Kathmandu, July 4

Stakeholders of the domestic tourism industry have stressed the need to connect Nepal’s tourism to South Asian countries in a bid to boost flow of foreign tourists in the country.

Speaking at a programme organised today to mark the 94th birth anniversary of Late Girija Prasad Koirala, tourism stakeholders said that Nepal has not been able to reap the benefits of increasing trend of outbound tourists from South Asian countries, especially India and also from neighbouring China. They further expressed urgency to adopt effective measures to attract South Asian tourists in Nepal.

The event was organised by GPK Foundation in association with Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).

“While the tourism industry in other South Asian nations is booming, tourism growth in Nepal has not been satisfactory. The government should immediately develop special tourism packages in the country targeting outbound tourists of other countries in the region,” Ang Tshering Sherpa, president of Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), said.

Addressing the programme, Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) Shankar Prasad Adhikari said that Nepal can reap the benefit of regional tourism growth only after ensuring sound tourism infrastructure in the country.

“We have immense prospect to draw tourists from China, India and Sri Lanka as the number of outbound tourists from these countries is increasing every year. However, our infrastructure including air connectivity and road conditions are weak,” said Adhikari, adding that the government should be serious towards developing sound tourism infrastructure while private sector should develop wide range of tourism products.

The data maintained by MoCTCA shows that Nepal receives 5.7 per cent of the total outbound tourists from South Asian countries. Similarly, the average length of stay of tourists in Nepal is 13.4 days and average spending is $695.

“It shows that Nepal has immense potential to attract outbound tourists from the region, and increase length of stay and spending of tourists. Among other nations, Nepal has brighter prospects of attracting Chinese and Indian tourists as almost 30 per cent of the tourists visiting Nepal are from India and China alone,” added Adhikari.

Similarly, NTB Chief Executive Officer Deepak Raj Josh said that outbound tourists across the world today prefer to visit developing economies rather than developed economies which is why a collaborative effort has to be initiated to promote Nepal’s tourism in the South Asian region and European countries.

On the occasion, Rudra Sharma, adviser to the GPK Foundation said proper economic development of the country is possible only by increasing the share of tourism sector in the national GDP which is merely seven per cent at present.