SANGAM

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