Nepal enjoys growth in tourist arrivals
The unilateral ceasefire announced by the Maoists and the improved international flight services have helped pave the way for Nepal’s growth in arrival of international air passenger by 24 percent in the month of October.
Officials at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said 138,436 passengers traveled through the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), the only international airport in Nepal, during October as compared to 112,277 passengers in the same period the last year.
A total of 568 international flights took off from the TIA in October while 570 flights landed last month. The rise is the number of international air passenger is 24 percent ompared to the same period last year.
On an average, 200 flights, international and domestic, were operated from TIA whereas there were 277 flights in the month of October, a growth of
27.29 percent.
The recent launching of international flights by Cosmic Air and Air Nepal International and the continuation of operation by Air Sahara, private airline from India, have been instrumental in the remarkable increment in the arrival of international passengers, bringing renewed optimism among industry players in the country.
Similarly, the number of foreign tourists entering Nepal via the Sunauli border, Lumbini (near the Birthplace of Lord Buddha ) has also gone up in the first 10 months of 2005 as compared to last year.
“We are excited by the steady growth and we are working hard to retain this image in the coming months too. This is the good sign of Nepal being repositioned in the international tourism map” Dr. Hari Sarmah , CEO of NAATA, told eTurbonews.
The month of October saw 15 percent growth in tourist arrivals in Nepal as compared to the last year. Altogether, 38,563 tourists had visited Nepal in October.
By Pankaj Pradhananga
KATHMANDU, Nepal (eTurboNews)
November 28, 2005
Posted in: Nepal