KATHMANDU
Continuing negative swing in foreign tourist arrival in tourism hotspot Nepal is appearing as a concern for the tourism arena in India too. The negative dynamics has immense potential to affect tourism business in Nepal adjoining Eastern Himalayan destinations in India like Sikkim, Darjeeling as well as Bhutan.
After remaining with positive shape for almost through the year in 2012, the negative turn started taking place during that year December onwards. Downfall in 5 Star class guest’s arrival in Nepal has pulled down the occupancy rate to below 90%. The booking rate for many agencies had gone down even bellow 50% in January 2013. According to Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) statistics, FTA in Nepal through Kathmandu during January to December 2012 were 598,204 with around 10% growth over 2011 figures. As common convention, Indian entrants are not included in this statistics.
Full report here Economic Times
