KATHMANDU, March 12: The country has seen an influx of over 200,000 tourists in two months alone, a 33 percent up as compared to the same period last year, according to the Department of Immigration.

Altogether, 216,214 tourists visited the country in January and February. Of them, 91,793 visited in the month January and 97,694 in February.

A total of 163,694 tourists had visited the country in the same period last year. The tourist inflow in the two months saw a rise by 92.5 per cent in Indian tourists as compared to the same period last year.

Likewise, SAARC tourists surged by 85 per cent, and Chinese tourists by 5.3. Tourist influx from European countries including the United Kingdom, Germany and France increased 8.7, 27.9 and 7.6 per cent respectively. In February alone, 7,133 tourists from the United States of America visited Nepal, which is five percent increment than last year.

On the increment of tourist inflow, Dipak Raj Joshi, chief executive officer of the Nepal Tourism Board credited it to various promotional activities carried out by the Board and the private sector for the increment. Additional tourism promotional programmes would be launched to make the government’s announced ‘visit Nepal year 2020’ a success, he said. RSS

JHAPA, Jan 23: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Prasad Adhikari Wednesday said the government was at work to bring in over two million tourists by 2020.

“The government aims to bring over two million tourists by 2020. And the road to this success is possible as 1.2 million tourists have already arrived until 2018,” he said at a press conference organized jointly by the Press Chautari and Press Center, Jhapa.

Test flights at Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport towards August of 2019 and completion of Pokhara International Airport until 2020 would assist the inflow of tourists, he said.

The Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister also informed that 29 closed airports across the country would resume operation from this year and nine airports would operate night flights.

On the occasion, he inspected four tourist destinations and Chandragadhi Airport in Jhapa that is being upgraded. RSS