Kathmandu, January 17:

Nepal Tourism Board, (NTB) apart from its organisational reshuffle, is planning to come up with an office in India. The NTB branch office in New Delhi would be positioned to coordinate between tour operators, hoteliers as well as the airlines operating in the Nepal-India sector.

“It is soon going to be inaugurated,” said a senior NTB official. “While no specific date has been fixed as yet, we will certainly be there in this calendar year.”

The office is likely to be set up in the centrally located Cannaught Place.

The plummeting figure of Indian tourists, at a time when non-Indian tourists arrival is soaring, is evidently a cause for major concern for not only the NTB but travel entrepreneurs also. According to figures of the Immigration Office at Tribhuvan International Airport, while arrivals from Europe, US and other non-Indian Asian destinations increased by 25 per cent in December that of India declined by a notable 8.5 per cent.

A consistent seat crunch for Indian travellers is cited as one of the major reasons behind the falling numbers. “While several international airlines have begun their Nepal operations lately, air connectivity remains a major problem for Indian travellers,” entrepreneurs complained, adding that the present seat agreement of 6,000 seats per week between India and Nepal needs to be urgently revised.

Moreover, Nepal is experiencing competition from newly developed tourist destinations within India. For instance, Uttaranchal has very similar products to offer like the hilly locales and the adventure sports.