National 6 (Spotlight Weekly)

Growth In Neighborhood

Although the nation is in turmoil, there has been a substantial increase in the number of tourists arriving Kathmandu by air route particularly Indians

By THAKUR AMGAI

The tourist arrival has increased substantially in the month of March. The otherwise gloomy Thamel, Kathmandu’s tourist hub, looks more crowded. The average room occupancy rate has risen and restaurants and bars are packed with tourists. One can see a lot of back-packers’ motorcycles parked around different areas around Thamel.

According to the Nepal tourism Board (NTB) the tourist arrival by air route in the month of March has increased by 60 percent compared to the same month last year. This year a total of 31,198 tourists came to Nepal compared to 19,549 last year - with a net increment of 11,649 visitors.

Chinese tourists : Need to lure more of them

The number of Indian tourists has increased higher than any of the third country. The figures show that the number of Indian tourists landing at the Tribhuwan International Airport in the month of March this year was 80 percent more than the Indian visitors the same month last year. However, the number of Indian tourists arriving to Nepal could be much more because a considerable number of them enter Nepal via land route as well.

According to NTB, the large increase in the number of Indian tourists is accounted to the “ Pashupati Darshan Package” launched in the beginning of this year in various Indian cities.

The arrival from the third countries is also encouraging. The third country tourist arrival has increased by 54 percent. The number of US tourists has increased by 54 percent and UK by 53 per cent, Germany by 33 percent and Japan by three percent.

Not only the tourist arrival has increased, the extension of the Lhasa-kathmandu flight of the Air China to up to Chegdu show brighter signs glowing from the northern neighbor.

The Air China launched its first flight in the Chendu-Lhasa-Kathmandu route on 30th March with 80 passengers on board including 15 travel agents and 11 correspondents from news agencies.

China had included Nepal in its Approved Destination two years ago. This has opened avenue for the largest tourist market of the world. Nepalese economy can witness an unbelievable growth if this potential is harnessed properly.

The number of Chinese tourists arriving Kathmandu has already seen an increment of 76 percent than last year. The market is going to further increase with Air China’s new flights.

The number of Chinese tourists could not rise as expected by the Nepalese entrepreneurs, as most of Chinese are not familiar about the natural beauty that Nepal has. Nepal Tourism Board is going to launch new projects to attract more tourists from the Chinese cities of Beijing, Kwangchow, and Shangai- considered as the large potential tourist markets. It has already launched programs to improve co-ordination between the Nepalese Travel agents and the Chinese travel agents. NTB has also strived to make sure that all kinds of Chinese food are available in Nepalese hotels.

The number of tourists who have entered Nepal has crossed 4,000 by the end of 2003, but this is a meager number compared to the large Chinese population. According to Chinese envoy Sun Heping more than 16 million Chinese go out for holidays every year. They visit any one or more of the 28 different countries.

In the words of Tashi Gurung, a trekking agent owner in Thamel, “Even if one out of 28 tourists visit Nepal, the number will be more than half a million- more than total tourist arrival in Nepal each year.”

While even that number is very encouraging, there is a possibility of larger number of Chinese tourists coming to Nepal with a little increased effort. Nepal being near and cheaper can attract more Chinese tourists. Chinese tourists are cost conscious and Nepal is one of the cheapest tourist destinations in the world. Although Chinese travel agents argue that they are paying more than their Indian counterparts for lodging and food and other travel costs, Nepalese travel entrepreneurs do not agree with that.

Hari Sharma, the chief of the Nepal Travel Agents Association (NATA) claims that not only for Chinese tourists Nepal is the cheapest tourist destinations for any one in the world.

Although the smooth functioning of all economic activities and movement from one place to another has been paralyzed by the insurgency and the political agitation, the upsurge in number of tourists is highly soothing to every sector. It will help to improve the ailing economy to a certain extent.