| |
June 26, 2007
3Arrival marginally up in April
Tourist arrival to Nepal via air in the month of April marginally went up by 2.3 percent compared to the arrival figure of the same period last year. According to Nepal Tourism Board, a total of 38,694 foreign tourists entered Nepal in April.
Arrival from the South Asian region, except India and Sri Lanka, recorded a positive growth of 4.9 percent with strong contribution from Bangladesh (71.2 percent) and Pakistan (35.1 percent). Visitor arrivals from India, the largest visitor generating country for Nepal, witnessed a soft decline of 2.6 percent. Arrivals from the South Asia region grew by 15.9 percent in the first four months of April, compared to the figures recorded in the same period last year.
In the like manner, arrivals from Asia (other than South Asia) maintained the upward trend, thanks to strong contribution of Malaysia (14.2 percent) and South Korea (20.3 percent).
The figures also show increasing trend in the visitor arrivals from US and Canada with a growth of 3 percent and 8.3 percent respectively. However, Australia and New Zealand have registered negative growth by 15 percent and 9.3 percent respectively. European markets registered a negative growth of 5.5 percent.
3rd Everest Day celebrated at Kathmandu
The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Nepal Tourism Board, NATTA, TAAN, HAN, NMA and other tourism organisations celebrated the Third International Everest (Sagarmatha) Day on May 29 by organizing various programmes. Nepal has been celebrating May 29 as International Everest Day for the last two years to commemorate the first ascent of the tallest peak in the world.
The rally organized to mark the day started early morning was graced by Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Mr. Sarat Singh Bhandari. All NATTA executives attended the rally that stated from NTB and ended at Thamel, a popular hub of the tourists. Yet another program held at Hotel Hyatt, Everest summiteers were honoured by presenting them with medals amid a grand function. The Tenzing Hillary Award was given to the person who had contributed substantially to the development of the Khumbu region.
Likewise, Apa Sherpa, 20-time Everest climber, was honoured as a goodwill ambassador of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) by the SAARC Secretary General. Sherpa has been named goodwill ambassador of Nepal Tourism Year 2011 as well. The government has also made decision to waive 50 percent royalty for the climbers of Dhaulagiri.
|
