Casinos owe a whopping Rs 300m to govt
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 31 -
Casinos operating in the Kathmandu Valley and outside have over Rs. 300 million in dues to be paid to the government as royalty.
There are 10 casinos (eight in Kathmandu) operating in the country, of which, only Casino Venus operating under Hotel Malla has cleared its bills, an official at the Inland Revenue Deparment (IRD) said.
The IRD, after failing to collect royalty from these casinos, has handed over the task to the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) recently.
When the DRI called the casino operators to discuss the matter, they asked the department to grant an installment facility to pay the dues, the source said. The DRI had collected Rs. 250 million as a royalty last year.
Rajan Khanal, director general at the IRD said they were feeling uncomfortable in taking legal action against the casino operators as the Tourism Ministry looks after it. “As legal action there are no alternatives but to shut down the casinos reluctant to pay their dues,” said Khanal.
Casino Nepal under the Soaltee Hotel hasn’t paid royalty worth Rs 109 million of the past four years.
Likewise, Casino Fulbari has Rs 60 million as royalty dues. The Casinos have to pay Rs 20 million every year as royalty.
As per the Fiscal Act, casinos should pay the royalty by mid-September every year. “None of the casinos have made a wholesome payment,” said Sishir Dhungana, chief of the IRO -3.
Of the total casinos, seven are operated by the Nepal Recreation Centre, while Valley Link is running Casino Venus and Casino Grand. Casino Royal is under the Gild International.
Casino staffs say that the downfall in casinos is due to the government move of restricting Nepalis’ entry. The restriction has downed customers by about 70 percent. There are over 8,300 employees’ in 10 casinos.
Meanwhile, the MoTCA is planning to introduce a regulation for casinos to
boost tourism earnings. A official at MoTCA said there was no clear regulation to monitor the increasing malpractices in casinos. MoTCA issues the operating licences of casinos but does not supervise and monitor them.
Currently, Nepal Police under the Ministry of Home Affairs has the responsibility to curb gambling-related crimes under the Public Offence Act.
“The police is only responsible for controlling gambling-related crimes inside the casinos,” said Laxman Prasad Bhattarai, spokesman of the MoTCA.
Casinos Unpaid royalties
Casino Nepal Rs 109 million
Casino Anna Rs 68 million
Casino Fulbari Rs 60 million
Casino Shangri La Rs 26 million
Casino Rad Rs 17 million
Casino Grand Rs 10 million
Casino Royal Rs 13 million
Casino Everest Rs 5 million
Casino Tara Rs 6 million
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
House full
Hotel bookings for the upcoming autumn season reach a record high
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 31 -
The hotel industry is looking buoyant with encouraging bookings at major five-star hotels for the upcoming season. Thanks to increased air links, bookings at five-star hotels have soared to over 90 percent for the autumn season (October-November).
Hoteliers said that some five-star hotels had been overbooked while bookings at others had crossed 90 percent. Higher booking rates for autumn make a huge difference to the domestic hospitality industry as it is the main tourist season. Around 30 percent of the total tourist arrivals occur during this time.
Hoteliers said that hotel occupancy this season was likely to rise significantly compared to 2008 and 2009. However, they are worried that if the overwhelming rate of bookings continues, it would be hard to manage them. The hotels have a bed capacity of only 25,357. However, a recent Nepal Tourism Board survey at 15 tourist sites shows that 66,603 beds can be generated.
With the significant rise in bookings, travel trade entrepreneurs and hoteliers are hoping that the business outlook will be much better than in previous years.
From Hotel Everest, Hyatt Regency to Shangri-La, almost all have their bookings going up to 100 percent. In the case of Hotel Yak & Yeti and Radisson, bookings have reached over 95 percent.
Room bookings for the upcoming season at the Soaltee Crowne Plaza, the country's leading five-star hotel, have surged by 20 percent. "Compared to the last season, bookings have gone up by 20 percent," said Sony Chaudhary, assistant manager, marketing and public relations.
Despite overwhelming bookings, hoteliers are still not sure whether they will materialize into business. Amir Pradhananga, sales and marketing director of the Everest Hotel, is one of them. "Despite the rate of booking (ROB) for autumn crossing 100 percent, we're not sure if these bookings will be occupied until we get the final reservation order from the customers," said Pradhananga. As per hotel rules, customers should confirm or cancel their bookings before 15-20 days.
Last year, about 30 percent of the clients had cancelled their bookings. "This season, there are no signs of cancellation; however, there are still some weeks left to get the final confirmation of the reservations," said Pradhananga.
The Everest Hotel has overbooked rooms for a few days in October.
The Shangri-La's ROB has also crossed 100 percent for the season. The hotel had 95 percent occupancy in the same period last year. Mohan Khanal, sales and marketing manager, said that ROB had been more than expected. He said that the hotel would not have problems even in the case of overbooking since they can divert the customers to other hotels. "And, this was done before also," said Khanal. American, Japanese and Europeans are in majority to book rooms at the Shangri-La that has 100 rooms.
The Yak & Yeti's ROB has reached 95 percent for October. The hotel's ROB for October and November is 95 and 85 percent respectively. The same is the case with Hotel Radisson whose booking till now has crossed 90 percent. "A majority of the bookings are from Australian, British, Japanese and Indians, said Ranju Man Pradhan, marketing and sales director of the Radisson. The hotel is planning to launch 160 new rooms for 2011.
The Annapurna Hotel with an 85 percent ROB has received a majority of the bookings from visitors from the UK and Germany. Last year, the hotel had 90 percent booking for this season. "Still there is one month left to start the tourist season, and the bookings made until the end of August are very encouraging," said Raj Bahadur Shah of the hotel.
Despite the weak performance of the national flag carrier, hoteliers are hoping more tourists will arrive in the season with more international airlines coming to the country.
India's Spice Jet and Oman's Omar Air will be starting their service to Nepal very shortly.
Nepal saw record tourist arrivals of 526,507 in 2007 which subsequently decreased. In 2009, arrivals had gone up by 1.89 percent to 509,752.
Hotel bookings for the upcoming autumn season reach a record high
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 31 -
The hotel industry is looking buoyant with encouraging bookings at major five-star hotels for the upcoming season. Thanks to increased air links, bookings at five-star hotels have soared to over 90 percent for the autumn season (October-November).
Hoteliers said that some five-star hotels had been overbooked while bookings at others had crossed 90 percent. Higher booking rates for autumn make a huge difference to the domestic hospitality industry as it is the main tourist season. Around 30 percent of the total tourist arrivals occur during this time.
Hoteliers said that hotel occupancy this season was likely to rise significantly compared to 2008 and 2009. However, they are worried that if the overwhelming rate of bookings continues, it would be hard to manage them. The hotels have a bed capacity of only 25,357. However, a recent Nepal Tourism Board survey at 15 tourist sites shows that 66,603 beds can be generated.
With the significant rise in bookings, travel trade entrepreneurs and hoteliers are hoping that the business outlook will be much better than in previous years.
From Hotel Everest, Hyatt Regency to Shangri-La, almost all have their bookings going up to 100 percent. In the case of Hotel Yak & Yeti and Radisson, bookings have reached over 95 percent.
Room bookings for the upcoming season at the Soaltee Crowne Plaza, the country's leading five-star hotel, have surged by 20 percent. "Compared to the last season, bookings have gone up by 20 percent," said Sony Chaudhary, assistant manager, marketing and public relations.
Despite overwhelming bookings, hoteliers are still not sure whether they will materialize into business. Amir Pradhananga, sales and marketing director of the Everest Hotel, is one of them. "Despite the rate of booking (ROB) for autumn crossing 100 percent, we're not sure if these bookings will be occupied until we get the final reservation order from the customers," said Pradhananga. As per hotel rules, customers should confirm or cancel their bookings before 15-20 days.
Last year, about 30 percent of the clients had cancelled their bookings. "This season, there are no signs of cancellation; however, there are still some weeks left to get the final confirmation of the reservations," said Pradhananga.
The Everest Hotel has overbooked rooms for a few days in October.
The Shangri-La's ROB has also crossed 100 percent for the season. The hotel had 95 percent occupancy in the same period last year. Mohan Khanal, sales and marketing manager, said that ROB had been more than expected. He said that the hotel would not have problems even in the case of overbooking since they can divert the customers to other hotels. "And, this was done before also," said Khanal. American, Japanese and Europeans are in majority to book rooms at the Shangri-La that has 100 rooms.
The Yak & Yeti's ROB has reached 95 percent for October. The hotel's ROB for October and November is 95 and 85 percent respectively. The same is the case with Hotel Radisson whose booking till now has crossed 90 percent. "A majority of the bookings are from Australian, British, Japanese and Indians, said Ranju Man Pradhan, marketing and sales director of the Radisson. The hotel is planning to launch 160 new rooms for 2011.
The Annapurna Hotel with an 85 percent ROB has received a majority of the bookings from visitors from the UK and Germany. Last year, the hotel had 90 percent booking for this season. "Still there is one month left to start the tourist season, and the bookings made until the end of August are very encouraging," said Raj Bahadur Shah of the hotel.
Despite the weak performance of the national flag carrier, hoteliers are hoping more tourists will arrive in the season with more international airlines coming to the country.
India's Spice Jet and Oman's Omar Air will be starting their service to Nepal very shortly.
Nepal saw record tourist arrivals of 526,507 in 2007 which subsequently decreased. In 2009, arrivals had gone up by 1.89 percent to 509,752.
Monday, August 30, 2010
MoCS alive to LPG risks
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 30 -
In a move that could ensure quality products, the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) on Sunday endorsed a decision to allow the two state-owned enterprises to prepare the specification, import and sales of regulators and pipes used in Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders.
The new provision authorises the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) to prepare the specifications for LPG regulators and pipes and the National Trading Limited (NTL) to import and sell them once the NOC certifies the products.
Private companies are also allowed to import these products. “The government’s move to endorse the decision is to discourage the private companies selling substandard products and up competition in business that will ensure quality products to the customers,” said Ganesh Dhakal, spokesman at MoCS.
Traders had recently admitted that sub-standard valves and worn-out regulators were rampant in the market due to high profit motives, which were causing accidents.
Due to substandard products, the chances of cylinder leakage are high. When there is a leak, the gas inside tends to get concentrated in an enclosed area and thus creates a risk of a severe explosion and fire.
After mounting pressure and alarm over risk of leakage, among other problems due to use of sub-standard products, a six-member task force was formed a month ago to study the issue under the coordination of director general of Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NEBSM).
Mukunda Dhungel, spokesperson for the NOC, said that officially they haven’t received the MoCS decision. But, NOC had been earlier informed that the government would use a one-door policy for the import of these items, Dhungel said. “There are regular casualties happening due to the sale of substandard products but the sellers were reluctant to take the responsibility. This initiative will go a long in reducing the risk of such incidents,” he added.
Suresh Prajapati, general secretary of the Association of LP Gas Industry, said that the move would control the import of sub-standard products and rampant smuggling.
“This will bring down casualties due to LPG related risks,” he said. The prices of products will also be monitored as the product sellers have been cheating the customers, he said. Recently, gas dealers, consumer rights activists and other stakeholders said that more than 30 percent of LPG cylinders in circulation are at high risk of explosion due to the use of sub-standard regulators and pipes.
Around four million gas cylinders are in circulation in the country currently. Several deaths have occurred due to cylinder explosions with seven people lost their lives last year due to cylinder explosions in Kathmandu Valley alone.
NEBSM, that was monitoring the quality and standard of gas and gas related products, stopped its monitoring from 2003. However, with gas cylinder explosion accidents increasing, the Ministry of Industry again called NEBSM in June 2010 to carry out its monitoring.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 30 -
In a move that could ensure quality products, the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) on Sunday endorsed a decision to allow the two state-owned enterprises to prepare the specification, import and sales of regulators and pipes used in Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders.
The new provision authorises the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) to prepare the specifications for LPG regulators and pipes and the National Trading Limited (NTL) to import and sell them once the NOC certifies the products.
Private companies are also allowed to import these products. “The government’s move to endorse the decision is to discourage the private companies selling substandard products and up competition in business that will ensure quality products to the customers,” said Ganesh Dhakal, spokesman at MoCS.
Traders had recently admitted that sub-standard valves and worn-out regulators were rampant in the market due to high profit motives, which were causing accidents.
Due to substandard products, the chances of cylinder leakage are high. When there is a leak, the gas inside tends to get concentrated in an enclosed area and thus creates a risk of a severe explosion and fire.
After mounting pressure and alarm over risk of leakage, among other problems due to use of sub-standard products, a six-member task force was formed a month ago to study the issue under the coordination of director general of Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NEBSM).
Mukunda Dhungel, spokesperson for the NOC, said that officially they haven’t received the MoCS decision. But, NOC had been earlier informed that the government would use a one-door policy for the import of these items, Dhungel said. “There are regular casualties happening due to the sale of substandard products but the sellers were reluctant to take the responsibility. This initiative will go a long in reducing the risk of such incidents,” he added.
Suresh Prajapati, general secretary of the Association of LP Gas Industry, said that the move would control the import of sub-standard products and rampant smuggling.
“This will bring down casualties due to LPG related risks,” he said. The prices of products will also be monitored as the product sellers have been cheating the customers, he said. Recently, gas dealers, consumer rights activists and other stakeholders said that more than 30 percent of LPG cylinders in circulation are at high risk of explosion due to the use of sub-standard regulators and pipes.
Around four million gas cylinders are in circulation in the country currently. Several deaths have occurred due to cylinder explosions with seven people lost their lives last year due to cylinder explosions in Kathmandu Valley alone.
NEBSM, that was monitoring the quality and standard of gas and gas related products, stopped its monitoring from 2003. However, with gas cylinder explosion accidents increasing, the Ministry of Industry again called NEBSM in June 2010 to carry out its monitoring.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
NTY moves for international promotion
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 29 -
The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has begun to promote Nepal Tourism Year 2011 aggressively in the international arena in the face of uncertainties in budget allocation and time constraints.
The NTB will be holding promos at the JATA World Travel Fair, Japan in September, in the US in October and in London and China in November.
“We will move to other destinations gradually,” said NTB chief executive officer Prachanda Man Shrestha.
The government has allocated Rs. 230 million to carry out promotional activities at both domestic and international levels. The NTB plans to spend Rs. 150 million on international promotion and Rs. 50 million in the domestic sector. The NTB’s publicity campaign, however, is running behind schedule.
“We cannot wait for the government budget,” said Yogendra Sakya, coordinator of the NTY 2011 implementation committee. He added that the private sector would “leave no stone unturned” to make the campaign a success.
The government had announced the NTY 2011 campaign on Oct. 25, 2008 in a bid to broaden the tourism base as a national priority and mainstream tourism into the national development process.
Apart from budget uncertainties, NTY 2011 has been bedevilled by issues like purchase of aircraft by Nepal Airlines Corporation, eroding competitiveness of travel packages, deteriorating garbage management and improvement of Tribhuvan International Airport.
The campaign had been announced as a public-private-partnership, however, the government’s interest and ownership is absent, said Shrestha. “We are requesting government line agencies and development partners to own NTY 2011 and bring out their programmes to support the campaign,” he added.
Bhola Bikram Thapa, member of the NTY 2011 implementation committee who is coordinating the aviation sector, said that there had been a slight improvement in services at TIA. However, the international airport needs to do more to provide full functional services, he added.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 29 -
The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has begun to promote Nepal Tourism Year 2011 aggressively in the international arena in the face of uncertainties in budget allocation and time constraints.
The NTB will be holding promos at the JATA World Travel Fair, Japan in September, in the US in October and in London and China in November.
“We will move to other destinations gradually,” said NTB chief executive officer Prachanda Man Shrestha.
The government has allocated Rs. 230 million to carry out promotional activities at both domestic and international levels. The NTB plans to spend Rs. 150 million on international promotion and Rs. 50 million in the domestic sector. The NTB’s publicity campaign, however, is running behind schedule.
“We cannot wait for the government budget,” said Yogendra Sakya, coordinator of the NTY 2011 implementation committee. He added that the private sector would “leave no stone unturned” to make the campaign a success.
The government had announced the NTY 2011 campaign on Oct. 25, 2008 in a bid to broaden the tourism base as a national priority and mainstream tourism into the national development process.
Apart from budget uncertainties, NTY 2011 has been bedevilled by issues like purchase of aircraft by Nepal Airlines Corporation, eroding competitiveness of travel packages, deteriorating garbage management and improvement of Tribhuvan International Airport.
The campaign had been announced as a public-private-partnership, however, the government’s interest and ownership is absent, said Shrestha. “We are requesting government line agencies and development partners to own NTY 2011 and bring out their programmes to support the campaign,” he added.
Bhola Bikram Thapa, member of the NTY 2011 implementation committee who is coordinating the aviation sector, said that there had been a slight improvement in services at TIA. However, the international airport needs to do more to provide full functional services, he added.
Are Nepali skies safe?
SANGAM PRASAIN
AUG 27 -
On Tuesday, the day the ill-fated Agni Air Flight 9N AHE crashed in Makwanpur, a little known aviation news went unnoticed. The regulatory body of aviation in Nepal, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), grounded five aircraft belonging to Makalu Air and Air Kasthamandap. The reason: the doors of two aircraft opened mid-air. Not an extremely-dangerous scenario by itself, but coming on the back of the Agni Air crash, it points towards a malaise evident in Nepali aviation: a haphazard regulatory body that has overlooked airline operators cutting corners to compromise on safety.
Since 1949, the year the first aircraft landed in Nepal, there have been 63 different crashes involving both airplanes and helicopters, in which 628 people have died. Of these crashes, 95 percent have been said to occur due to what is known in aviation terminology as CFIT, or Controlled Flight Into Terrain—a state of flight when the pilots have full control of the flight and yet the plane hits terrain. Given our topography and climate, especially during the monsoon, it is natural that pilots have to be extra careful while flying, and the ground support staff has to be equally competent to ensure the aircraft is in perfect flying condition.
Unfortunately, it is here that problems lie. Captain Vijay Lama, who has been flying for 23 years, says everyone blames the pilot, but the reality is that “safety begins on the ground and ends on the ground.” He questions CAAN’s policy of giving operating licenses to nearly anyone who applies for it. The regulatory body itself does not enforce the safety regulations it has recommended to the airline operators.
Indeed, among aviation experts and enthusiasts, there are hushed rumours of how airline operators use unscrupulous means to ensure their flights land at certain airports when other airlines have been barred from landing due to poor flying conditions. A CAAN official who did not want to be named says, “If the Agni Air flight had a technical problem, or there was bad weather, who gave the clearance for it to take off?”
Reports suggest that continuous bad weather at Lukla airport for eight consecutive days forced all flights to and from the Everest hub to be cancelled, until the day Captain Laxman Prakash Shah ‘Lucky’ took off in the morning. Lama, who has been a pilot for 23 years, says pilots in Nepal have to operate under tremendous pressure. “There are pilots flying eight hours a day six days a week. They might deny it, but accumulated fatigue does occur. On top of that, there is pressure from everywhere—political leaders getting late for a meeting, airline operators who will lose out on revenue—for pilots to fly no matter what the weather conditions are like.”
The 2006 Ghunsa crash, off-the-record reports suggest, occurred due to the minister’s assistant’s insistence that the minister had to return to Kathmandu for a meeting that very day. This statement is confirmed in the report In Search of Safer Skies: A Report on Aviation Safety, written by journalist Toya Dahal in 2008. Sadly, as aviation enthusiast Hemant Arjyal says, one can only conjecture after the crash has occurred.
The biggest failure towards making Nepali skies safer seems to have been on part of the regulatory body. CAAN’s non-stringent regulation mechanism and willingness to bow under operator pressure remains a major problem, without which, aviation experts agree, the issue of aviation safety cannot be resolved.
For example, there are reports that private airlines, to cut down on costs, remove the back-up generator from one aircraft and use that as the primary generator for another aircraft (an aircraft usually has a backup generator if the primary fails, and even if the backup fails, it can fly on the battery to land safely, at least). Lama asks, “Has CAAN been honest enough to check whether operators are maintaining their aircrafts properly or not?” As Dahal’s report says, CAAN has given air-worthiness certificates, necessary for any commercial aircraft, to operators who do not even have a single aircraft. Repeated efforts to reach CAAN or its officials for comments remained unanswered.
Airline operators deny that they pressure their pilots to fly in bad weather. “Weather is something which is not in one’s hands. It remains the control tower’s jurisdiction whether or not to allow the aircraft to fly. After that, the captain can decide whether the conditions are okay for flying or not,” says Bikas J.B. Rana, chairman of Fishtail Air and ex-president of Airline Operators Association of Nepal. He also says airline operators have to remain within CAAN safety and maintenance guidelines, as there are “regular audits” every six months to a year. “Operators do not want to violate safety regulations.”
Instead, Rana says the most difficult part about flying in Nepal is the terrain, more specifically, the STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) airfields located in mountainous areas like Lukla. “It is more challenging to land on STOLs than on any other airfield.”
Rana believes Nepal’s aviation standards are stringent, and that maintenance and pilots are “no less than international standards”.
Still, another aircraft has just crashed, and a probe commission has been formed to look into why 9N AHE crashed. The CAAN source, however, remains sceptic. He says that airline operators control the regulatory body to such an extent that some airlines do not even have their own maintenance engineers. “What can be expected from a crash report if the investigating members are all connected to airline operators?” the source says. Arjyal has a similar opinion. “Why should CAAN be any different than other government bodies which are as corrupt?”
Major air crashes in Nepal
Mar. 3, 1955 : A DC-3 belonging to Kalinga Air crashed in Simra, killing two. This was Nepal's first air crash.
July 12, 1969 : A DC-3 belonging to erstwhile-Royal Nepal Airlines crashed in Hetauda, killing 35.
July 31, 1992 : A Thai Airways Airbus A310 crashed into Ghyangphedi, killing 113 people.
Sept. 28, 1992 : In Nepal's most-fatal air crash so far, a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A300 crashed into Bhattedanda in Lalitpur, killing 167 people.
Oct. 10, 1999 : An Avro HS-748 belonging to Necon Air crashed in Ramkot near Kathmandu, killing 15.
July 27, 2000 : A Twin-Otter belonging to Royal Nepal Airlines crashed in Dadeldhura, killing 25.
Sept. 22, 2002 : A Twin-Otter belonging to Shangrila Air crashed in Kaski, killing 18.
June 21, 2006 : A Yeti Airlines Twin-Otter crashed at Jumla Airport, killing 9.
Sept. 23, 2006 : A MI-17 helicopter belonging to Shree Air crashed in Ghunsa, Taplejung, killing 24. Among others, conservationists Chandra Gurung and Tirtha Man Maskey, and geographer Harka Gurung were killed.
Mar. 3, 2008 : A MI-8 helicopter belonging to UNMIN crashed in Ramechhap, killing 10.
Oct. 8, 2008 : A Twin-Otter belonging to Yeti Airlines crashed in Lukla, killing 18. Only the Captain survived.
Aug. 24, 2010 : A Dornier belonging to Agni Air crashed in Makwanpur, killing 14.
SANGAM PRASAIN
AUG 27 -
On Tuesday, the day the ill-fated Agni Air Flight 9N AHE crashed in Makwanpur, a little known aviation news went unnoticed. The regulatory body of aviation in Nepal, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), grounded five aircraft belonging to Makalu Air and Air Kasthamandap. The reason: the doors of two aircraft opened mid-air. Not an extremely-dangerous scenario by itself, but coming on the back of the Agni Air crash, it points towards a malaise evident in Nepali aviation: a haphazard regulatory body that has overlooked airline operators cutting corners to compromise on safety.
Since 1949, the year the first aircraft landed in Nepal, there have been 63 different crashes involving both airplanes and helicopters, in which 628 people have died. Of these crashes, 95 percent have been said to occur due to what is known in aviation terminology as CFIT, or Controlled Flight Into Terrain—a state of flight when the pilots have full control of the flight and yet the plane hits terrain. Given our topography and climate, especially during the monsoon, it is natural that pilots have to be extra careful while flying, and the ground support staff has to be equally competent to ensure the aircraft is in perfect flying condition.
Unfortunately, it is here that problems lie. Captain Vijay Lama, who has been flying for 23 years, says everyone blames the pilot, but the reality is that “safety begins on the ground and ends on the ground.” He questions CAAN’s policy of giving operating licenses to nearly anyone who applies for it. The regulatory body itself does not enforce the safety regulations it has recommended to the airline operators.
Indeed, among aviation experts and enthusiasts, there are hushed rumours of how airline operators use unscrupulous means to ensure their flights land at certain airports when other airlines have been barred from landing due to poor flying conditions. A CAAN official who did not want to be named says, “If the Agni Air flight had a technical problem, or there was bad weather, who gave the clearance for it to take off?”
Reports suggest that continuous bad weather at Lukla airport for eight consecutive days forced all flights to and from the Everest hub to be cancelled, until the day Captain Laxman Prakash Shah ‘Lucky’ took off in the morning. Lama, who has been a pilot for 23 years, says pilots in Nepal have to operate under tremendous pressure. “There are pilots flying eight hours a day six days a week. They might deny it, but accumulated fatigue does occur. On top of that, there is pressure from everywhere—political leaders getting late for a meeting, airline operators who will lose out on revenue—for pilots to fly no matter what the weather conditions are like.”
The 2006 Ghunsa crash, off-the-record reports suggest, occurred due to the minister’s assistant’s insistence that the minister had to return to Kathmandu for a meeting that very day. This statement is confirmed in the report In Search of Safer Skies: A Report on Aviation Safety, written by journalist Toya Dahal in 2008. Sadly, as aviation enthusiast Hemant Arjyal says, one can only conjecture after the crash has occurred.
The biggest failure towards making Nepali skies safer seems to have been on part of the regulatory body. CAAN’s non-stringent regulation mechanism and willingness to bow under operator pressure remains a major problem, without which, aviation experts agree, the issue of aviation safety cannot be resolved.
For example, there are reports that private airlines, to cut down on costs, remove the back-up generator from one aircraft and use that as the primary generator for another aircraft (an aircraft usually has a backup generator if the primary fails, and even if the backup fails, it can fly on the battery to land safely, at least). Lama asks, “Has CAAN been honest enough to check whether operators are maintaining their aircrafts properly or not?” As Dahal’s report says, CAAN has given air-worthiness certificates, necessary for any commercial aircraft, to operators who do not even have a single aircraft. Repeated efforts to reach CAAN or its officials for comments remained unanswered.
Airline operators deny that they pressure their pilots to fly in bad weather. “Weather is something which is not in one’s hands. It remains the control tower’s jurisdiction whether or not to allow the aircraft to fly. After that, the captain can decide whether the conditions are okay for flying or not,” says Bikas J.B. Rana, chairman of Fishtail Air and ex-president of Airline Operators Association of Nepal. He also says airline operators have to remain within CAAN safety and maintenance guidelines, as there are “regular audits” every six months to a year. “Operators do not want to violate safety regulations.”
Instead, Rana says the most difficult part about flying in Nepal is the terrain, more specifically, the STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) airfields located in mountainous areas like Lukla. “It is more challenging to land on STOLs than on any other airfield.”
Rana believes Nepal’s aviation standards are stringent, and that maintenance and pilots are “no less than international standards”.
Still, another aircraft has just crashed, and a probe commission has been formed to look into why 9N AHE crashed. The CAAN source, however, remains sceptic. He says that airline operators control the regulatory body to such an extent that some airlines do not even have their own maintenance engineers. “What can be expected from a crash report if the investigating members are all connected to airline operators?” the source says. Arjyal has a similar opinion. “Why should CAAN be any different than other government bodies which are as corrupt?”
Major air crashes in Nepal
Mar. 3, 1955 : A DC-3 belonging to Kalinga Air crashed in Simra, killing two. This was Nepal's first air crash.
July 12, 1969 : A DC-3 belonging to erstwhile-Royal Nepal Airlines crashed in Hetauda, killing 35.
July 31, 1992 : A Thai Airways Airbus A310 crashed into Ghyangphedi, killing 113 people.
Sept. 28, 1992 : In Nepal's most-fatal air crash so far, a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A300 crashed into Bhattedanda in Lalitpur, killing 167 people.
Oct. 10, 1999 : An Avro HS-748 belonging to Necon Air crashed in Ramkot near Kathmandu, killing 15.
July 27, 2000 : A Twin-Otter belonging to Royal Nepal Airlines crashed in Dadeldhura, killing 25.
Sept. 22, 2002 : A Twin-Otter belonging to Shangrila Air crashed in Kaski, killing 18.
June 21, 2006 : A Yeti Airlines Twin-Otter crashed at Jumla Airport, killing 9.
Sept. 23, 2006 : A MI-17 helicopter belonging to Shree Air crashed in Ghunsa, Taplejung, killing 24. Among others, conservationists Chandra Gurung and Tirtha Man Maskey, and geographer Harka Gurung were killed.
Mar. 3, 2008 : A MI-8 helicopter belonging to UNMIN crashed in Ramechhap, killing 10.
Oct. 8, 2008 : A Twin-Otter belonging to Yeti Airlines crashed in Lukla, killing 18. Only the Captain survived.
Aug. 24, 2010 : A Dornier belonging to Agni Air crashed in Makwanpur, killing 14.
Budget blues may hit promo
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 25 -
With uncertainty lingering over the announcement of a full budget, the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), has started lobbying with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to release the budget allocated for the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 (NTY-2011) promotion. The government has allocated Rs. 230 million for the promotion.
Only four months are left for the promo to begin. The government has scheduled it from Jan. 14.
“The government has made a positive move just when the weak economy is hitting the pace of growth,” said Laxman Prasad Bhattarai, spokesperson at MoTCA.
NTY-2011 could be the driver to pace the growth forecast to step up from 2011 onwards, Bhattarai said.
Plans for a massive promotion of NTY-2011 abroad have been hit by the delay in budget. The concerned stakeholders and authorities are disheartened by the government’s apathy. The NTY-2011 working committee had scheduled the international promotion campaign from the first week of August. However, lack of a full budget has hampered that.
Yogendra Shakya, coordinator of the NTY-2011 implementation committee, said that by now the private sector investment for the campaign preparation at the domestic level has reached over Rs. 20 million.
According to him, the committee had three strategic programmes at the domestic level - Political commitment, capacity building of the private sector and product. Among these, the committee has succeeded in getting the political sector’s commitment. Similarly, capacity building of hotels and aviation is going on. Hotels have invested over Rs. 300 million while numbers of new tourist standard hotels have been established at the regional level.
In terms of product building, the private sector has discovered new trekking trails. “Recently, we discovered a 140 days Great Himalayan trekking trails as a new product,” Shakya said.
While the private sector has the major role in product and programme development, the government is a major facilitator for infrastructure development and policy making in the tourism sector.
“The NTY-2011 working committee is coordinating with the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works and the Ministry of Local Development for infrastructure development and removal of garbage,” Shakya said.
Bringing in one million tourists in the post-conflict period means creating more business and income-generating activities. Moreover, it can be a vital way to regain lost glory and re-establish the country’s image as a popular holiday destination.
However, bad politics and a weak bureaucracy unable to take independent decisions have put the campaign’s success in the shadow of doubt,” a government official said.
Although, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) organizes regular tourism promotional events, NTY-2011 needs a separate and aggressive promotional campaign, Aditya Baral, the Board’s spokesman said.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 25 -
With uncertainty lingering over the announcement of a full budget, the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), has started lobbying with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to release the budget allocated for the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 (NTY-2011) promotion. The government has allocated Rs. 230 million for the promotion.
Only four months are left for the promo to begin. The government has scheduled it from Jan. 14.
“The government has made a positive move just when the weak economy is hitting the pace of growth,” said Laxman Prasad Bhattarai, spokesperson at MoTCA.
NTY-2011 could be the driver to pace the growth forecast to step up from 2011 onwards, Bhattarai said.
Plans for a massive promotion of NTY-2011 abroad have been hit by the delay in budget. The concerned stakeholders and authorities are disheartened by the government’s apathy. The NTY-2011 working committee had scheduled the international promotion campaign from the first week of August. However, lack of a full budget has hampered that.
Yogendra Shakya, coordinator of the NTY-2011 implementation committee, said that by now the private sector investment for the campaign preparation at the domestic level has reached over Rs. 20 million.
According to him, the committee had three strategic programmes at the domestic level - Political commitment, capacity building of the private sector and product. Among these, the committee has succeeded in getting the political sector’s commitment. Similarly, capacity building of hotels and aviation is going on. Hotels have invested over Rs. 300 million while numbers of new tourist standard hotels have been established at the regional level.
In terms of product building, the private sector has discovered new trekking trails. “Recently, we discovered a 140 days Great Himalayan trekking trails as a new product,” Shakya said.
While the private sector has the major role in product and programme development, the government is a major facilitator for infrastructure development and policy making in the tourism sector.
“The NTY-2011 working committee is coordinating with the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works and the Ministry of Local Development for infrastructure development and removal of garbage,” Shakya said.
Bringing in one million tourists in the post-conflict period means creating more business and income-generating activities. Moreover, it can be a vital way to regain lost glory and re-establish the country’s image as a popular holiday destination.
However, bad politics and a weak bureaucracy unable to take independent decisions have put the campaign’s success in the shadow of doubt,” a government official said.
Although, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) organizes regular tourism promotional events, NTY-2011 needs a separate and aggressive promotional campaign, Aditya Baral, the Board’s spokesman said.
Mustang folks out of bounds
SANGAM PRASAIN
POKHARA, AUG 27 -
Locals of Upper Mustang on Friday have threatened to bar tourists’ entry into the region from Oct. 1 as a protest against the government’s failure to distribute resources collected from the tourists.
According to locals, the Local Self Governance Act provisions that 30 percent of the revenue collected from a tourist area goes for development work of the concerned place, but Upper Mustang has not received its share for over 15 years.
As a result, the region still lacks electricity, roads, schools and hospitals. Food shortage is a perennial problem as the topography of Upper Mustang is unfavourable for crops.
The people of Upper Mustang say that the government is cheating them. “If the government had provided the fund as agreed there wouldn’t be all these problems that we’re having right now,” Raju Bista of Upper Mustang Youth Society said. “The government is simply taking from us and not giving back.” According to Annapurna Conservation Area Project, the government has collected more than Rs. 770 million in revenue through tourism from Upper Mustang, which started from 1993.
The government and the concerned ministries were informed of the people’s protest three months ago.
Rajendra Bajgain, general secretary of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN), said it was not TAAN’s responsibility to negotiate with the government.
The issue is one of resource allocation and the government is fully responsible for that. The matter has been hanging fire for a long time. “This shows that the Ministry of Home Affairs is reluctant to settle the issue,” said Bajgain. He added though that the locals do not have right to bar entry into the region as such acts will affect the tourism sector ultimately.
Spokesman at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation Laxman Prasad Bhattarai said that the issue was not associated with his ministry. He added that the Home Ministry is looking after the issue.
Jay Mukunda Khanal, spokesperson at the Home Ministry said that the issue was of revenue distribution and the Ministry of Finance should take a call on it. “We will dispatch a letter in this regard to the Finance Ministry on Monday,” he said.
The picturesque, majestic windswept landscapes, flat-roofed stone houses and their inhabitants who follow Tibetan culture draw tourists from all over the world to this region. Upper Mustang, a four-day walk from district headquarters Jomsom, is a place where foreign visitors are required to pay US$ 500 per head as entry fee for 10 days.
Meanwhile, the decision taken by the Upper Mustang folk has miffed tourism entrepreneurs in Pokhara who said that shutting off a popular tourist destination just ahead of Nepal Tourism Year 2011 was a bad idea.
SANGAM PRASAIN
POKHARA, AUG 27 -
Locals of Upper Mustang on Friday have threatened to bar tourists’ entry into the region from Oct. 1 as a protest against the government’s failure to distribute resources collected from the tourists.
According to locals, the Local Self Governance Act provisions that 30 percent of the revenue collected from a tourist area goes for development work of the concerned place, but Upper Mustang has not received its share for over 15 years.
As a result, the region still lacks electricity, roads, schools and hospitals. Food shortage is a perennial problem as the topography of Upper Mustang is unfavourable for crops.
The people of Upper Mustang say that the government is cheating them. “If the government had provided the fund as agreed there wouldn’t be all these problems that we’re having right now,” Raju Bista of Upper Mustang Youth Society said. “The government is simply taking from us and not giving back.” According to Annapurna Conservation Area Project, the government has collected more than Rs. 770 million in revenue through tourism from Upper Mustang, which started from 1993.
The government and the concerned ministries were informed of the people’s protest three months ago.
Rajendra Bajgain, general secretary of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN), said it was not TAAN’s responsibility to negotiate with the government.
The issue is one of resource allocation and the government is fully responsible for that. The matter has been hanging fire for a long time. “This shows that the Ministry of Home Affairs is reluctant to settle the issue,” said Bajgain. He added though that the locals do not have right to bar entry into the region as such acts will affect the tourism sector ultimately.
Spokesman at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation Laxman Prasad Bhattarai said that the issue was not associated with his ministry. He added that the Home Ministry is looking after the issue.
Jay Mukunda Khanal, spokesperson at the Home Ministry said that the issue was of revenue distribution and the Ministry of Finance should take a call on it. “We will dispatch a letter in this regard to the Finance Ministry on Monday,” he said.
The picturesque, majestic windswept landscapes, flat-roofed stone houses and their inhabitants who follow Tibetan culture draw tourists from all over the world to this region. Upper Mustang, a four-day walk from district headquarters Jomsom, is a place where foreign visitors are required to pay US$ 500 per head as entry fee for 10 days.
Meanwhile, the decision taken by the Upper Mustang folk has miffed tourism entrepreneurs in Pokhara who said that shutting off a popular tourist destination just ahead of Nepal Tourism Year 2011 was a bad idea.
Nepalis struck by wanderlust
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 27 -
Nepali outbound has been gradually increasing thanks to affordable tour packages and rising disposable income.
According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the number of Nepali holidaymakers visiting foreign countries increased by 26 percent to 27,679 in 2009 from 21,899 in 2008.
Tour operators say that the most popular destination for Nepali fun seekers is Thailand followed by Malaysia and Singapore. More Nepali travellers are making trips to European destinations and Japan too.
Changing lifestyles of the younger generation combined with simplified visa procedures and easy availability of tour packages have spurred Nepalis to travel and see the world, said travel agents.
Bhola Bikram Thapa, managing director of President Travel & Tours, said that outbound figures could double this year considering present sales trends.
Simplification of visa procedures by European countries has also encouraged Nepali travellers to spend their holidays on the Continent.
“Last year, we sold around 800-1,000 packages which represented a slight growth over the previous year,” he added.
An expanding middle class in Nepal is another reason for the growth in outbound. A recent report published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) entitled The Rise of Asia’s Middle Class said that there were 1.41 million people in Nepal earning US$ 4-10 per day. Similarly, 230,000 Nepalis earn US$ 10-20 per day and 100,000 people make more than US$ 20 per day.
With the Dashain festival approaching, travel agents said that bookings were picking up. The holidays start from mid-September. Most of the bookings are for tour packages to Bangkok.
Marco Polo Travels, that deals in tours to Thailand, Malaysia, Egypt and China, has already sold 150 packages. Last year, the agency sold over 500 packages.
“People want to get away from their daily routine here. And these packages offer what they want,” said Prajita Satyal, sales executive of Marco Polo Travels.
“Nepalis prefer to spend their holidays in Bangkok because of the wide range of amusements available there from shopping and safari to speed boat rides and visit to Coral Island,” she said.
Marco Polo’s five-night, six-day package with three nights in Bangkok, two in Pattaya and a day trip to Coral Island costs Rs. 44,000 including airfare. Accommodation is provided in three-star hotels.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 27 -
Nepali outbound has been gradually increasing thanks to affordable tour packages and rising disposable income.
According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the number of Nepali holidaymakers visiting foreign countries increased by 26 percent to 27,679 in 2009 from 21,899 in 2008.
Tour operators say that the most popular destination for Nepali fun seekers is Thailand followed by Malaysia and Singapore. More Nepali travellers are making trips to European destinations and Japan too.
Changing lifestyles of the younger generation combined with simplified visa procedures and easy availability of tour packages have spurred Nepalis to travel and see the world, said travel agents.
Bhola Bikram Thapa, managing director of President Travel & Tours, said that outbound figures could double this year considering present sales trends.
Simplification of visa procedures by European countries has also encouraged Nepali travellers to spend their holidays on the Continent.
“Last year, we sold around 800-1,000 packages which represented a slight growth over the previous year,” he added.
An expanding middle class in Nepal is another reason for the growth in outbound. A recent report published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) entitled The Rise of Asia’s Middle Class said that there were 1.41 million people in Nepal earning US$ 4-10 per day. Similarly, 230,000 Nepalis earn US$ 10-20 per day and 100,000 people make more than US$ 20 per day.
With the Dashain festival approaching, travel agents said that bookings were picking up. The holidays start from mid-September. Most of the bookings are for tour packages to Bangkok.
Marco Polo Travels, that deals in tours to Thailand, Malaysia, Egypt and China, has already sold 150 packages. Last year, the agency sold over 500 packages.
“People want to get away from their daily routine here. And these packages offer what they want,” said Prajita Satyal, sales executive of Marco Polo Travels.
“Nepalis prefer to spend their holidays in Bangkok because of the wide range of amusements available there from shopping and safari to speed boat rides and visit to Coral Island,” she said.
Marco Polo’s five-night, six-day package with three nights in Bangkok, two in Pattaya and a day trip to Coral Island costs Rs. 44,000 including airfare. Accommodation is provided in three-star hotels.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
14 killed in Agni Air crash
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG. 24
Fourteen people, including five Nepali, four Americans, Japanese, a British national and 3 aircraft crew, were killed when Agni Air’s 9N AHE D-228 (15-seater-Dornier) crashed at Sikharpur VDC-2, Bastipur in Makwanpur district on Tuesday.
Airport officials said that the incident took place at about 7;30 am while the carrier heading to Lukla diverted back to Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) reported of bad weather.
The plane had five Nepali passengers—Ishwar Rijal, Ashwari Rai, Temba Nurbu Sherpa, Prakash Amagain and P. Sherpa-- and three crews—pilot Laxman Prakash Shah (Lucky), co-pilot Sophiya Singh and airhostess Sahara Sherpa.
Foreigners includes—Yuki Hayashe (Japanese), Taylor Jeremy (British) and Americans; Irina Shekhets, Levzi Cardoso, Heather Finch, Kendra Dominique Fallon. All the passengers were boarded in AG-101 scheduled the departure time at 6: 30 am.
Bimlesh Karna, manager, Air Traffic Section, TIA said that the cause of the crash was unknown however; the preliminary study shows the bad weather condition was behind the accident.
According to him, the flight contacted the control tower in TIA after 15 minutes of its take-off. “Weather was clear in both TIA and Lukla airport when the aircraft took-off but after some 15 minutes the pilot reported the control room that the weather condition was bad in the mid-way,” he said.
Airport authority said that the aircraft was in 35 nautical miles (in between Ramechhap and Jiri) when it encountered with heavy rainfall and clouds.
Responding the pilot, the control room instructed the aircraft to divert to the South direction i.e the Simara route.
Karna said that the flight was operated under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) system that needs the plane to approach 11,500 ft. Under this rules, aircraft can be operated at 1,500 meter visibility. While the normal flight ‘Visual Flights Rules’ needs 5,000 meter visibility.
The IFR is a regulation and procedures for flying aircraft by referring only to the aircraft instrument panel for navigation. Even if nothing can be seen outside the cockpit windows, an IFR-rated pilot can fly while looking only at the instrument panel. IFR-rated pilots are authorized to fly through clouds.
The gateway of Mt. Everest, Lukla had been reported of bad weather for eight consecutive days. Only, on last Sunday, a single aircraft made a flight movement. Agni Air was the first scheduled flight to Lukla on Tuesday.
As per the IFR instruction, the aircraft was directed to fly 16 nautical miles towards South but after the aircraft reached 8 nautical miles to South, the pilot again contacted the tower that the weather was clear there and the aircraft was making direct flight to TIA from that point, Karna said. “Since than, we lost contact with the aircraft,” Karna said. The control tower lost communication with the aircraft at 7: 26.
According to a source, Agni was stalled due to the mechanical problem. Stalls in fixed-wing flight are often experienced as a sudden reduction in lift. However, a stall does not mean that the engine(s) have stopped working, or that the aircraft has stopped moving. Stall problem emerged as the generator of the aircraft failed.
Binod Giri, Director, Aviation Safety Department, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said that the cause of cash cannot be identified immediately. “It can be either mechanical problem or weather problem that the accident happened; however there is no surety which problem the aircraft encountered,” he said.
However, Agni Air’s marketing manager Pramod Pandey said that the aircraft had had a regular check-up and there was no technical problem observed. The aircraft was added to the Agni’s fleet four years ago.
This aircraft crash has happened after a two-year interval. In 2008, October, the Yeti Airlines plane carrying 16 passengers (12 Germans and two Australians) and four crew crashed in Lukla airport during landing. Only the pilot survived in the crash.
Government forms prove committee
The government has formed a five-member committee led by aviation expert Kumar Prasad Upadhyay to study the plane crash incident on Tuesday.
The committee comprises Rajan Pokharel, deputy director of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), Rajendra Man Shakya, captain of Sita Air and Sharad Bhakta Raj Bhandari, engineer of Buddha Air, and under secretary of CAAN Suresh Acharya as member. The committee has to submit its report within 65 days.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Tourism ministers invited to NTY 2011
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 22 -
The government has invited tourism ministers of 21 Asian countries for the inauguration of Nepal Tourism Year (NTY-2011). NTY-2011 is scheduled to be inaugurated on Jan. 14, 2011 in Kathmandu.
“We have sent them invitation letters,” said Laxman Prasad Bhattarai, spokesman of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA). The government has planned to organise an extensive meeting with the ministers on Jan. 13 to strengthen bilateral ties and promote tourism in Asia. The same day, there will be separate meetings of tourism ministers of SAARC nations.
Prior to the meeting of ministers, Nepal will hold a joint secretary meeting of the SAARC Tourism Working Committee on Jan. 12 where discussions will focus on problems and barriers regarding tourism promotion, said spokesman Bhattarai.
The government has also invited the secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) to attend the grand launching of NTY-2011. The inauguration will be held at Dasrath Stadium, Kathmandu.
According to Aditya Baral, director and spokesman at the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the SAARC inter-government body will discuss the possibility of joint marketing, softening the visa regime, giving access to cross-border driving licenses, making Indian currency more flexible and increasing inter-SAARC movement by air by the national flag carriers of each country. “All these ministers will express their solidarity with the theme ‘We are together for tourism’ amid a gala function,” said Baral. He said that the NTB had proposed giving a public holiday to government staff on the day. The then Maoist-led government had announced the NTY-2011 campaign in October 2008 with the aim of bringing one million tourists in 2011.
Nepal, Tibet to talk tourism promotion
Delegates from Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China will discuss ways to promote tourism at a meeting of the Fourth Joint Coordination Committee scheduled to be held from Sept. 10-15 in Lhasa.
According to an official of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), 13 delegates from Nepal (six government officials and seven from the private sector) and three government representatives from Tibet will be participating in the meeting that will discuss tourism promotion in the two destinations and develop appropriate plans.
The official added that Nepal had set five major items in the agenda this year. They include issuing visas from the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu to tourists wishing to enter Tibet from Nepal, simplifying helicopter rescue operations in Tibet, resuming Nepal-Lhasa bus service, providing visas to tour and expedition operators on a visa reciprocal basis and royalty waiver for Nepali expedition operators in Tibet.
Nepali expedition operators are presently required to pay US$ 1,400-2,000 per person as expedition royalty.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 22 -
The government has invited tourism ministers of 21 Asian countries for the inauguration of Nepal Tourism Year (NTY-2011). NTY-2011 is scheduled to be inaugurated on Jan. 14, 2011 in Kathmandu.
“We have sent them invitation letters,” said Laxman Prasad Bhattarai, spokesman of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA). The government has planned to organise an extensive meeting with the ministers on Jan. 13 to strengthen bilateral ties and promote tourism in Asia. The same day, there will be separate meetings of tourism ministers of SAARC nations.
Prior to the meeting of ministers, Nepal will hold a joint secretary meeting of the SAARC Tourism Working Committee on Jan. 12 where discussions will focus on problems and barriers regarding tourism promotion, said spokesman Bhattarai.
The government has also invited the secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) to attend the grand launching of NTY-2011. The inauguration will be held at Dasrath Stadium, Kathmandu.
According to Aditya Baral, director and spokesman at the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the SAARC inter-government body will discuss the possibility of joint marketing, softening the visa regime, giving access to cross-border driving licenses, making Indian currency more flexible and increasing inter-SAARC movement by air by the national flag carriers of each country. “All these ministers will express their solidarity with the theme ‘We are together for tourism’ amid a gala function,” said Baral. He said that the NTB had proposed giving a public holiday to government staff on the day. The then Maoist-led government had announced the NTY-2011 campaign in October 2008 with the aim of bringing one million tourists in 2011.
Nepal, Tibet to talk tourism promotion
Delegates from Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China will discuss ways to promote tourism at a meeting of the Fourth Joint Coordination Committee scheduled to be held from Sept. 10-15 in Lhasa.
According to an official of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), 13 delegates from Nepal (six government officials and seven from the private sector) and three government representatives from Tibet will be participating in the meeting that will discuss tourism promotion in the two destinations and develop appropriate plans.
The official added that Nepal had set five major items in the agenda this year. They include issuing visas from the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu to tourists wishing to enter Tibet from Nepal, simplifying helicopter rescue operations in Tibet, resuming Nepal-Lhasa bus service, providing visas to tour and expedition operators on a visa reciprocal basis and royalty waiver for Nepali expedition operators in Tibet.
Nepali expedition operators are presently required to pay US$ 1,400-2,000 per person as expedition royalty.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Adventure options send young arrivals soaring
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 22 -
Young tourists are coming to Nepal in greater numbers thanks to a rise in adventure tourism opportunities. According to the annual report of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), the number of travellers in the
16-30 age group surged by 32 percent to 140,805 in 2009 up from 106,596 in 2008.
The rise in young tourists supplements the fact that more people are coming to Nepal for adventure tourism. MoTCA’s annual report shows that the number of visitors seeking adrenaline-pumping sports—high altitude trekking, mountaineering, bungee jumping, skydiving, golfing and rafting—went up by 26.81 percent.
According to travel trade entrepreneurs, Nepal has tremendous potential in adventure tourism, which has been identified as one of the fastest growing segments in global tourism.
Tourists in the 16-30 age group made up 27.6 percent of total arrivals in 2009, making them the second largest group among visitors to Nepal. There were 509,956 travellers to the country in 2009. “About 40 percent of the visitors are attracted by adventure activities, and these are young people,” said Aditya Baral, spokesman and senior director of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).
MoTCA’s statistics reveal a number of interesting facts. Tourist arrivals in the 0-15 age group almost doubled in 2009. A total of 84,891 visitors of this age group visited Nepal in 2009, up from 42,581 in 2008. “This is a significant increment; however, visitors in this age group are not independent travellers,” Baral said. He added that the increment in this age group indicated that more family visitors were coming to Nepal.
MoTCA’s statistics suggest that fewer travellers are visiting Nepal for leisure activities and meetings, conferences and incentives (MICE). The number of tourists in the 31-45 and 46-60 age groups—who normally come for holiday, business and official purposes—declined to 141,955 in 2009. The figures in 2008 and 2007 were 50,171 and 164,488 respectively.
Despite the drop, this age group remains the top segment accounting to 27.8 percent of total arrivals in 2009.
Arrivals in the 46-60 age group fell to 99,197 in 2009 from 121,387 in 2008. They made up 19.5 percent of total arrivals in 2009, down from 24.3 percent in the previous year.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 22 -
Young tourists are coming to Nepal in greater numbers thanks to a rise in adventure tourism opportunities. According to the annual report of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), the number of travellers in the
16-30 age group surged by 32 percent to 140,805 in 2009 up from 106,596 in 2008.
The rise in young tourists supplements the fact that more people are coming to Nepal for adventure tourism. MoTCA’s annual report shows that the number of visitors seeking adrenaline-pumping sports—high altitude trekking, mountaineering, bungee jumping, skydiving, golfing and rafting—went up by 26.81 percent.
According to travel trade entrepreneurs, Nepal has tremendous potential in adventure tourism, which has been identified as one of the fastest growing segments in global tourism.
Tourists in the 16-30 age group made up 27.6 percent of total arrivals in 2009, making them the second largest group among visitors to Nepal. There were 509,956 travellers to the country in 2009. “About 40 percent of the visitors are attracted by adventure activities, and these are young people,” said Aditya Baral, spokesman and senior director of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).
MoTCA’s statistics reveal a number of interesting facts. Tourist arrivals in the 0-15 age group almost doubled in 2009. A total of 84,891 visitors of this age group visited Nepal in 2009, up from 42,581 in 2008. “This is a significant increment; however, visitors in this age group are not independent travellers,” Baral said. He added that the increment in this age group indicated that more family visitors were coming to Nepal.
MoTCA’s statistics suggest that fewer travellers are visiting Nepal for leisure activities and meetings, conferences and incentives (MICE). The number of tourists in the 31-45 and 46-60 age groups—who normally come for holiday, business and official purposes—declined to 141,955 in 2009. The figures in 2008 and 2007 were 50,171 and 164,488 respectively.
Despite the drop, this age group remains the top segment accounting to 27.8 percent of total arrivals in 2009.
Arrivals in the 46-60 age group fell to 99,197 in 2009 from 121,387 in 2008. They made up 19.5 percent of total arrivals in 2009, down from 24.3 percent in the previous year.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
New pilots face increasing hurdles in taking up jobs
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 20 -
An increasing number of pilots is being grounded as the domestic aviation industry is shrinking against the number of pilots emerging from each year.
According to data of the Airlines Operators’ Association of Nepal (AOAN), since 2008 May 30 to 2010 July, 194 pilots qualified for the commercial pilot license (CPL) conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).
At an interaction organized here on Friday to raise awareness about the recent scenario of domestic aviation sector and pilot unemployment rate, AOAN said that that pilot aspirants were spending big amounts of money, with no result. Over the last two years, more than Rs. 540 million flew off to foreign countries for the pilot course. “One student’s minimum expenses represent Rs. 3 million,” said Rameshore Thapa, president of AOAN.
He said that looking at the market, there is no possibility of entry of new domestic players. “Although there has been rapid growth in the domestic aviation front since the last several years, the development of infrastructure and other physical facilities are discouraging,” he said adding that AOAN has been requesting the government to address the issue.
Issues regarding unemployment are becoming severe. Until now, CAAN has conducted the examination for the 44th pilot batch. “Some 650 pilots attended the CPL, and 413 qualified for the license. The pass percentage was 63.5,” said Yog Raj Kandel, general manager of Simrik Air and a member
of AOAN. CAAN conducted its first CPL in 1995. Pilots who have completed their course abroad should pass the CPL from the concerned Civil Aviation there and also in the country they represent from. However, looking at the pass percentage, the rate is high on one hand but there are no jobs available in terms of small corporate aviation in the country, which is sending these skilled people into depression, Kandel said.
Pursuing the pilot course has risen significantly since two years. According to AOAN, jobs shortfall for the pilots started since the 36 batch.
Before this, there was demand for Nepali pilots in both domestic and international aviation sector. Over 27 pilots are working in Indian aviation. “On July 16, after the Indian government announced giving priority to Indians, Nepali pilots have started returning from India,” Kandel said.
Rakshya Joshi, who completed the pilot training course in the Philippines said, “I invested US$ 40,000 (excluding other expenses) for a one year course as tuition fee.”
According to her, she has applied to several airlines for the job. “I am waiting for a call from anyone,” she said adding that she injected the money into her career.
“It’s not strange to be jobless, look at other professions - doctors, engineers and others all are suffering. It all about the country’s situation,” she said. Suman Pandey, general secretary of AOAN and chief executive officer of Fishtail Air said massive money needs to be injected to be a pilot.
If the student passes the exam, it does not mean that he or she has secured a job. The biggest barrier is that if a pilot after getting CPA does not fly any aircraft for two years his/her license will be invalid. The focus of this programme is to inform people that they are wasting big money on becoming pilots. “The way the economy is, there aren’t many airlines hiring pilots,” said Pandey.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 20 -
An increasing number of pilots is being grounded as the domestic aviation industry is shrinking against the number of pilots emerging from each year.
According to data of the Airlines Operators’ Association of Nepal (AOAN), since 2008 May 30 to 2010 July, 194 pilots qualified for the commercial pilot license (CPL) conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).
At an interaction organized here on Friday to raise awareness about the recent scenario of domestic aviation sector and pilot unemployment rate, AOAN said that that pilot aspirants were spending big amounts of money, with no result. Over the last two years, more than Rs. 540 million flew off to foreign countries for the pilot course. “One student’s minimum expenses represent Rs. 3 million,” said Rameshore Thapa, president of AOAN.
He said that looking at the market, there is no possibility of entry of new domestic players. “Although there has been rapid growth in the domestic aviation front since the last several years, the development of infrastructure and other physical facilities are discouraging,” he said adding that AOAN has been requesting the government to address the issue.
Issues regarding unemployment are becoming severe. Until now, CAAN has conducted the examination for the 44th pilot batch. “Some 650 pilots attended the CPL, and 413 qualified for the license. The pass percentage was 63.5,” said Yog Raj Kandel, general manager of Simrik Air and a member
of AOAN. CAAN conducted its first CPL in 1995. Pilots who have completed their course abroad should pass the CPL from the concerned Civil Aviation there and also in the country they represent from. However, looking at the pass percentage, the rate is high on one hand but there are no jobs available in terms of small corporate aviation in the country, which is sending these skilled people into depression, Kandel said.
Pursuing the pilot course has risen significantly since two years. According to AOAN, jobs shortfall for the pilots started since the 36 batch.
Before this, there was demand for Nepali pilots in both domestic and international aviation sector. Over 27 pilots are working in Indian aviation. “On July 16, after the Indian government announced giving priority to Indians, Nepali pilots have started returning from India,” Kandel said.
Rakshya Joshi, who completed the pilot training course in the Philippines said, “I invested US$ 40,000 (excluding other expenses) for a one year course as tuition fee.”
According to her, she has applied to several airlines for the job. “I am waiting for a call from anyone,” she said adding that she injected the money into her career.
“It’s not strange to be jobless, look at other professions - doctors, engineers and others all are suffering. It all about the country’s situation,” she said. Suman Pandey, general secretary of AOAN and chief executive officer of Fishtail Air said massive money needs to be injected to be a pilot.
If the student passes the exam, it does not mean that he or she has secured a job. The biggest barrier is that if a pilot after getting CPA does not fly any aircraft for two years his/her license will be invalid. The focus of this programme is to inform people that they are wasting big money on becoming pilots. “The way the economy is, there aren’t many airlines hiring pilots,” said Pandey.
Single-engine birds back in sky
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 20 -
Single-engine aircraft have returned to the Nepali skies after a hiatus of almost two decades.
According to the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), Kasthamandap Air, Tara Air and Makalu Air are already operating commercial flights with single-engine planes. Akash Bhairav and Highlander Aviation are awaiting their air operator certificate (AOC).
The government had banned single-engine aircraft in the 1990s following a series of accidents involving these small planes. When Maoist leader Hisila Yami became tourism minister in 2008, the government took a bold decision to bring them back. The government's decision was based on the premise that single-engine aircraft were suitable in a mountainous country like Nepal. “It was not easy to convince the ministry to permit single-engine planes to fly in Nepal. We argued a lot to convince the ministry, and finally it relented,” said Air Kasthamandap’s chief executive officer Dorji Tsering Sherpa.
Single-engine aircraft are known for their short take-off and landing (STOL) capabilities on any type of terrain. A STOL plane needs only 195 m of runway to take off, and it can stop within 130 metres on landing while carrying a payload of 1,500 kg.
Single-engine aircraft have a 50-year-long history in Nepal. A PC-6 Pilatus Porter provided support for the first successful ascent of Dhaulagiri in 1960. “It was a Swiss pilot Emil Wick who flew a Pilatus Porter in the high Himalaya for the first time in the 1960s,” said Sherpa of Air Kasthamandap. Wick also trained Nepal Airlines Corporation pilots to fly the aircraft. NAC had a complete monopoly on operating single-engine aircraft for more than 30 years from 1961-98 with three Pilatus Porters. After the open-sky policy of the 1990s, more private players started using single-engine aircraft. The now defunct Necon Air was the first private carrier to fly the Cessna Caravan. Necon Air operated this aircraft for seven years. After the government re-opened the Nepali skies to single-engine aircraft, Air Kasthamandap became the first to acquire a license to operate one. It re-introduced the Swiss-made Pilatus Porter in Nepal. Currently, it has two Pilatus Porters and one PAC750XL manufactured in New Zea land in its fleet. Air Kasthamandap links Nepalgunj with remote airstrips at Simikot, Mugu, Dolpa, Bajura and Surkhet.
Makalu Air is the latest entrant in the single-engine club. The carrier recently started operations from its base in Nepalgunj. It has made a test flight to Talcha in Mugu with its Cessna Grand Caravan.
Tara Air, a subsidiary of Yeti Airlines, has two brand new Swiss-made PC-6 Pilatus Porters. The carrier currently operates flights to Langtang, Dhorpatan and Syangboche. It also serves skydivers.
Apart from the technical advantage, it is the cost that has prompted domestic airline operators to opt for single-engine aircraft. A single-engine aircraft costs around US$ 1.5 million while a Twin Otter or Dornier costs US$ 3 million. Likewise, operation costs are much lower. A single-engine aircraft’s flying cost is US$ 400 per hour while the flying cost for a Twin Otter is US$ 1,400 per hour.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 20 -
Single-engine aircraft have returned to the Nepali skies after a hiatus of almost two decades.
According to the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), Kasthamandap Air, Tara Air and Makalu Air are already operating commercial flights with single-engine planes. Akash Bhairav and Highlander Aviation are awaiting their air operator certificate (AOC).
The government had banned single-engine aircraft in the 1990s following a series of accidents involving these small planes. When Maoist leader Hisila Yami became tourism minister in 2008, the government took a bold decision to bring them back. The government's decision was based on the premise that single-engine aircraft were suitable in a mountainous country like Nepal. “It was not easy to convince the ministry to permit single-engine planes to fly in Nepal. We argued a lot to convince the ministry, and finally it relented,” said Air Kasthamandap’s chief executive officer Dorji Tsering Sherpa.
Single-engine aircraft are known for their short take-off and landing (STOL) capabilities on any type of terrain. A STOL plane needs only 195 m of runway to take off, and it can stop within 130 metres on landing while carrying a payload of 1,500 kg.
Single-engine aircraft have a 50-year-long history in Nepal. A PC-6 Pilatus Porter provided support for the first successful ascent of Dhaulagiri in 1960. “It was a Swiss pilot Emil Wick who flew a Pilatus Porter in the high Himalaya for the first time in the 1960s,” said Sherpa of Air Kasthamandap. Wick also trained Nepal Airlines Corporation pilots to fly the aircraft. NAC had a complete monopoly on operating single-engine aircraft for more than 30 years from 1961-98 with three Pilatus Porters. After the open-sky policy of the 1990s, more private players started using single-engine aircraft. The now defunct Necon Air was the first private carrier to fly the Cessna Caravan. Necon Air operated this aircraft for seven years. After the government re-opened the Nepali skies to single-engine aircraft, Air Kasthamandap became the first to acquire a license to operate one. It re-introduced the Swiss-made Pilatus Porter in Nepal. Currently, it has two Pilatus Porters and one PAC750XL manufactured in New Zea land in its fleet. Air Kasthamandap links Nepalgunj with remote airstrips at Simikot, Mugu, Dolpa, Bajura and Surkhet.
Makalu Air is the latest entrant in the single-engine club. The carrier recently started operations from its base in Nepalgunj. It has made a test flight to Talcha in Mugu with its Cessna Grand Caravan.
Tara Air, a subsidiary of Yeti Airlines, has two brand new Swiss-made PC-6 Pilatus Porters. The carrier currently operates flights to Langtang, Dhorpatan and Syangboche. It also serves skydivers.
Apart from the technical advantage, it is the cost that has prompted domestic airline operators to opt for single-engine aircraft. A single-engine aircraft costs around US$ 1.5 million while a Twin Otter or Dornier costs US$ 3 million. Likewise, operation costs are much lower. A single-engine aircraft’s flying cost is US$ 400 per hour while the flying cost for a Twin Otter is US$ 1,400 per hour.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
30pc of LPG cylinders potential bomb
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 16 -
More than 30 percent of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders in circulation are at high risk of explosion, according to gas dealers, consumer rights activists and other concerned stakeholders.
“About 4 million gas cylinders are currently in circulation in the country, out of which 30 percent (1.2 million cylinders) haven't passed through a hydrostatic test to check the quality of the cylinders. These cylinders can blow up anytime,” admitted Gyaneshwor Aryal, president of the Gas Dealers Federation Nepal, at a press conference on Monday.
According to him, 300,000 cylinders out of the 30 percent that have not been tested are sent back to the market with only their foot rings changed. “These recycled cylinders are like a cylinder bomb,” he said.
Similarly, sub-standard cylinders, old valves and worn-out regulators may cause cylinder explosions. Due to the substandard products used, the chances of cylinder leakage are high. When there is a leak, the gas inside tends to get concentrated in an enclosed area and thus creates a risk of a severe explosion and fire.
Several deaths have occurred due to cylinder explosions in recent times. More than seven people lost their lives last year due to cylinder explosions in the Kathmandu Valley alone.
“We confess that high profit motives have tainted entrepreneurs to sell non-standards regulators, valves and old cylinders, which are killing people. We have been raising the issue for the last 10 years; however, the concerned bodies are not paying any attention to the issue,” Aryal said. He added that this kind of issue could be stopped through a legal act only.
There are over 27 gas bottling plants in Nepal. The country's annual gas consumption is 17,000 tons. However, Digambar Jha, general manager of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), said that there was no case identified of cylinder explosions until now. “The explosion is caused by valve and regulator leakage,” he said, adding that substandard valves, regulators and pipes were the major reasons of fire or explosion.
An expert said that gas leaks generate large volumes of flammable vapours, which is heavier than air. The leaked gas travel to the confined space and if it gets any sparks the whole place will be caught with severe fire and the fire causes the cylinder to explode.
“Accidents from gas explosion are increasing but there are no bases to prove any one guilty. Since the NOC is a company, where the government has a 98 percent stake, it cannot penalize anyone,” Jha said.
He said that the only things NOC could do is that it has authority to suspend the license of the gas industry. “There is a dire need of Petroleum Law to address such issues,” Jha added. Sita Ram Joshi, Director General, Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NEBSM) said the NEBSM used to monitor the quality and standards of gas and gas related products during 1996. There was a certain code of conduct for gas industries, sellers and dealers. However, none of them abided it, which became unworkable.
The NEBSM stopped monitoring on the issue from 2003. “However, with the gas explosion accident increasing more, the Ministry of Industry again called the NEBSM to take the suggestion regarding the technical part in June 2010,” Joshi added.
He said that of the total registered gas industries, 10 were found not following hydrostatic test. “We have issued circular to scrap the license of those industries not following the test on May, “he said.
Ban slapped on import of 5-kg, 3-kg cylinders
The Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NEBSM) has issued a circular to the Customs Department asking it to stop the import of 5-kg and 3-kg LP gas cylinders after they were found to be technically hazardous for use.
According to the NEBSM, these cylinders were found to have a simple regulator that does not incorporate the standard to ensure safety. Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) had recently pushed for introduction of 5-kg cylinders for low-end consumers.
The corporation's move to introduce low-capacity cylinders was aimed to increase the access of poor people to gas, which is an efficient and relatively cleaner fuel than kerosene. Similarly, a circular has also been issue to stop the uncertified import of regulators. In coordination with the Ministry of Industry and the Customs Department, the NEBSM has issued a circular to stop unauthorized import of gas regulators. It has recommended the import of only ISO certified regulators.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 16 -
More than 30 percent of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders in circulation are at high risk of explosion, according to gas dealers, consumer rights activists and other concerned stakeholders.
“About 4 million gas cylinders are currently in circulation in the country, out of which 30 percent (1.2 million cylinders) haven't passed through a hydrostatic test to check the quality of the cylinders. These cylinders can blow up anytime,” admitted Gyaneshwor Aryal, president of the Gas Dealers Federation Nepal, at a press conference on Monday.
According to him, 300,000 cylinders out of the 30 percent that have not been tested are sent back to the market with only their foot rings changed. “These recycled cylinders are like a cylinder bomb,” he said.
Similarly, sub-standard cylinders, old valves and worn-out regulators may cause cylinder explosions. Due to the substandard products used, the chances of cylinder leakage are high. When there is a leak, the gas inside tends to get concentrated in an enclosed area and thus creates a risk of a severe explosion and fire.
Several deaths have occurred due to cylinder explosions in recent times. More than seven people lost their lives last year due to cylinder explosions in the Kathmandu Valley alone.
“We confess that high profit motives have tainted entrepreneurs to sell non-standards regulators, valves and old cylinders, which are killing people. We have been raising the issue for the last 10 years; however, the concerned bodies are not paying any attention to the issue,” Aryal said. He added that this kind of issue could be stopped through a legal act only.
There are over 27 gas bottling plants in Nepal. The country's annual gas consumption is 17,000 tons. However, Digambar Jha, general manager of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), said that there was no case identified of cylinder explosions until now. “The explosion is caused by valve and regulator leakage,” he said, adding that substandard valves, regulators and pipes were the major reasons of fire or explosion.
An expert said that gas leaks generate large volumes of flammable vapours, which is heavier than air. The leaked gas travel to the confined space and if it gets any sparks the whole place will be caught with severe fire and the fire causes the cylinder to explode.
“Accidents from gas explosion are increasing but there are no bases to prove any one guilty. Since the NOC is a company, where the government has a 98 percent stake, it cannot penalize anyone,” Jha said.
He said that the only things NOC could do is that it has authority to suspend the license of the gas industry. “There is a dire need of Petroleum Law to address such issues,” Jha added. Sita Ram Joshi, Director General, Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NEBSM) said the NEBSM used to monitor the quality and standards of gas and gas related products during 1996. There was a certain code of conduct for gas industries, sellers and dealers. However, none of them abided it, which became unworkable.
The NEBSM stopped monitoring on the issue from 2003. “However, with the gas explosion accident increasing more, the Ministry of Industry again called the NEBSM to take the suggestion regarding the technical part in June 2010,” Joshi added.
He said that of the total registered gas industries, 10 were found not following hydrostatic test. “We have issued circular to scrap the license of those industries not following the test on May, “he said.
Ban slapped on import of 5-kg, 3-kg cylinders
The Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NEBSM) has issued a circular to the Customs Department asking it to stop the import of 5-kg and 3-kg LP gas cylinders after they were found to be technically hazardous for use.
According to the NEBSM, these cylinders were found to have a simple regulator that does not incorporate the standard to ensure safety. Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) had recently pushed for introduction of 5-kg cylinders for low-end consumers.
The corporation's move to introduce low-capacity cylinders was aimed to increase the access of poor people to gas, which is an efficient and relatively cleaner fuel than kerosene. Similarly, a circular has also been issue to stop the uncertified import of regulators. In coordination with the Ministry of Industry and the Customs Department, the NEBSM has issued a circular to stop unauthorized import of gas regulators. It has recommended the import of only ISO certified regulators.
Inadequate rain hits paddy crop
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 17 -
Despite the arrival of monsoon on time, irregular and inadequate rainfalls in some parts of the Tarai have hit paddy plantation this year as well. There has been no plantation in 165,000 hectares of land this season.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC), overall paddy plantation across the country till mid-August remained at 89 percent.
The country’s overall paddy plantation area is 1.553 million hectares.
The MoAC officials, however, maintained that plantation rate has increased by two percent as compared to the same period last year. But paddy plantation in the eastern region has been below target with only 50 percent plantation in some of the tarai districts.
Hari Dahal, spokesperson at the MoAC, said that plantation rate in the eastern region remains at 79 percent this year. Data of the MoAC shows that Siraha has 40 percent paddy plantation while Saptari, Dhanusa and Mahottari have 42 percent, 65 percent and 70 percent plantations respectively. “Lack of rain resulted into low plantation in these regions,” said Dahal.
Plantation rate in these regions hit low due to the underutilization of irrigation canals, according to MoAC. For example, the Western Koshi irrigation project has a capacity to irrigate 5,315 hectares of land. However, only 80 percent of land have paddy plantation so far.
Similarly, only 40 percent plantation has been finished in the area covered by Koshi Pump Irrigation Project. The project has a capacity to irrigate 4,100 hectares of land.
Similarly, only 80 percent of the area covered by the Chandra Nahar has paddy plantation so far. Same is the state of Kamala River Irrigation Project.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 17 -
Despite the arrival of monsoon on time, irregular and inadequate rainfalls in some parts of the Tarai have hit paddy plantation this year as well. There has been no plantation in 165,000 hectares of land this season.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC), overall paddy plantation across the country till mid-August remained at 89 percent.
The country’s overall paddy plantation area is 1.553 million hectares.
The MoAC officials, however, maintained that plantation rate has increased by two percent as compared to the same period last year. But paddy plantation in the eastern region has been below target with only 50 percent plantation in some of the tarai districts.
Hari Dahal, spokesperson at the MoAC, said that plantation rate in the eastern region remains at 79 percent this year. Data of the MoAC shows that Siraha has 40 percent paddy plantation while Saptari, Dhanusa and Mahottari have 42 percent, 65 percent and 70 percent plantations respectively. “Lack of rain resulted into low plantation in these regions,” said Dahal.
Plantation rate in these regions hit low due to the underutilization of irrigation canals, according to MoAC. For example, the Western Koshi irrigation project has a capacity to irrigate 5,315 hectares of land. However, only 80 percent of land have paddy plantation so far.
Similarly, only 40 percent plantation has been finished in the area covered by Koshi Pump Irrigation Project. The project has a capacity to irrigate 4,100 hectares of land.
Similarly, only 80 percent of the area covered by the Chandra Nahar has paddy plantation so far. Same is the state of Kamala River Irrigation Project.
Monday, August 16, 2010
No bonus for NOC staff: MoCS
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 11 -
The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) has decided not to pay bonuses to the staff of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) ending a dispute over the additional benefits. The ministry on Wednesday made it clear that distributing bonuses to the employees of a company reeling under massive losses and debts was not justifiable.
This decision has overridden the agreement reached on Aug. 5 between the NOC’s board and two agitating unions that bonuses would be distributed as per the existing Bonus Act ending a two-day stalemate that had disrupted fuel supplies for one and a half days.
However, it was not clear what the Bonus Act defines. On one side, the Bonus Act allows any corporation to distribute bonus of up to 8 percent of the profit even if it has incurred a cumulative loss; however, on the other hand, it is apparent that the government could stop the distribution process.
At a press meet organized here on Wednesday, Purushottam Ojha, secretary at the MoCS and chairman of the NOC board said that the move was against the government and the anti-corruption body, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) that had also issued order to stop bonus distribution. “We don’t want to go against the decision made by the government and the CIAA,” Ojha said. The state-owned oil monopoly had made a profit of Rs. 3.31 billion in the last fiscal year. NOC had earlier decided to distribute the bonus from its profit of fiscal year 2008/09. It, however, was forced to withdraw its decision following criticism from the government, the CIAA and consumer rights groups.
However, soon after the NOC management withdrew distribution of bonus, the unions started their agitation with their 13-point demand that also incorporated bonus issue as a prime focus.
The unions and the NOC board were at loggerheads after the board reversed its decision of distributing bonus worth Rs. 198.8 million. Dissatisfied union had justified that it was just a provisioning as per the Bonus Act but withdrawing it was to dishonour the employees’ rights. “As per the corporation auditing, the bonus has been allotted for the provisioning but not for distribution purpose,” Ojha said.
For the bonus distribution process, NOC has to request the MoCS. The Finance Ministry then has to give the permission to distribute the bonus. The government has a 98 percent stake in NOC.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 11 -
The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) has decided not to pay bonuses to the staff of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) ending a dispute over the additional benefits. The ministry on Wednesday made it clear that distributing bonuses to the employees of a company reeling under massive losses and debts was not justifiable.
This decision has overridden the agreement reached on Aug. 5 between the NOC’s board and two agitating unions that bonuses would be distributed as per the existing Bonus Act ending a two-day stalemate that had disrupted fuel supplies for one and a half days.
However, it was not clear what the Bonus Act defines. On one side, the Bonus Act allows any corporation to distribute bonus of up to 8 percent of the profit even if it has incurred a cumulative loss; however, on the other hand, it is apparent that the government could stop the distribution process.
At a press meet organized here on Wednesday, Purushottam Ojha, secretary at the MoCS and chairman of the NOC board said that the move was against the government and the anti-corruption body, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) that had also issued order to stop bonus distribution. “We don’t want to go against the decision made by the government and the CIAA,” Ojha said. The state-owned oil monopoly had made a profit of Rs. 3.31 billion in the last fiscal year. NOC had earlier decided to distribute the bonus from its profit of fiscal year 2008/09. It, however, was forced to withdraw its decision following criticism from the government, the CIAA and consumer rights groups.
However, soon after the NOC management withdrew distribution of bonus, the unions started their agitation with their 13-point demand that also incorporated bonus issue as a prime focus.
The unions and the NOC board were at loggerheads after the board reversed its decision of distributing bonus worth Rs. 198.8 million. Dissatisfied union had justified that it was just a provisioning as per the Bonus Act but withdrawing it was to dishonour the employees’ rights. “As per the corporation auditing, the bonus has been allotted for the provisioning but not for distribution purpose,” Ojha said.
For the bonus distribution process, NOC has to request the MoCS. The Finance Ministry then has to give the permission to distribute the bonus. The government has a 98 percent stake in NOC.
New radar for TIA soon: CAAN
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 15 -
Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), the country’s only international airport, is to get a new radar. Installation of the automated equipment will help TIA to handle the growing air traffic and improve safety and efficiency.
The system will enable pilots and air traffic controllers to see displays with highly accurate
traffic data from satellites, displays that update in real time and don’t degrade with distance or terrain. The system will also give pilots access to weather services, terrain maps and flight information services.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the new radar equipment will help improve reliability, provide additional weather data, reduce maintenance costs, improve performance and provide digital data for presentation on air traffic controller displays.
TIA’s existing radar is 12 years old and cannot provide coverage to new air routes, CAAN told the Post.
“If the new system is installed, we don’t have to bear high maintenance costs for the old ones. We will also be free of the hassle of looking for rare spare parts for the old radar,” said Mahendra Singh Rawal, director at Communications Navigation and Surviallance (CNS), CAAN.
The new radar can cover the whole of Nepal. Currently, there are two radar systems at TIA — primary radar and secondary survialance radar. The primary radar has a coverage of 60 nautical miles while the secondary radar has a coverage of 200 nautical miles, Rawal said.
CAAN has invited two experts from CNS and Air Traffic Management (ATM) from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to study the new radar installation and do a feasibility study of the precision approach landing system at TIA, said CAAN director general Ram Prasad Neupane.
“The study will be completed in October, and CAAN will call a global tender to install the radar,” Neupane said. CAAN has not made an assessment of how much it’s going to cost.
The existing radar was set up at a cost of US$ 34 million. It was serviced at a cost of Rs. 42.5 million last April 8 after a gap of 12 years even though maintenance is required every seven years.
According to Rawal, there are three types of radar systems -- primary and secondary radar, automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast and multiluteration radar. “The selection will be made after a study which will suits the surveillance system,” he said. CAAN is also mulling where to install the radar. A study will be conducted on a feasible place either on a hilltop or in a plain area in Kathmandu.
TIA, which was designed to handle 1,300 passengers per hour, sometimes has to process over 2,000 passengers.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 15 -
Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), the country’s only international airport, is to get a new radar. Installation of the automated equipment will help TIA to handle the growing air traffic and improve safety and efficiency.
The system will enable pilots and air traffic controllers to see displays with highly accurate
traffic data from satellites, displays that update in real time and don’t degrade with distance or terrain. The system will also give pilots access to weather services, terrain maps and flight information services.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the new radar equipment will help improve reliability, provide additional weather data, reduce maintenance costs, improve performance and provide digital data for presentation on air traffic controller displays.
TIA’s existing radar is 12 years old and cannot provide coverage to new air routes, CAAN told the Post.
“If the new system is installed, we don’t have to bear high maintenance costs for the old ones. We will also be free of the hassle of looking for rare spare parts for the old radar,” said Mahendra Singh Rawal, director at Communications Navigation and Surviallance (CNS), CAAN.
The new radar can cover the whole of Nepal. Currently, there are two radar systems at TIA — primary radar and secondary survialance radar. The primary radar has a coverage of 60 nautical miles while the secondary radar has a coverage of 200 nautical miles, Rawal said.
CAAN has invited two experts from CNS and Air Traffic Management (ATM) from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to study the new radar installation and do a feasibility study of the precision approach landing system at TIA, said CAAN director general Ram Prasad Neupane.
“The study will be completed in October, and CAAN will call a global tender to install the radar,” Neupane said. CAAN has not made an assessment of how much it’s going to cost.
The existing radar was set up at a cost of US$ 34 million. It was serviced at a cost of Rs. 42.5 million last April 8 after a gap of 12 years even though maintenance is required every seven years.
According to Rawal, there are three types of radar systems -- primary and secondary radar, automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast and multiluteration radar. “The selection will be made after a study which will suits the surveillance system,” he said. CAAN is also mulling where to install the radar. A study will be conducted on a feasible place either on a hilltop or in a plain area in Kathmandu.
TIA, which was designed to handle 1,300 passengers per hour, sometimes has to process over 2,000 passengers.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Arrivals up by 9pc in Pokhara
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 10 -
The number of international visitors to Pokhara increased by 9 percent to 203,527 in 2009. Total arrivals in Nepal in 2009 amounted to 509,956. The number of tourists visiting Pokhara in 2008 and 2007 amounted to 186,643 and 165,177 respectively.
According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), Indian tourists made up the largest segment visiting Pokhara last year. Tourists from India numbered 46,508 followed by Japan (15,223), the UK (14,900), Germany (14,037), China (9,501), the US (9,201), Australia (5,003) and other countries (81,335).
Of the total visitors, the number of German visitors doubled last year. In the previous year, visitors from Germany numbered 7,735. Similarly, Australian, French, British and American visitors saw a modest growth last year.
However, the number of visitors from Japan and China decreased in 2009 compared to 2008.
Pokhara is the third largest city in Nepal. It is the starting point for most of the treks in the Annapurna area. Since 2005, the number of tourists visiting Pokhara has increased by 175 percent. In 2005, there were 74,012 tourists.
Following the comprehensive peace accord in 2006, tourism in Pokhara saw a dramatic rise. There were 94,799 tourists in 2006. In 2007, Pokhara hosted 165,177 tourists, an increment of 74 percent.
Considering its huge tourism prospects, the government is planning to connect Pokhara with cities in India by air to attract more visitors. Plans are underway to start linking Lucknow with Pokhara.
With Nepal Tourism Year 2011 (NTY-2011) approaching, travel trade entrepreneurs in Pokhara have started preparations to welcome about half a million foreign visitors.
There are two five-star hotels, two three-star hotels and nine three-star hotels in addition to a large number of one-star and tourist standard hotels in Pokhara.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 10 -
The number of international visitors to Pokhara increased by 9 percent to 203,527 in 2009. Total arrivals in Nepal in 2009 amounted to 509,956. The number of tourists visiting Pokhara in 2008 and 2007 amounted to 186,643 and 165,177 respectively.
According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), Indian tourists made up the largest segment visiting Pokhara last year. Tourists from India numbered 46,508 followed by Japan (15,223), the UK (14,900), Germany (14,037), China (9,501), the US (9,201), Australia (5,003) and other countries (81,335).
Of the total visitors, the number of German visitors doubled last year. In the previous year, visitors from Germany numbered 7,735. Similarly, Australian, French, British and American visitors saw a modest growth last year.
However, the number of visitors from Japan and China decreased in 2009 compared to 2008.
Pokhara is the third largest city in Nepal. It is the starting point for most of the treks in the Annapurna area. Since 2005, the number of tourists visiting Pokhara has increased by 175 percent. In 2005, there were 74,012 tourists.
Following the comprehensive peace accord in 2006, tourism in Pokhara saw a dramatic rise. There were 94,799 tourists in 2006. In 2007, Pokhara hosted 165,177 tourists, an increment of 74 percent.
Considering its huge tourism prospects, the government is planning to connect Pokhara with cities in India by air to attract more visitors. Plans are underway to start linking Lucknow with Pokhara.
With Nepal Tourism Year 2011 (NTY-2011) approaching, travel trade entrepreneurs in Pokhara have started preparations to welcome about half a million foreign visitors.
There are two five-star hotels, two three-star hotels and nine three-star hotels in addition to a large number of one-star and tourist standard hotels in Pokhara.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Happy holidays for govt staff planned
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 08 -
Civil servants are in line to get a 15-day annual holiday package called “paid holiday” or “leave tourism” from the current fiscal year if things go according to plan.
Officials at the Ministry of Finance said that such a provision was being considered and that its implementation would depend on the government’s programmes and policies for the fiscal year 2010/11.
The government is planning to initiate the programme to promote domestic tourism and to replace the surplus holiday system of more than 100 days being given to civil servants under public holiday entitlement, said Krishna Hari Banskota, revenue secretary at the Finance Ministry.
“We expect the package will encourage civil servants to work in exchange of the paid leave,” he said. However, we are not sure of implementing the scheme until the full-fledged budget is announced, he added.
The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation has proposed the concept to the government which is new to Nepal but is in practice in several countries to boost the morale of their civil servants.
“Mobilizing civil servants to visit potential internal vacation destinations will boost domestic tourism. In the meanwhile, they will get to learn about the national geography and the unseen prospects that the country holds for planners,” said Laxman Prasad Bhattarai, spokesperson at the Tourism Ministry.
Paid leave in other countries is mostly a feature in employment agreements that provide a “resource” of hours that an employee can draw from to take time off from work and tour the country.
The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who “travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than 24 hours and not
more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.”
However, the tourism policy in Nepal does not incorporate domestic visitors as tourists. The initiative will thus give recognition to Nepali travellers undertaking domestic tours as tourists, Bhattarai said. If the paid leave scheme comes into effect, about 400,000 government employees will be entitled to the package.
There are 85,000 civil servants, 55,000 Nepal Police personnel, 30,000 Armed Police Force personnel, 95,000 Nepal Army personnel and about 125,000 teachers who qualify for the programme.
Discussions on the modality are underway. Some planners have proposed a monthly package while others are in support of a fortnightly scheme. “The government’s total budget expenditure for the employees’ salaries is Rs. 5 billion every month. Implementing a fortnightly scheme will require an extra budget of Rs. 2.5 billion per month,” he added.
The Tourism Ministry has proposed a budget of Rs. 3 million to implement the programme in the first phase.
“The amount is relatively low to implement the package. However, since the package is being introduced for the first time, we will gradually increase the amount,” said Bhattarai.
According to him, India has a domestic tourists movement of over 650 million each year.
Recently, under the Tourism Ministry’s trial initiative, 59 civil servants representing different ministries and government bodies visited and observed different locations viable for the programme.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 08 -
Civil servants are in line to get a 15-day annual holiday package called “paid holiday” or “leave tourism” from the current fiscal year if things go according to plan.
Officials at the Ministry of Finance said that such a provision was being considered and that its implementation would depend on the government’s programmes and policies for the fiscal year 2010/11.
The government is planning to initiate the programme to promote domestic tourism and to replace the surplus holiday system of more than 100 days being given to civil servants under public holiday entitlement, said Krishna Hari Banskota, revenue secretary at the Finance Ministry.
“We expect the package will encourage civil servants to work in exchange of the paid leave,” he said. However, we are not sure of implementing the scheme until the full-fledged budget is announced, he added.
The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation has proposed the concept to the government which is new to Nepal but is in practice in several countries to boost the morale of their civil servants.
“Mobilizing civil servants to visit potential internal vacation destinations will boost domestic tourism. In the meanwhile, they will get to learn about the national geography and the unseen prospects that the country holds for planners,” said Laxman Prasad Bhattarai, spokesperson at the Tourism Ministry.
Paid leave in other countries is mostly a feature in employment agreements that provide a “resource” of hours that an employee can draw from to take time off from work and tour the country.
The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who “travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than 24 hours and not
more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.”
However, the tourism policy in Nepal does not incorporate domestic visitors as tourists. The initiative will thus give recognition to Nepali travellers undertaking domestic tours as tourists, Bhattarai said. If the paid leave scheme comes into effect, about 400,000 government employees will be entitled to the package.
There are 85,000 civil servants, 55,000 Nepal Police personnel, 30,000 Armed Police Force personnel, 95,000 Nepal Army personnel and about 125,000 teachers who qualify for the programme.
Discussions on the modality are underway. Some planners have proposed a monthly package while others are in support of a fortnightly scheme. “The government’s total budget expenditure for the employees’ salaries is Rs. 5 billion every month. Implementing a fortnightly scheme will require an extra budget of Rs. 2.5 billion per month,” he added.
The Tourism Ministry has proposed a budget of Rs. 3 million to implement the programme in the first phase.
“The amount is relatively low to implement the package. However, since the package is being introduced for the first time, we will gradually increase the amount,” said Bhattarai.
According to him, India has a domestic tourists movement of over 650 million each year.
Recently, under the Tourism Ministry’s trial initiative, 59 civil servants representing different ministries and government bodies visited and observed different locations viable for the programme.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Airline revenues take off with rise in traffic
SANGAM PRASAIN
AUG 05 -
Growth in tourist arrivals and movement of migrant workers has brought increased revenues for international airlines serving Nepal. While luxury airlines benefited from swelling inbound tourism, budget airlines revelled in high labour traffic.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), total passenger movement at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport in 2009 reached 2,027,147 including 984,593 departures and 1,042,554 arrivals.
Nepali arrivals and departures amounted to 562,331 and 588,645 respectively. Foreign travellers accounted for 378,712 arrivals and 417,679 departures. There were 15,701 international flight movements during the year. Currently, 25 international airlines link Nepal.
Qatar Airways flew the highest number of passengers in 2009 taking a 12.39 percent share of the market. The airline carried 251,214 passengers on 1,396 flights. Gulf Air came second with a 11.76 percent market share carrying 238,527 passengers on 1,240 flights. Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) took the third position with 11.72 percent. It carried 237,751 passengers on 1,950 flight.
Likewise, Indian Airlines had a 9.85 percent market share, Thai Airways 9.19 percent, Jet Airways 8.28 percent, Air Arabia 6.48 percent, Jet Lite Airways 5.29 percent, Etihad Airways 3.84 percent and Biman Bangladesh 3.48 percent.
With Nepal Tourism Year 2011 approaching and the government aiming to bring in one million tourists during the year, a number of international carriers have upped their frequency. A few new carriers are expected to link Nepal from September. Malaysian Airlines, Oman Air and Spirit of Manila Airlines are planning to fly to Nepal, said CAAN.
Ram Kaji Koney, past president of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), said that the increase in the number of international carriers was good for Nepal's tourism. He added that the weak performance of the national flag carrier had resulted in increased business for the international airlines. NAC needs to get back on its feet to promote Nepal around the world, he said.
SANGAM PRASAIN
AUG 05 -
Growth in tourist arrivals and movement of migrant workers has brought increased revenues for international airlines serving Nepal. While luxury airlines benefited from swelling inbound tourism, budget airlines revelled in high labour traffic.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), total passenger movement at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport in 2009 reached 2,027,147 including 984,593 departures and 1,042,554 arrivals.
Nepali arrivals and departures amounted to 562,331 and 588,645 respectively. Foreign travellers accounted for 378,712 arrivals and 417,679 departures. There were 15,701 international flight movements during the year. Currently, 25 international airlines link Nepal.
Qatar Airways flew the highest number of passengers in 2009 taking a 12.39 percent share of the market. The airline carried 251,214 passengers on 1,396 flights. Gulf Air came second with a 11.76 percent market share carrying 238,527 passengers on 1,240 flights. Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) took the third position with 11.72 percent. It carried 237,751 passengers on 1,950 flight.
Likewise, Indian Airlines had a 9.85 percent market share, Thai Airways 9.19 percent, Jet Airways 8.28 percent, Air Arabia 6.48 percent, Jet Lite Airways 5.29 percent, Etihad Airways 3.84 percent and Biman Bangladesh 3.48 percent.
With Nepal Tourism Year 2011 approaching and the government aiming to bring in one million tourists during the year, a number of international carriers have upped their frequency. A few new carriers are expected to link Nepal from September. Malaysian Airlines, Oman Air and Spirit of Manila Airlines are planning to fly to Nepal, said CAAN.
Ram Kaji Koney, past president of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), said that the increase in the number of international carriers was good for Nepal's tourism. He added that the weak performance of the national flag carrier had resulted in increased business for the international airlines. NAC needs to get back on its feet to promote Nepal around the world, he said.
Fuel supply to resume today
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 05 -
Agitating unions of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) and the NOC board reached an agreement on Thursday evening, ending a two-day stalemate that had disrupted fuel supply.
In a meting between the agitating unions and the NOC board at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, the NOC staff agreed to resume the supply of petroleum products from Friday.
According to Commerce Secretary Purusottam Ojha, both sides have agreed on bonus distribution as per the existing law. The Bonus Act allows any corporation to distribute bonus up to 8 percent of profit even if it has incurred a cumulative loss.
Babu Ram Rai, president of Nepal National Employees' Union, said the agreement has been reached between the board and the unions and petroleum supply will resume from Friday.
The unions and the NOC board were at loggerheads after the board reversed its decision of distributing bonus worth Rs. 198.8 million. The NOC had earlier decided to distribute the bonus from its profit of fiscal year 2008/09.
It had made a profit of Rs 3.31 billion that fiscal year. It, however, was forced to withdraw its decision following criticism from the government, the CIAA and consumer rights groups.
Both sides have agreed to complete the maintenance of NOC's old depot within a year. Likewise, automation of the new depots will begin within a month, according to Rai. The losses of the NOC will be managed through a loss management plan.
Due to the bonus row, delivery of gasoline by NOC to petrol pumps in Kathmandu doubled on Thursday. Normally, NOC's Thankot depot supplies 500,000 litres of petroleum products daily. On Thursday, the supply was almost double. According to Thankot depot chief Bhuwaneshwor Rajbhandari, 962,000 litres of fuel were
supplied to private and public petrol pumps.
The agitating unions of NOC on Thursday closed its depots across the country after 1 p.m. The unions had closed the depots all day on Wednesday.
With the depots remaining open for only three hours, there was a long queue of over 100 tankers waiting to be refilled at the Thankot depot.
Of the total shipment made on Thursday, state-owned refuelling stations received 50,000 litres of diesel and petrol, said Rajbhandari. However, there was long queue of motorists on state-owned petrol pumps on Thursday.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 05 -
Agitating unions of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) and the NOC board reached an agreement on Thursday evening, ending a two-day stalemate that had disrupted fuel supply.
In a meting between the agitating unions and the NOC board at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, the NOC staff agreed to resume the supply of petroleum products from Friday.
According to Commerce Secretary Purusottam Ojha, both sides have agreed on bonus distribution as per the existing law. The Bonus Act allows any corporation to distribute bonus up to 8 percent of profit even if it has incurred a cumulative loss.
Babu Ram Rai, president of Nepal National Employees' Union, said the agreement has been reached between the board and the unions and petroleum supply will resume from Friday.
The unions and the NOC board were at loggerheads after the board reversed its decision of distributing bonus worth Rs. 198.8 million. The NOC had earlier decided to distribute the bonus from its profit of fiscal year 2008/09.
It had made a profit of Rs 3.31 billion that fiscal year. It, however, was forced to withdraw its decision following criticism from the government, the CIAA and consumer rights groups.
Both sides have agreed to complete the maintenance of NOC's old depot within a year. Likewise, automation of the new depots will begin within a month, according to Rai. The losses of the NOC will be managed through a loss management plan.
Due to the bonus row, delivery of gasoline by NOC to petrol pumps in Kathmandu doubled on Thursday. Normally, NOC's Thankot depot supplies 500,000 litres of petroleum products daily. On Thursday, the supply was almost double. According to Thankot depot chief Bhuwaneshwor Rajbhandari, 962,000 litres of fuel were
supplied to private and public petrol pumps.
The agitating unions of NOC on Thursday closed its depots across the country after 1 p.m. The unions had closed the depots all day on Wednesday.
With the depots remaining open for only three hours, there was a long queue of over 100 tankers waiting to be refilled at the Thankot depot.
Of the total shipment made on Thursday, state-owned refuelling stations received 50,000 litres of diesel and petrol, said Rajbhandari. However, there was long queue of motorists on state-owned petrol pumps on Thursday.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Yes... once is not enough, concur foreign tourists
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 04 -
Tourists making repeat visits to Nepal in 2009 made up almost half of the total arrivals giving credence to the travel trade’s advertising slogan “Naturally Nepal — Once Is Not Enough”.
According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), among the 509,956 tourists who visited Nepal last year, 158,153 were making their second visit, 7,858 were here for the third time, 7,426 for the fourth and 18,256 for the fifth or more times. Tourists visiting the country for the first time numbered 318,263.
Although past records are not available, NTB officials and travel trade entrepreneurs said that the number of tourists making repeat visits had gone up. “This shows that tourists want to come to Nepal again and again, but negative publicity has forced them to think twice about their travel plans,” they said.
Aditya Baral, senior director and spokesperson of the NTB, said it was encouraging that repeat visits to Nepal were increasing.
“Repeat visits make the tourism sector sustainable in any country,” he said. Repeat
visitors usually spend less according to international trends, but that is not the case in Nepal, he added. Indian sent the highest number of first-time and repeat visitors to Nepal.
Among the 93,884 travellers from India, 54,120 were here for the first time while the
rest were repeat visitors.
Cultural ties, pilgrimage options and better air connectivity are the major reasons behind the large number of repeat visitors from India, Baral said. The US, the UK, France, China and Spain are among the other countries sending repeat visitors to Nepal after India.
Abhinav Rana, general manager of the Radisson Hotel, said that the hotel had more repeat corporate clients in 2009 compared to the previous year.
Despite political instability and weak performance of the national flag carrier, the number of repeat visitors has swelled, said Ram Kazi Koney, managing director of Gandaki Tours & Travels and past president of the Nepal Association of Travel and Tour Agents (NATTA).
He added that it was a good indication that the country’s tourism sector could flourish instantly if the political situation becomes stable.
Of the total arrivals in 2009, air travellers numbered 379,322 while 130,634 came overland.
Country First time visitors Repeated Visitors
India 54,120 39764
Sri Lanka 33,264 3098
Thailand 22,972 4425
China 22,689 9583
USA 18,646 13397
UK 18,233 17149
Japan 14,943 7502
Korea 13,042 3103
Bangladesh 10,990 4395
France 10,130 12024
Australia 8,312 7149
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 04 -
Tourists making repeat visits to Nepal in 2009 made up almost half of the total arrivals giving credence to the travel trade’s advertising slogan “Naturally Nepal — Once Is Not Enough”.
According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), among the 509,956 tourists who visited Nepal last year, 158,153 were making their second visit, 7,858 were here for the third time, 7,426 for the fourth and 18,256 for the fifth or more times. Tourists visiting the country for the first time numbered 318,263.
Although past records are not available, NTB officials and travel trade entrepreneurs said that the number of tourists making repeat visits had gone up. “This shows that tourists want to come to Nepal again and again, but negative publicity has forced them to think twice about their travel plans,” they said.
Aditya Baral, senior director and spokesperson of the NTB, said it was encouraging that repeat visits to Nepal were increasing.
“Repeat visits make the tourism sector sustainable in any country,” he said. Repeat
visitors usually spend less according to international trends, but that is not the case in Nepal, he added. Indian sent the highest number of first-time and repeat visitors to Nepal.
Among the 93,884 travellers from India, 54,120 were here for the first time while the
rest were repeat visitors.
Cultural ties, pilgrimage options and better air connectivity are the major reasons behind the large number of repeat visitors from India, Baral said. The US, the UK, France, China and Spain are among the other countries sending repeat visitors to Nepal after India.
Abhinav Rana, general manager of the Radisson Hotel, said that the hotel had more repeat corporate clients in 2009 compared to the previous year.
Despite political instability and weak performance of the national flag carrier, the number of repeat visitors has swelled, said Ram Kazi Koney, managing director of Gandaki Tours & Travels and past president of the Nepal Association of Travel and Tour Agents (NATTA).
He added that it was a good indication that the country’s tourism sector could flourish instantly if the political situation becomes stable.
Of the total arrivals in 2009, air travellers numbered 379,322 while 130,634 came overland.
Country First time visitors Repeated Visitors
India 54,120 39764
Sri Lanka 33,264 3098
Thailand 22,972 4425
China 22,689 9583
USA 18,646 13397
UK 18,233 17149
Japan 14,943 7502
Korea 13,042 3103
Bangladesh 10,990 4395
France 10,130 12024
Australia 8,312 7149
NOC bonus row, folk sweat
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 04 -
Long queues were back again on Wednesday outside gasoline stations in the Capital after the agitating Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) unions’ staff stopped distributing petroleum products from the depots. This is the second time after June-end that consumers are forced to wait endlessly for petroleum products.
Around June-end, the state oil monopoly, NOC, created a petroleum shortage clarifying it was compelled to do so as Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) cut deliveries by 50-60 percent because NOC had fallen behind in its payments.
However, this time the consumers are likely to suffer the artificial shortage driven by the NOC’s staff. “It’s totally irresponsible behaviour on part of the NOC management and its staff,” said Ram Chandra Simkhada, secretary at Consumers Rights Protection Forum.
He said that the state-owned enterprise and the state recruited employees are making consumers suffer for reason as the issue is one that should remain within their own house. “We also smell a rat inside NOC,” he alleged. The government has 98 percent stake in NOC.
He added that it was not reasonable that NOC, with has millions of outstanding loans, declare bonus even if it earns profit for some period. The NOC had earned a profit of Rs 3.31 billion the last fiscal year and had provisioned Rs 200 million as bonus to employees.
“We are not hungry for the bonus,” claimed Babu Ram Rai, President of Nepal National Employees’ Union.
On Wednesday, the NOC management called the agitating unions for the talks to settle the issue. The dialogue was going on till in the late night. “We’re still discussing on the issue,” said Rai when contacted by the Post. Earlier in the day, the unions had meeting with Commerce Secretary Purushottam Ojha.
The NOC management withdrew its plan to distribute bonus after its Annual General Meeting (AGM) announced the bonus, Rai said adding, “The management has humiliated the employees and forced them to wage war for their rights.” He said NOC should implement its decision passed by the AGM. “We will be compelled to be on strike indefinitely period if the management does not heed our demand,” Rai said.
The ongoing tug-of-war between the management and the Unions is likely to impact the consumers more. As per the unions’ charted plan, fuel depots across the country have stopped their shipment to the refueling stations from Wednesday. The second and third day plan of the unions is to close the depots for a half day. Fuel tankers will be able to get fuel for three hours, i.e from 10 am to 1 pm on Thursday and Friday.
Saroj Pandey, President of Nepal Petroleum Dealers’ Association, said depots across the country were totally closed on Wednesday. “This will amplify the demand automatically and create crisis again,” he said. It would be impossible to address the needs of the refuelling stations.”
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 04 -
Long queues were back again on Wednesday outside gasoline stations in the Capital after the agitating Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) unions’ staff stopped distributing petroleum products from the depots. This is the second time after June-end that consumers are forced to wait endlessly for petroleum products.
Around June-end, the state oil monopoly, NOC, created a petroleum shortage clarifying it was compelled to do so as Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) cut deliveries by 50-60 percent because NOC had fallen behind in its payments.
However, this time the consumers are likely to suffer the artificial shortage driven by the NOC’s staff. “It’s totally irresponsible behaviour on part of the NOC management and its staff,” said Ram Chandra Simkhada, secretary at Consumers Rights Protection Forum.
He said that the state-owned enterprise and the state recruited employees are making consumers suffer for reason as the issue is one that should remain within their own house. “We also smell a rat inside NOC,” he alleged. The government has 98 percent stake in NOC.
He added that it was not reasonable that NOC, with has millions of outstanding loans, declare bonus even if it earns profit for some period. The NOC had earned a profit of Rs 3.31 billion the last fiscal year and had provisioned Rs 200 million as bonus to employees.
“We are not hungry for the bonus,” claimed Babu Ram Rai, President of Nepal National Employees’ Union.
On Wednesday, the NOC management called the agitating unions for the talks to settle the issue. The dialogue was going on till in the late night. “We’re still discussing on the issue,” said Rai when contacted by the Post. Earlier in the day, the unions had meeting with Commerce Secretary Purushottam Ojha.
The NOC management withdrew its plan to distribute bonus after its Annual General Meeting (AGM) announced the bonus, Rai said adding, “The management has humiliated the employees and forced them to wage war for their rights.” He said NOC should implement its decision passed by the AGM. “We will be compelled to be on strike indefinitely period if the management does not heed our demand,” Rai said.
The ongoing tug-of-war between the management and the Unions is likely to impact the consumers more. As per the unions’ charted plan, fuel depots across the country have stopped their shipment to the refueling stations from Wednesday. The second and third day plan of the unions is to close the depots for a half day. Fuel tankers will be able to get fuel for three hours, i.e from 10 am to 1 pm on Thursday and Friday.
Saroj Pandey, President of Nepal Petroleum Dealers’ Association, said depots across the country were totally closed on Wednesday. “This will amplify the demand automatically and create crisis again,” he said. It would be impossible to address the needs of the refuelling stations.”
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
NOC staff on warpath over bonus stop
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 03 -
Agitating employees’ unions of the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) have decided to close petroleum depots across the country on Wednesday after the management withdrew its plans to distribute bonus.
The unions have also decided to close the depots for half a day on Thursday and Friday, a National Employees’ Union member at the NOC told the Post.
The unions have formed a struggle committee that has submitted a 13-point charter of demands to the management that includes distribution of bonus.
The trade unions have come up strongly against the NOC management objecting to the Board’s decision to withdraw its previous decision to distribute bonus for the fiscal year 2008-09.
“The NOC should implement its decision passed by the Board,” said Babu Ram Rai, president of Nepal National Employees’ Union.
According to him, other issues the unions have demanded are maintenance of depots, recruitment of capable technicians, formulating a petroleum and explosives Act, among others. The NOC had earned a profit of Rs 3.31 billion during the year and had provisioned over Rs 19 million for bonus to employees. However, the NOC board was forced to scrap the distribution of the bonus after the government, the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) and consumer rights activists criticised the move. The government has 98 percent stake in NOC.
After the CIAA directed the NOC not to distribute bonus, the NOC board had reversed its decision to distribute Rs 198.8 million as bonus to its staffs for the fiscal year 2008/09.
“We are ready to address all the demands of the unions but we cannot distribute the bonus that has been stopped by the government,” said Digambar Jha, general manager of NOC.
However, Rai said the unions were organising protests since a long time demanding improvement of the NOC. “We are not focusing on bonus only in our protest programmes, but the management decision to provide bonus and again withdrawing it has made the employees feel uncomfortable,” Rai said.
Rai added that the agitation would continue until the NOC withdraws its decision. The management had called the unions for talks on Tuesday. However, union members refused to sit for the talks. On the other hand, Jha said the management would call the unions for talks on Wednesday.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 03 -
Agitating employees’ unions of the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) have decided to close petroleum depots across the country on Wednesday after the management withdrew its plans to distribute bonus.
The unions have also decided to close the depots for half a day on Thursday and Friday, a National Employees’ Union member at the NOC told the Post.
The unions have formed a struggle committee that has submitted a 13-point charter of demands to the management that includes distribution of bonus.
The trade unions have come up strongly against the NOC management objecting to the Board’s decision to withdraw its previous decision to distribute bonus for the fiscal year 2008-09.
“The NOC should implement its decision passed by the Board,” said Babu Ram Rai, president of Nepal National Employees’ Union.
According to him, other issues the unions have demanded are maintenance of depots, recruitment of capable technicians, formulating a petroleum and explosives Act, among others. The NOC had earned a profit of Rs 3.31 billion during the year and had provisioned over Rs 19 million for bonus to employees. However, the NOC board was forced to scrap the distribution of the bonus after the government, the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) and consumer rights activists criticised the move. The government has 98 percent stake in NOC.
After the CIAA directed the NOC not to distribute bonus, the NOC board had reversed its decision to distribute Rs 198.8 million as bonus to its staffs for the fiscal year 2008/09.
“We are ready to address all the demands of the unions but we cannot distribute the bonus that has been stopped by the government,” said Digambar Jha, general manager of NOC.
However, Rai said the unions were organising protests since a long time demanding improvement of the NOC. “We are not focusing on bonus only in our protest programmes, but the management decision to provide bonus and again withdrawing it has made the employees feel uncomfortable,” Rai said.
Rai added that the agitation would continue until the NOC withdraws its decision. The management had called the unions for talks on Tuesday. However, union members refused to sit for the talks. On the other hand, Jha said the management would call the unions for talks on Wednesday.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Bistros to get costlier
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 02 -
The Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal (REBAN) is set to increase the price of meals served by its member establishments by 7-8 percent in line with inflation and the raised salaries of their employees.
The revised prices will come into effect from August-end.
Currently, all the eateries under REBAN are charging 24.3 percent tax (including 10 percent service charge and 13 percent VAT). However, with the revised prices, consumers will have to pay around 30-31 percent extra.
“We are compelled to increase prices as there is only a marginal 7-8 percent profit for restaurants and bars,” said Tejendra N. Shrestha, president of REBAN and proprietor of Yin Yang Restaurant and Bar.
Restaurant owners and labour unions had an understanding to review their pay and perks every three years. However, with the increased inflation, restaurant owners have been compelled to hike the pay of the employees every year, which was also the reason to increase the prices on their menus, he said.
According to him, restaurants serving local consumers had already revised their prices. However, the tourist standard restaurants are still waiting for the tourist season to increase the price of their food and beverages.
“All the restaurants and hotels should make 20-30 percent profit as per the principle of the hospitality industry to pay taxes and run the business. However, business in this sector was not going as expected due to labour related issues, load-shedding and inflation that has increased the operating cost,” he added.
Nepal Rastra Bank’s data of the first 11 months of the current fiscal year said that the price index of food and beverages group increased by 11.3 percent. The data said that restaurant meal price indices increased in the review period by 18.8 percent compared to 16.5 percent in the same period last year.
According to a source, the government’s recent move to make it mandatory for all eateries having an annual transaction of Rs. 2 million or more to come under the VAT net has also prompted restaurants to increase the menu price.
There are around 1,600 restaurants in the Kathmandu Valley, however; only 300-350 restaurants are in the tax net.
“The high restaurant price has affected the consumers ultimately,” Shrestha said, adding that the government should remove the Rs. 2 million threshold in the VAT system and increase the tax limit to bring all the restaurants into the tax net.
The government should encourage taxpayers by providing subsidies to those paying big tax amounts, he said.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 02 -
The Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal (REBAN) is set to increase the price of meals served by its member establishments by 7-8 percent in line with inflation and the raised salaries of their employees.
The revised prices will come into effect from August-end.
Currently, all the eateries under REBAN are charging 24.3 percent tax (including 10 percent service charge and 13 percent VAT). However, with the revised prices, consumers will have to pay around 30-31 percent extra.
“We are compelled to increase prices as there is only a marginal 7-8 percent profit for restaurants and bars,” said Tejendra N. Shrestha, president of REBAN and proprietor of Yin Yang Restaurant and Bar.
Restaurant owners and labour unions had an understanding to review their pay and perks every three years. However, with the increased inflation, restaurant owners have been compelled to hike the pay of the employees every year, which was also the reason to increase the prices on their menus, he said.
According to him, restaurants serving local consumers had already revised their prices. However, the tourist standard restaurants are still waiting for the tourist season to increase the price of their food and beverages.
“All the restaurants and hotels should make 20-30 percent profit as per the principle of the hospitality industry to pay taxes and run the business. However, business in this sector was not going as expected due to labour related issues, load-shedding and inflation that has increased the operating cost,” he added.
Nepal Rastra Bank’s data of the first 11 months of the current fiscal year said that the price index of food and beverages group increased by 11.3 percent. The data said that restaurant meal price indices increased in the review period by 18.8 percent compared to 16.5 percent in the same period last year.
According to a source, the government’s recent move to make it mandatory for all eateries having an annual transaction of Rs. 2 million or more to come under the VAT net has also prompted restaurants to increase the menu price.
There are around 1,600 restaurants in the Kathmandu Valley, however; only 300-350 restaurants are in the tax net.
“The high restaurant price has affected the consumers ultimately,” Shrestha said, adding that the government should remove the Rs. 2 million threshold in the VAT system and increase the tax limit to bring all the restaurants into the tax net.
The government should encourage taxpayers by providing subsidies to those paying big tax amounts, he said.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Air tourist arrival up by 26pc in July
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 01 -
Tourist arrivals by air increased by 26.1 percent to 29,338 in July compared to the same month last year.
The figures released by the Immigration Office, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), reveal that arrivals from the South Asian region grew 31.3 percent with Bangladesh posting a rise of 88.9 percent, India 26.5 percent, Pakistan 10.3 percent and Sri Lanka 48.7 percent.
The increase in visitor arrivals from India showed sustained growth this year, except for a slight slump in April. Arrivals from India dipped 2.6 percent in April compared to the same period last year.
Visitor arrivals from other parts of Asia have also recorded a double-digit growth of 19.9 percent. China, another major source market, recorded a jump of 104.2 percent. Arrivals from Japan were up 10.7 percent, Malaysia 98.9 percent and Singapore 24.7 percent. However, arrivals from South Korea and Thailand have registered negative growths of 2.1 percent and 45 percent respectively.
Regarding long-haul markets, Europe registered an overall positive growth of 24.6 percent with the major source markets showing a positive trend.
Arrivals from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Switzer-land, Spain, Sweden and the UK were up 8.5 percent, 13.8 percent, 56.7 percent, 29.9 percent, 94.8 percent, 57.8 percent, 32.4 percent, 67.9 percent, 42.7 percent, 22.8 percent, 52.5 percent and 3.8 percent respectively.
Likewise, arrivals from Canada and the US also registered growths of 24.9 percent and 12.8 percent respectively. Australia showed a marginal increase in arrival figures of 0.9 percent while New Zealand posted a negative growth of 31.1 percent.
Meanwhile, arrivals by land until June 2010 totalled 60,877, up 6.2 percent compared to the same period last year. March remained the strongest of the first six months of 2010 with 18,620 arrivals, ahead of February (15,823) and January (7,492).
The Bhairahawa border point posted a rise of 10 percent with 42,190 tourists coming in followed by Kodari and Kakkarbhitta with 13,630 and 3,376 arrivals respectively in the first six months of 2010.
Aggregate visitor arrivals rose by 15 percent to 257,196 for the period between January-June 2010 (by both air and land) compared to the same period last year.
Foreign tourist departures from TIA in July reached 31,103. The number of Nepali arrivals stood at 50,309
while departures amounted
to 64,972.
Tourist arrivals by air
Month Arrivals (2009) Arrivals (2010) Change (%)
Jan 21,944 26,071 18.80
Feb 25,181 33,492 33.00
Mar 33,005 44,431 34.61
Apr 37,819 38, 694 2.31
May 25,129 26,634 5.98
June 23,222 26,997 16.30
July 23,266 29,338 26.09
Total 189,566 225,657 19.03
(Source: Nepal Tourism Board)
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 01 -
Tourist arrivals by air increased by 26.1 percent to 29,338 in July compared to the same month last year.
The figures released by the Immigration Office, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), reveal that arrivals from the South Asian region grew 31.3 percent with Bangladesh posting a rise of 88.9 percent, India 26.5 percent, Pakistan 10.3 percent and Sri Lanka 48.7 percent.
The increase in visitor arrivals from India showed sustained growth this year, except for a slight slump in April. Arrivals from India dipped 2.6 percent in April compared to the same period last year.
Visitor arrivals from other parts of Asia have also recorded a double-digit growth of 19.9 percent. China, another major source market, recorded a jump of 104.2 percent. Arrivals from Japan were up 10.7 percent, Malaysia 98.9 percent and Singapore 24.7 percent. However, arrivals from South Korea and Thailand have registered negative growths of 2.1 percent and 45 percent respectively.
Regarding long-haul markets, Europe registered an overall positive growth of 24.6 percent with the major source markets showing a positive trend.
Arrivals from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Switzer-land, Spain, Sweden and the UK were up 8.5 percent, 13.8 percent, 56.7 percent, 29.9 percent, 94.8 percent, 57.8 percent, 32.4 percent, 67.9 percent, 42.7 percent, 22.8 percent, 52.5 percent and 3.8 percent respectively.
Likewise, arrivals from Canada and the US also registered growths of 24.9 percent and 12.8 percent respectively. Australia showed a marginal increase in arrival figures of 0.9 percent while New Zealand posted a negative growth of 31.1 percent.
Meanwhile, arrivals by land until June 2010 totalled 60,877, up 6.2 percent compared to the same period last year. March remained the strongest of the first six months of 2010 with 18,620 arrivals, ahead of February (15,823) and January (7,492).
The Bhairahawa border point posted a rise of 10 percent with 42,190 tourists coming in followed by Kodari and Kakkarbhitta with 13,630 and 3,376 arrivals respectively in the first six months of 2010.
Aggregate visitor arrivals rose by 15 percent to 257,196 for the period between January-June 2010 (by both air and land) compared to the same period last year.
Foreign tourist departures from TIA in July reached 31,103. The number of Nepali arrivals stood at 50,309
while departures amounted
to 64,972.
Tourist arrivals by air
Month Arrivals (2009) Arrivals (2010) Change (%)
Jan 21,944 26,071 18.80
Feb 25,181 33,492 33.00
Mar 33,005 44,431 34.61
Apr 37,819 38, 694 2.31
May 25,129 26,634 5.98
June 23,222 26,997 16.30
July 23,266 29,338 26.09
Total 189,566 225,657 19.03
(Source: Nepal Tourism Board)
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