Tourist arrivals in first three months of 2018 hits 300,000

Kathmandu, April 16. Some 300 thousand tourists arrived by air route to Nepal in the first three months of 2018, the latest figures on tourist arrivals by air route released by the Department of Immigration show.

As per the data given by the Department, 286,882 tourists arrived in Nepal via air route in January, February and March. The highest number of tourists arrived from China. Forty thousand Chinese tourists arrived via air in these three months. Similarly, 34 thousand Indian tourists arrived by air over this period.

This tourist arrival figure is more by 11.4 per cent compared to the number of tourists who arrived by air in the first three months of 2017.

The arrival of a notable number of tourists in the beginning of the year has added much encouragement in the tourism sector, general secretary of Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), Binayak Shah said.

According to him, mountaineers and trekkers from various countries have come in significant numbers in this season which is the main season for trekking and mountaineering. More than 60 per cent of the hotels are booked and this is expected to increase.