Nepal received one million foreign tourists in 2023, with Indians being the highest number of visitors to the Himalayan nation where the tourism sector was badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior official said on Wednesday. Maniraj Lamichhane, director of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), said that the target of bringing in one million foreign tourists in 2023 has been achieved, MyRepublica newspaper reported.
“There are still a few days left in December. However, the government’s target was achieved three days ago. This is the highest number of arrivals since 2019,” said Lamichhane. “It has added excitement to the tourism sector.”
All these are foreign visitors who entered by air.
For the first time since 2019, the tourism sector, which was badly affected by the coronavirus infection, has risen to this size.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the arrival of foreign guests was affected until the previous year. Previously, the highest number of foreign guests entered Nepal in 2019. In 2022, this figure was 614,148. In 2021, 150,962 foreign guests entered Nepal.
The number of foreign visitors entering Nepal in 2020 was 230,085, the paper said.
“The tourism sector that was weakened by the Covid-19 pandemic has recovered in a short time. If we could do better marketing, the arrival would have increased this year,” said Lamichhane.
While the Homestay and Caravan Tourism Policies have taken centre stage already, the state government is gearing up for the introduction of additional policies such as agro-eco tourism, wellness, and adventure, focusing on attracting investments while ensuring transparency and regulation in the tourism landscape. The Minister for Tourism, IT, E&C and Printing and Stationary, Rohan Khaunte shared all and more with ETTravelWorld. Read here.
He said that if international flights are resumed from the international airports operating in Pokhara and Bhairahawa, the number of arrivals will further increase. “It is not that the tourism sector has not been affected due to some conflicts at the international level, but the target set by the government for this year has been fulfilled,” he said.
According to him, among those who entered Nepal in 2023, the highest share was 30 per cent of Indian guests. He said that although the size of Indian guests entering Nepal is around 20 per cent, Indian arrivals have increased significantly this year.
According to him, the number of Indian guests who entered Nepal in 2019 was 254,000, but now it has exceeded 300,000.
Similarly, in 2019, the number of American tourists was 93,000, but this year, around 100,000 arrived. “The arrival of guests from American, Chinese and other countries has also increased,” he said.
While unveiling his achievements in the first year of the government, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” on Tuesday said that the Nepal government has achieved success in receiving tourists.
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The travel and tourism sector has marked a robust bounce back to the pre-pandemic levels, which would generate USD 10 trillion by the end of 2023 and become a USD 15 trillion economy in the next 10 years, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) said here. Speaking at the opening press conference of its 23rd Global Summit, WTTC President & CEO Julia Simpson said the latest data highlights that the sector, which was badly hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, is now recovering faster than anticipated.
“We are in 2023 and I am delighted to say that we have recovered, and by the end of this year, the industry will be worth nearly USD 10 trillion. Despite China’s full recovery potential yet to be realised, the sector’s performance is exceeding expectations. But, we are practically there,” Simpson said as the Summit commenced on Wednesday.
“In the next 10 years, the industry will go way ahead of the USD 10 trillion mark. This sector will be worth nearly USD 15 trillion,” Simpson said.
Though China is one of the biggest travel and tourism economies, the country is still going through “opening processes and making sure people can travel and get visas,” she added.
Citing the latest WTTC data, she said despite geo-political and economic turmoil in 2023, the sector has demonstrated a fast recovery against our initial expectations. “Our previous prediction in March has now been exceeded by the sector’s performance.”
“Every single region, such as Europe, Africa, and the Middle East is growing faster than what we have originally predicted. Our sector has shown true resilience and grit in re-opening and returning post the pandemic,” she said.
The Indian hotel industry has successfully sustained many cost-rationalisation measures adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with the benefits of operating leverage. Margins have expanded significantly when compared to pre-Covid levels. Companies have also transitioned to renewable power sources, managed cost inflation, and maintained strict control over fixed costs, bolstering margins.
Expressing the sector’s commitment to save the environment, Simpson said the travel and tourism industry is also focussing on sustainability. According to WTTC 2019 data, travel and tourism was responsible for 8.1 per cent of the Greenhouse gas emission globally. “As our sector continues to grow, we are becoming more efficient with our energy use. While travel and tourism is growing, the impact on the environment is not growing at the same rate,” said Simpson, who was accompanied by WTTC Chair, Arnold Donald.
Highlighting the importance of the sector in creating new employment opportunities, Donald said one out of five new jobs being created today across the world is from the travel and tourism sector.
Officials said the three-day-long Summit is being attended by nearly 1,000 delegates from across the world, including government representatives of 45 countries.
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Rajasthan‘s tourism sector is on an upward trajectory, with growing popularity among both the domestic as well as international travellers. As per the latest update by the state tourism department, Rajasthan has witnessed over 10 crore tourists in September 2023, advancing its move to establish itself as a tourism hotspot on both the national and international stage.
According to the tourism department official, the surge in tourist arrivals reflects not only the recovery of the state’s tourism sector from the depths of the Covid-19 but also its surpassing of all expectations. This was supported by the recent statistics released by Rajasthan Tourism which highlight the state’s jump from the eleventh position to the seventh place in the rankings of popular tourist destinations, both domestically and globally.
Sumita Saroch, the Joint Director of Marketing at Rajasthan Tourism Department attributed the success to the tourism policies, while sharing the list of strategies that worked for the state.
One of the key strategies employed was airport branding, where Rajasthan’s tourism offerings were showcased at 289 locations across 18 airports throughout India, including major cities like Jaipur, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and others. This initiative was aimed at boosting domestic tourism and attracting travellers from all corners of the country.
The tourism ministry has allocated INR 23.59 crore for the development of tourism facilities at Nathdwara. This includes the setting up of a tourism interpretation cum cultural centre at the destination. In addition to these, several railway projects have also given a green flag. These projects would fortify the rail infrastructure in the region as well as boost tourism to the historic sites in Rajasthan.
Additionally, Rajasthan Tourism leveraged from the significance of metro trains in major cities like Kolkata, Lucknow, Chennai, and Hyderabad, strategically engaging in branding initiatives within these urban transport networks. The department also extended its presence to popular double-decker train routes such as Ahmedabad-Mumbai, Jaipur-Delhi, Bengaluru-Hubbali Jan Shatabdi, and Shatabdi Secunderabad-Pune. An advertising campaign was executed, with LCD and LED screens displaying Rajasthan tourism advertisements at 1433 locations across 20 stations nationwide, said Saroch. Additionally, promotional films were showcased on approximately 1000 screens in multiplexes and cinema halls across 24 major cities nationwide.
Rajasthan Tourism also saw an increase in its social media following, with an engagement on platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube. The department’s promotional films, “Romance of Rajasthan” and “Lage Kuch Apna Sa,” gained popularity after being featured on Instagram, accumulating 7 million and 5.7 million views, respectively.
In the past month alone, Rajasthan Tourism’s official Instagram account garnered 13.6 million impressions, while Facebook received 6 million impressions, and YouTube witnessed 3.5 million impressions and 2.27 lakh views.
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