Kathmandu, February 1:

The beginning of the New Year has heralded great optimism in tourism growth prospects for Nepal in the year 2008.

The data released by Immigration Office at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) shows that tourist arrivals by air in the month of January rose by 12.9 per cent, as 2,985 more tourists visited Nepal compared to the same month last year. A total of 25,064 tourists arrived Nepal during the month, against 23,079 visitors in January 2007.

Although the decline in arrivals from India (12.2 per cent) and Sri Lanka (-12.5 per cent) have dragged down the total arrivals from SAARC region by seven per cent, the European and North American markets have registered robust growth of 33.1 per cent and 34.3 per cent, respectively.

The other vibrant performers for the month are China (96.8 per cent), South Korea (5.1 per cent), Thailand (23.2per cent) and Malaysia (12.1 per cent), with a remarkable growth.

The third country arrivals soared by 24.8 per cent with 19,824 visitors arriving in Nepal, while the Indian arrivals dropped to 6,440 from 7,335 visitors a year ago.

A notable development is the contribution of the Korean market to the total arrivals. Korea has contributed more than 10 per cent in the total arrivals, primarily due to the direct flight between Kathmandu and Seoul.

In contrast, the Japanese market went down by 15.3 per cent, mainly due to irregular air service of the national flag carrier — Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) to Japan.

All the European markets have shown positive growth this month, except Austria (-7.5per cent). The UK (33.9 per cent), France (78.5 per cent), Germany (4.5 per cent), Spain (28.5 per cent), and Netherlands (36.5 per cent) have recorded a significant growth, indicating an increased consumer confidence towards the destination.

Tourism entrepreneurs are hopeful that the numbers of tourists to Nepal would increase in the coming days because of easy accessibility from the long-haul destinations and the forthcoming tourist seasons.

In 2007, the arrivals had registered an all-time high growth, with total tourist arrivals to Nepal having crossed the half a million mark for the first time. A total of 513,350 tourists visited Nepal over the year, including 360,350 tourists by the air route only.

One of the main reasons for an inspiring growth in 2007 was the ongoing peace process and political stability in the county. Another reason was the good air connectivity with many destinations made possible with the operation of nine new international airlines to Nepal in the year alone.