Two Para gliders are seen hovering in the alluring skies of Pokhara City while Mount Machhapuchre (Fish Tail) shines in the background . Photo: mountainkick.com
KATHMANDU: Nepal has witnessed 520,000 tourist arrivals in the first six months of 2018, official statistics show.
According to the Department of Immigration (DoI) stats, the inflow was up by 13 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year. A total of 460,304 foreign tourists had visited Nepal in the first six months of 2017.
Moreover, the arrivals show that the influx of tourists this monsoon is relatively high compared to the previous year during monsoon, which is considered as offseason by tourism entrepreneurs, adding to stakeholders’ delight.
A hiker navigates his way to Ice Lake region in Annapurana Circuit trek. Photo: mountainkick.com
An increase in the number of foreigners even during offseason was obviously good news for us (tourism stakeholders), Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Chief Executive Officer Deepak Raj Joshi remarked.
Indian tourists make up the wider percentage in the figure of total arrivals. The latest data shows that 96,372 Indian tourists visited Nepal in the six-month period followed by Chinese tourists at 71,379.
Likewise, the number of tourists from the United States of America stood at 43,816 and Japanese tourists were tallied at 13,851.
Similarly, Nepal has welcomed tourists from the South Asian countries, European countries — Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden — and other countries during the period.
Written by Prahlad Rijal
This news first appeared on https://thehimalayantimes.com/business/nepal-hosts-500k-tourists-in-first-6-months-of-2018/ under the title “Nepal hosts 500k tourists in first 6 months of 2018”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
