Tourist arrivals up in first six months of 2019
Travel Biz News —
Kathmandu- International tourist arrivals to Nepal in the first six months of 2019 via both air and land routes reached 585,531, which is 12.6 per cent more than the same period of last year.
According to the Department of Immigration, 490,534 international visitors came by air and 94,997 by overland in the first six months of this year.
The top 5 tourist generating countries are India, China, United States of America, United Kingdom and Sri Lanka.
Tourist arrivals from India in first six months of 2019 increased by 7.36 per cent in comparison to the figures of 2018 and reached 103,461.
Likewise, 85,318 Chinese tourists visited Nepal in first six months of 2019, which is 19.53 per cent more than the arrivals in same period of 2018.
The overall arrivals from SAARC countries registered a growth of 10.4 per cent over the same period last year with 144,957 total tourist arrivals. The visitors from Thailand, South Korea and Japan have also increased in recent months.
The European arrivals have also surged with sustained growths from the key markets with 104,783 total arrivals in first six months of 2019.
The country received 28,951 visitors from the United Kingdom and 18, 607 from Germany.
Total number of the US visitors to Nepal in first six months of 2019 is 48,201, an increase of 10 per cent over the figures of last year.
Similarly, the number of Australians visitors to Nepal in six months of 2019 was 16,761, according to the DOI figures.
The Government of Nepal has announced Visit Nepal Year 2020 (VNY 2020) campaign with the main aim of bringing two million tourists next year.
An arrival figure for the month of June this year is 68,782 , which is 5.6 per cent more than the arrivals from the same month of 2018.
‘If the present trend of tourist arrivals continues, it will be difficult to welcome two million tourists next year,’ entrepreneurs said.
July 17, 2019
