Tourist arrivals in Nepal increased by 1.9 percent in 2009, however, their average length of stay has declined.
According to the Economic Survey 2009/10, the average length of stay has gone down from 11.8 days in 2008 to 11.6 days in 2009.
Tourists had started staying longer in the country in 2006 following the comprehensive peace accord ending the Maoist conflict. Since then, however, it has been decreasing constantly.
Tourism entrepreneurs say that tourist stay in Nepal has been affected by political uncertainty, strikes and bandas. Hotels too suffered labour unrest in 2009 forcing visitors to cut short their Nepal tour.
“One of the reasons behind the drop in tourist stay could be the global recession which prompted vacationers to opt for shorter holidays,” said Raju Bikram Shah, general manager of the Shangri-La Hotel.
“We didn’t see a drastic change in tourist stay,” said David Yonjan of Yeti Travels. “The length of stay depends on the tour package.”
Tourist entrepreneurs are hopeful of the length of stay increasing with the number of tourists coming for recreation growing. As per the Economic Survey, 34 percent of the arrivals in 2009 came for recreation compared to 29.6 percent in 2008. Tourism entrepreneurs say that if the political situation remains stable, the trend of taking longer holidays could increase.
“The significant rise in the number of visitors coming for recreation is a result of the increasing options for leisure activities in Nepal,” said Prachanda Man Shrestha, chief executive officer of the Nepal Tourism Board. According to the Economic Survey, there has been a marginal increment in the number of visitors coming for pilgrimage from 9 percent in 2008 to 10.4 percent in 2009. Tourists putting down trekking and mountaineering as their purpose of visit amounted to 20.9 percent in 2009.
Likewise, 4.7 percent came for trade, 7.6 percent for formal visit and 1.4 percent for meetings and seminars.
Declining stay
Year 2009 2008 2007
Days 11.60 11.78 11.96
Purpose of visit
Year 2009 2008 2007
Recreation 34.0 29.6 30.6
Trek/Mountaineering 20.9 21.0 19.20
Pilgrimage 10.4 9.0 10.0
Trade 4.7 4.6 4.6
Formal visit 7.6 8.6 8.6
Meeting/seminar 1.4 1.4 1.4
Other purposes 15.6 19.9 19.5
Undefined purposes 5.0 5.9 6.3
Posted by: NTN
Nepal Tourism year 2011 Promoted in Israel
Monday - 05th July 2010
A programme to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between Nepal and Israel was held in Israel’s capital Tel Aviv on 2nd July 2010.The event was organized by Embassy of Nepal in Inrael and supported by Non-Resident Nepalese residing in Israel.The event also promoted the national campaign Nepal Tourism Year (NTY) 2011 and Nepali culture. Source: Explore Himalaya
Nepal Promoted in Sri Lanka
Monday - 05th July 2010
A ten-day long ‘Nepalese Cultural and Food Festival’ was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 18th to 27th June 2010.The festival was organised by the Embassy of Nepal in Sri Lanka, in association with Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). Among other visitors, the festival had 300 special guests, including leaders of business community, tourism professionals, social and political personalities and senior government officials of Sri Lanka as well as ambassadors, high commissioners and other senior diplomats based in Colombo. Cultural programmes by the Nepali troupe entertained visitors to the festival. Speaking at the festival, His Excellency Sushil Chandra Amatya, ambassador of Nepal to Sri Lanka, expressed his confidence that the event would help bring Sri Lankan people closer to Nepal and fuel their interest to visit Nepal in the future.
Source: Explore Himalaya
Over 2 Million Visitors at Nepal Pavilion,World Expo 2010, Shanghai
Sunday - 04th July 2010
At the ongoing World Expo 2010 in Shanghai,China, Nepal Pavilion is proving to be quite a hit among visitors.The pavilion has been visited by more than 2 million visitors. Formally inaugerated on 1st May, 2010 the Expo will run till 31st October. Reports quote Binayak Shah,Director of Nepal Pavilion, as saying the popularity of the Nepal Pavilion has been mainly due to media coverage.There has been extensive coverage by the Chinese media – radio, television, newspapers and magazines. Media from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan has also reported many news stories about Nepal National Pavilion. Source: Explore Himalaya
NTB to analyse all tourism data Sunday - 04th July 2010
KATHMANDU: Lack of Tourism Satellite Accounting (TSA) system has hit the calculation of tourism industry’s real contribution to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).
In order to work out exact contribution of the tourism sector, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has designed a concept paper based on the preliminary report of TSA.
For the first time, NTB has started its research and preparation of tourism statistics. This is likely to help draw a clear picture of the tourism sector and its contribution.
The first of its own kind research can get the exact picture of tourism sector, he said.
Tourism Satellite Accounting system estimates the total economic and employment impact of tourism, taking into account the proportions of other industries that rely on travel and tourism in some way or the other.
“According to the government, the tourism sector directly or indirectly makes a contribution of around two to three per cent to the total GDP,” said Dhruba Narayan Shrestha, coordinator of tourism sector at FNCCI and member of NTY 2011 working committee.
“Government’s calculation is based on the dollar-income. This does not reflect the real contribution of the sector,” he said.
The present calculation does not register the contribution of Indian tourists, who spend Indian currency (IC). The system only calculates the contribution on dollar income,” Shrestha added.
According to Nepal Economic Update report published by the World Bank recently, service sector’s that have always remained unaffected of political instability contribution to GDP has risen to 52 per cent from 46 per cent a decade ago.
The sector grew by an average of 5.8 per cent between the financial year 2006-07 and 2008-09.
The growth is expected to slow down to 5.3 per cent in the current financial year.
According to the report, three factors are sustaining a relatively high service growth — tourism, telecommunications, and social services.
Supported by more international flights to Nepal and a higher number of Indian and Chinese tourists, tourism is projected to grow by 8.5 per cent from an average growth of 5.6 per cent during the last three years.
Tourism is not much affected by the current political instability in the country. Despite a global economic slowdown, Nepal has enjoyed a sustained growth in the international tourist arrivals, since June 2009.
Similarly, Nepal’s major tourist source markets — neighbouring India and China — have registered a double-digit growth which is encouraging for tourism entrepreneurs. “This underscores the importance of neighbouring and regional markets in increasing the number of visitor arrivals,” he added. “Nepal is offering quality service with variety of packages from economy to high-end packages.”Compared to the same period last year, tourist arrival during May has increased by six per cent to 26,634. Source THT
Chitwan national park turning into poachers` haven
Saturday - 12th June 2010
KATHMANDU: In the past two months, poachers, making a mockery of park security arrangements, have killed seven rhinos at the Chitwan National Park. And in the last one year, the CNP saw more than 15 rhinos fall at the hand of poachers.
These incidents, which occurred despite the deployment of more than 900 Nepal Army personnel for wildlife protection, point at cracks in security arrangements.
In light of unabated poaching in national parks, high officials at the Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) have felt the need to mobilise Nepali Army personnel deployed for park security more effectively.
Subsequently, the officials have demanded that the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation (MoFSC) outline the NA’s role in the parks to chalk out an anti-poaching strategy that works.
“The role and duties of Army personnel deployed in the parks are not clear,” said Tulsi Ram Sharma, spokesperson, DNPWC, pointing that there’s no written agreement between the government and the NA over the deployment of the soldiers in the national parks.
“To make anti-poaching efforts more effective, the forest ministry should prepare a strategy after holding rigorous consultations with the Ministry of Defence on the deployment of the army personnel and get the strategy approved through the Cabinet,” added Sharma.
According to wildlife officials, of late, rhinos have been poached in core areas of the Chitwan national park, which are quite close to security posts.
“If wildlife is killed in the park area, the Army should be taken to task first. But here, the department of wildlife is blamed for all the incidents, regardless of the fact that the department is not an armed body tasked with tackling the poachers,” said Megh Bahadur Pandey, deputy director general, DNPWC.
“Our duty is to look after the overall management of the parks and that is what we are doing. The army should also be equally responsible,” added Pandey.
Terming park security a ‘complex issue’, Forest Minister Deepak Bohara said his ministry had taken the issue seriously.
“We will talk with the defence ministry and high-level army officials within a few days to find out the solution,” said the forest minister.
While a source at the ministry said,”When wildlife is poached in a national park, the warden is held responsible. The wardens are transferred after poaching incidents, while army personnel are spared.”
Stressing the need to address national parks problems immediately, Diwakar Chapagain, wildlife trade manager, World Wildlife Fund-Nepal, said, “If we fail to address park security issues, the donor community, which has invested hugely for wildlife conservation, will question our conservation efforts.”
China to impose age limits on climbing Everest
Thursday - 10th June 2010
BEIJING: China is to impose new age limits on mountaineers seeking to climb in Tibet, authorities said today, after an American 13-year-old became the youngest person ever to scale Mount Everest.
The new age limits will come into effect when the climbing season restarts in September, an official at the China Tibet Mountaineering Association told AFP, saying it was “for the safety of the climbers”.
The official declined to give details of the new rules but expedition organisers in Nepal said China was planning to restrict permits to climbers between the ages of 18 and 60, except in exceptional circumstances.
In Nepal licences to scale Everest are given to climbers over the age of 16. China does not currently have an age limit and American teenager Jordan Romero carried out his controversial ascent of the 8,848-metre mountain from the Tibet side.
Tourism Satellite Accounting in offing
28 May 2010,
KATHMANDU: The 13-year-old American boy, who became the youngest person to climb Mount Everest, announced plans today for
an ascent later this year of Mount Cho Oyu, the world’s sixth highest peak.
Jordan Romero, from Big Bear, California, told reporters today in Kathmandu that he plans to climb the 8,201-metre peak during the autumn climbing season. Cho Oyu straddles the Nepal-China border. Nepal prohibits people under the age of 16 from climbing high mountain peaks, but there is no such restriction in China. Romero scaled the 8,850-metre Mount Everest last weekend from the northern side of the peak in China. He arrived in Nepal on Wednesday.
Romero is on a quest to climb the highest mountain on each of the seven continents, and plans to scale the final one on his list — 4,900-metre Vinson Massif in Antarctica — during the winter. Cho Oyu, considered one of the easier climbs among the world’s highest mountains, is not on that list.
Romero said the Everest expedition went smoothly despite the team battling with high winds. “I definitely do encourage younger people to go big. I
encourage other people to
climb Everest and especially younger children just to go big,” Romero said.
He said one of the difficulties was moving across the rocky surface near the summit.
Climbers have complained recently that melting glacial ice has exposed a rocky surface, making it difficult to move with crampons best suited for ice.
Tuesday - 27th April 2010
KATHMANDU: Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has designed a concept paper on Tourism Satellite Accounting (TSA).
“We have prepared a preliminary report,” said Kashi Raj Bhandari, director planning and monitoring at NTB. “It will help us prepare TSA that is designed to measure the economic impact of travel and tourism on a national, state, or regional economy.
Compared with traditional economic-impact methods, this system provides a more comprehensive and accurate view of the tourism industry.
For the first time NTB started its research and preparation of domestic tourism statistics that will support to draw a true picture of tourism industry. The research is first of its kind as there is no such research made on domestic tourism industry. “One can get indication data from the TSA annually,” he said adding that “but for the exact picture of tourism industry, the overall data after the research will help.”
A TSA is a statistical accountant framework in the field of tourism and measures the goods and services according to international standards of concepts, classifications and definitions which allow valid comparisons from country to country in a consistent manner.
A complete TSA contains detailed production accounts of the tourism industry and their linkages to other industries, employment, capital formation and additional non-monetary information on tourism.
“NTB is also going to start household survey from Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan regarding the domestic tourist scenario,” said Bhandari. It wil help have a complete picture about the domestic tourism.
According to him, “there is no data of total domestic tourist movement in the country at present.
Amongst the four major objectives of Nepal Tourism Year 2011, development and promotion of domestic tourism is also one.
Major destination for domestic tourist is
Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan, Lumbini, Palpa, Makwanpur, Nagarkot, and Dhulikhel.
On an average about 50,000 to 60,000 domestic tourist travel annually to Pokhara and Chitwan. Domestic tourism — also called internal tourism — is visiting a different places where one does not live in.
Not only the foreign tourists, even many locals’ also prefer to stay in the comfort of a homely environment away from hustle and bustle of the city life. The desire for such holidays has given rise to the concept of domestic tourism.
S Korean on her way to reach Annapurna summit
Tuesday - 27th April 2010
KATHMANDU: A South Korean was making her way to the top of Annapurna in Nepal on Tuesday in the final hurdle of a fiercely contested race against a Spanish rival to become the first woman to scale all 14 of the Himalayas' highest peaks.
Oh Eun-sun, 44, is on a mission to conquer all 14 Himalayan peaks over 8,000 meters, or 26,247 feet, above sea level.
She was on track to reach the 26,545-foot (8,091-meter) peak of Annapurna — her final challenge — around 0600 GMT, Park Eun-joo, an official from outerwear maker Blackyak, said in Seoul.
Oh is being chased by Edurne Pasaban of Spain, who is also seeking to become the first woman to scale all 14 peaks. The 36-year-old has only the 26,330-foot-high (8,027-meter-high) Mount Shisha Pangma left to scale.
Pasaban has questioned whether her South Korean rival climbed to the top of Mount Kanchenjunga, the world's third-highest, last May. Blackyak's Park dismissed the accusation as groundless.
Oh missed the chance to reach the peak of Annapurna last year because of bad weather. Snow and wind stopped her from making the final ascent over the weekend.
She has described mountain climbing as "a sort of addiction" and her destiny.
"As long as I set my goal to become the world's first woman to conquer the world's 14 highest peaks, I will go to all lengths to achieve it," she said in an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul in February.
Before embarking on the expedition, she tried to refrain from drinking alcohol, believing that there is a spiritual entity determining whether or not to allow a climber to reach the summit, she told the newspaper.
As she departed for Nepal, she assured her fans was in strong physical condition.
"I'm feeling good, and I will do my hardest to scale the mountain with faith," Park quoted Oh as saying before her departure.
Meanwhile, two South Korean climbers were missing after attempting to scale Manaslu, the eighth-highest mountain in the world. There was no progress in the search for the climbers, who disappeared Sunday, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said
HAN backs Everest project
Sunday - 25th April 2010
Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) has donated Rs 250,000 for the Everest cleaning campaign.
Ajaya Ratna Sthapit, second vice-president of HAN, handed over the cheque to Namgyal Sherpa. HAN said the project aims to spread the message of global warming, climate change and the need for humanity to help clean and protect Earth.
A 35-member Sherpa team is heading to Mt. Everest to collect all the waste piled up at the Death Zone and safely bring it back to Kathmandu.
International Mountaineers' Meet on 29th May
Tuesday - 20th April 2010
Ministry of Tourism & Civil Aviation is organizing 'International Mountaineers' Meet' on May 29,to coincide with International Everest Day. Everest summiteers from the world over are expected to attend the meet. International Everest Day is observed every year to commemorate the first summit of Mt Everest by Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary on May 29th, 1953.
Fishtail Air's Team at Air Zermatt, Switzerland
Wednesday - 10th March 2010
A delegation from Fishtail Air, Nepal led by Mr. Suman Pandey, CEO is undergoing observation training in Alpine Rescue Operations with the support of a Swiss Company, ‘Air Zermatt’ in Switzerland. Since its inception in 1968, Air Zermatt has pioneered helicopter rescue operations in the Swiss Alps.Fishtail Air's Team at Air ZermattWith an objective of extending expertise in Alpine Rescue Operations in the Himalayas, Air Zermatt has organized a week long observation training programme to the Nepalese team. The Nepalese team comprises of Fishtail Air’s CEO Mr. Suman Pandey, Capt. Sabin Basnyat – Chief Pilot, Mr.Pradip Gautam- Manager Operations and Mr. Purna Awale – senior technician. The team had had arrived on 3rd of March. Mr. Binod Giri, Chief of Air Safety Department is also accompanying the team as an observer from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.
Air Zermatt’s rescue operations have saved millions of lives. The company is known as an expert in conducting Human Sling Operations (a difficult aerial rescue maneuver involving dropping an expert mountain guide at an inaccessible point to lift stranded people using ropes). It is hoped that the transfer of this special skill from Swiss Alps to the Nepal Himalayas will not only help in saving lives at risk on the high mountains, but also enhance level of safety and instill confidence in adventurers. The company plans to organize more training programmes in future.
NTY 2011 to be launched outside valley
Wednesday - 10th March 2010
After a mega launch of Nepal Tourism Year 2011 officially from the capital on February 26, the campaign is being launched outside the Kathmandu
“The first launch outside
the valley will start either
from Pokhara or Nepalgunj,” said Dhruba Narayan Shrestha, coordinator of Tourism section at the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and a member of NTY 2011 working committee.
The NTY 2011 will be launched from five different cities — Pokhara, Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa, Biratnagar, and Janakpur — from east to west, the NTY commitee has till date decided Shrestha said. “People besides Kathmandu valley are now very much aware about the ambitious national campaign that aims to attract one million tourists,” he said adding that “within April we will organise promotional programmes in Pokhara, Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa, Biratnagar and Janakpur.”
“Similarly, a study has been conducted at 10 different border points, Shrestha said, “to facilitate the visitors not only for the tourism year but all the year round.” Nepal Tourism Board along with private sector will develop a one window at the border area. “We are planning for a one window at the different border points that will have facility of Immigration, Custom, Transportation Office, Food court, Nepali Handicraft Exhibition Centre and other facilities required for tourists as soon as they reach Nepal border,” he added. Till date the study has been conducted at the border in Birgunj, Biratnagar, Bhairahawa, Kakarbhitta, Dhangadi, Pashupati Nagar, Janakpur and Nepalgunj. With the slogan ‘together for tourism’, all the political parties including Nepali Congress, CPN UML, UCPN Maoist, RPP committed not to call for any strike and bandhs during the year 2011.
Tourism being the largest industry in Nepal is the largest source of foreign exchange and revenue. Possessing eight out of the 10 highest mountains in the world, Nepal is a hotspot destination for mountaineers, rock climbers and people seeking adventure.
With the most advanced infrastructure among urban areas in Nepal, Kathmandu’s economy is tourism centric used to contribute 3.8 per cent to the GDP in 1995-96. However, it has declined since then. valley in April.
Yeti Airlines & Global Bank signs agreement on e-ticketing
Friday - 05th March 2010
Yeti Airlines and Global Bank Ltd signed an agreement to launch E-ticketing from March 3, 2010. This service wll facilitate account holders of Global Bank to purchase Yeti Airlines ticket online.Janak Sharma, Deputy General manager of GBL and Bijay Shrestha, Director of Yeti Airlines signed the agreement on behalf of their organisations.
