Kathmandu, August 2:

The number of tourists arriving by air is on the decline. In July, 21,203 tourists arrived by air while in June the number was 23,502 and 26,460 in May.

The arrival figures released by the Immigration Office, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), however, show that arrivals to Nepal increased by three per cent with a total 1,98,366 visitors till July this year, compared to the same period last year. But, the arrival figures for July, compared to the same month last year decreased by 19 per cent to 21,203.

More Singaporean, Malaysian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan tourists are coming while fewer Indian tourists are coming in the recent months. Asian countries Singapore and Malaysia maintained the positive trend, with 13 per cent growth in each market. Other countries with positive growth are Pakistan (53 per cent) and Sri Lanka (18 per cent).

India, which is the largest tourist generating market, registered a decline of 24 per cent. Other major markets such as USA, Japan, and UK also witnessed decrease by 15 per cent, 12 per cent and two per cent, respectively.

China, South Korea, and Thailand also recorded negative growth in July. European arrivals also registered a significant decline in major tourists generating markets such as Italy (44 per cent), France (32 per cent), Germany (39 per cent) and Spain (25 per cent). Only Austria (35 per cent) and Norway (66 per cent) kept the increased trend in arrival s