Date: 10-06-2023
Indian Tourists Explore New Destinations in Nepal
The number of visitors to Nepal increases during summer months as students have vacation and people want to travel to cooler cities. The Mt. Everest and Annapoorna base camps are getting tourists who travel with their families, says Rohini Khanal, manager - PR and Publicity Department of Nepal Tourism Board
Indian visitors to Nepal are exploring new destinations and experiences apart from the traditional destinations.
Rohini Khanal, manager - PR and Publicity Department of Nepal Tourism Board, told The Hindu on Friday that in 2022, 2.09 lakh visitors of the total 6.14
lakhs (by air) were from India, constituting nearly 34 %. Between January and April this year, 92,185 people visited Nepal from India of the total 3.26 lakhs, constituting 28.2 %. The numbers were high in March and April.
The number of visitors increases during summer months as students have vacation and people want to travel to cooler cities. The Mt. Everest and Annapoorna base camps are getting tourists who travel with their families. We would like to focus more on adventure aspect for travellers from the tier-two cities, he said.
The number of tourists from India (arriving by air) has reached the 2019 level and all flights that were grounded during COVID-19 have resumed service. The Nepal Tourism Board is holding road shows in six tier-two cities in India in the southern and western States now, as these are emerging markets. Though Indians traditionally visited Nepal for pilgrimage, even before the COVID, they started showing interest in adventure tourism. Now, a lot of youth are travelling solo for trekking, he said.
Wildlife, MICE, wedding and honeymoon destinations, and cultural tourism are the other growing segments. Indians mostly travel for five to seven days and We want to focus beyond traditional places. We are offering new destinations and new experiences, Mr. Khanal said.