Kathmandu, September 2:

Due to the growing confidence in the tourist generating market and stability in the recent months, total tourists arrival reached to 224,679, a two per cent increase in comparison to the same period last year.

Another interesting fact is that a total of 26,313 tourists arrived whereas 28,082 tourists departed through Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in August.

According to the figures released by Immigration Office at the TIA, the total visitor arrivals till August have reached to 2,24,679. “It is an increase of two per cent in comparison to the same period last year,” states a Nepal Tourism Board’s (NTB) press release.

However, the arrival figure in the month of August compared to the same month last year has decreased by two per cent to 26,313.

Encouraged by the South Asian markets, the tourism industry has shown some signs of revival in the form of softening in decline as compared to 19 per cent decrease in July.

India — the largest tourist generating market for Nepal — bounced back with a remarkable growth of 13 per cent, said the NTB. The entire South Asian region has gained overall positive growth of 16 per cent with Bangladesh (48 per cent), Pakistan (45 per cent) and Sri Lanka(31 per cent).

Similarly, other Asian countries Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia have also maintained the upward trend with 77 per cent, 59 per cent and 16 per cent of growth respectively. The figures also reflect the revival in the visitors’ arrivals from the United Kingdom, one of the major source markets for Nepal with a notable growth of 35 per cent. Australia and Norway have also maintained the increasing trend in the arrival figures.

However, other major markets such as Japan, China, and South Korea witnessed decrease by nine per cent, 35 per cent and 13 per cent respectively. European arrivals also suffered a significant decline with Italy (44 per cent), Germany (37 per cent) and Spain (28 per cent), it states.

It is interesting to note that a total of 28,082 tourists departed from TIA in August that is higher than the total arrivals.

The present government has promised to give priority to the tourism sector as it can bring spiral effect in the economy.