need to have appropriate strategies to cash in the changing scenario,” he said.

Meanwhile, the NTB is also focusing on promoting domestic tourism. In the second week of December, NTB is promoting the industrial and tourism fair in Butawal. The western city of Butawal is situated amid a lot of tourist destinations like Lumbini and so on. Likewise, the board is also promoting New Road festival soon.

Apparel Export Declines

The decline in the export of the readymade apparels to the United States continued in the month of November. The export went down by 30 percent in November this year compared to the same month previous year. The apparels worth US$ 8 million were exported this November.

The decline in the apparels exports started after the ceasefire between the Maoists and the government broke down in August 27. During the seven month period of ceasefire, the apparels export had impressively grown. But the impact on the production and subsequent loss of credibility has hurt this sector, reports say.

However, the total apparels export for the 11 months of this year 2003 is higher by 21 percent compared to the same period last year. This overall growth is propelled by the impressive rise in its exports during ceasefire period. The America alone accounts for 85 percent of the total apparels market for Nepal.

On the other hand, the growth of exports of the readymade apparels to another important market Canada continued this month as well. The exports to Canada rose by 109 percent to reach US$ 67,000 in this month compared to the same month last year. With this, the total exports to Canada in the 11 months of the current year rose by 87 percent compared to previous year. The exports to European market also grew by 14 percent in the 11 months of this year.

Currently, a bill that could give duty-free and quota-free access to Nepali apparels is under consideration at the US senate. If that bill is approved, the exports could rise significantly, say garment entrepreneurs.