50pc of tourists Indians: NTB

SANGAM PRASAIN
SEP 24 -
India not only sends the highest number of tourists to Nepal by air but also by land. A recent survey done by the Nepal Tourism Board shows that out of the 429,455 overland tourists who visited Nepal in 2009, Indian visitors numbered 298,821.

According to the study entitled “Indian Visitors Survey of Nepal by Land 2009”, most of the travellers entered Nepal through eight border points.

Nepal currently receives over half a million visitors annually among whom 20-23 percent are Indians. This figure does not include Indian travellers entering the country by land as they are not required to register and go through frontier formalities. Till date, Indian arrivals by land have not been included in the country’s tourism data.

“The aim of the NTB survey is to add to the current streams of data on Indian tourist arrivals and provide valuable support to policymakers and planners,” states the NTB report. Taking into account the NTB survey and the statistics of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, the total arrivals in the country in 2009 can be put at 808,777, out of whom 48 percent were Indians.

“Until now, the country has only been counting the tourists who contribute dollars to the national economy. However, our opinion is that any visitor contributing a single penny to the economy should be considered as tourists,” said NTB spokesman Aditya Baral. Among the various border points, Belhiya (Bhairahawa) was found to be the most important in terms of Indian tourist arrivals by land with almost 33 percent of them entering Nepal through here.

Other major entry points were Vittamod (Janakpur) with 19 percent, Birgunj with 17 percent and Kakkarbhitta with 14 percent.

Nepal is targeting one million tourists during Nepal Tourism Year 2011. Among them, the country expects to host 265,000 visitors from the southern neighbour.

India is one of the fastest growing outbound travel markets in the world. The statistics of the European Travel Commission show there were 10.87 million outbound trips by Indian nationals in 2008. The United Nations World Tourism Organization has predicted that by 2020 India will account for 50 million outbound visitors, continuing to maintain its growth momentum.

“Our aim is to attract high-end tourists from India during Nepal Tourism Year, however; the unaccounted Indian arrivals through the overland entry points are also a positive indication as it does not mean that Indian tourists coming by air only spend more compared to others,” Baral added.







Tourist entry from india to nepal

Border Points Total

Bhairahawa 140,744

Janakpur 80,217

Birgunj 72,290

Kakkarbhitta 60,847

Mahendranagar 43,567

Biratnagar 21,185

Dhangadhi 5,874

Nepalgunj 4,731

Total 429,455



Indian vehicles entering Nepal

Border Points Total

Bhairahawa 23,229

Janakpur 15,880

Kakkarbhitta 11,798

Birgunj 11,247

Mahendranagar 9,574

Biratnagar 5,420

Dhangadhi 1,569

Nepalgunj 999

Source: NTB Survey