Tourist arrivals by air in February surged 33 percent to 33,492 persons compared to the same period last year.
According to the figures released by Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), arrivals from South Asia were up 12.1 percent with the Indian segment showing a growth of 1.8 percent, Bangladesh 110.2 percent, Pakistan 1 percent and Sri Lanka 11.6 percent.
China, one of the largest markets for Nepal, bounced back with a remarkable growth of 242.5 percent. Similarly, other Asian countries also recorded a rise with Japan growing 31.7 percent, Malaysia 38.9 percent, Singapore 55.9 percent and South Korea 21.6 percent.
However, arrivals from Thailand witnessed a negative growth of 54.7 percent. In aggregate, the Asian segment registered a robust growth of 69.5 percent.
The European segment was up 20.6 percent with arrivals from the UK, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands recording growths of 1.8 percent, 46.8 percent, 12.4 percent, 44 percent and 87.5 percent respectively.
However, arrivals from Norway, Spain, Russia and Switzerland were down 41.8 percent, 22 percent, 10.4 percent and 2.4 percent respectively.
The number of visitors from the US soared 53.2 percent. Similarly, Canada, Australia and New Zealand also grew by 20.5 percent, 26.9 percent and 246.6 percent respectively.
This is the ninth consecutive month that Nepal has witnessed a growth in international tourist arrivals, confirming improved prospects for Nepal in 2010 with rising business and consumer confidence.
A total of 33,441 foreign tourists departed from TIA in February. The number of Nepali arrivals stood at 49,288 while departures numbered 54,564 during the same period. |
