According to Nepal Tourism Board officials, despite the COVID-19 induced economic slowdown, Nepal is expecting to host about 2 lakh foreign tourists in the ongoing fiscal year 2020-21, that is set to end in mid-July 2021, of which majority will be Indians.
This statement comes even after ties between India and Nepal have strained over the Himalayan nation’s controversial map incorporating the Indian territories of Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura, tourists from India continue to be the mainstay for Nepal’s tourism industry.
“We still have 10 months of this fiscal year and flights may not resume before September. We have estimated that over 200,000 tourists will visit Nepal during this period. We have also finalized our policy and programmes that mentions the target,” Deepak Mahat, a member of the NTB, said.
“Out of the set target, we expect the majority to be Indian tourists. In the earlier years, the number of Indians have stood high and we are confident that it would remain the same. Once the situation here improves, the numbers will increase,” he added.
In 2019, Nepal welcomed a total of 1.17 million foreign tourists, out of which 209,611 Indians visited the Himalayan nation followed by China at 169,543. The number of tourists from the United States stood at 93,196; United Kingdom 61,139; Sri Lanka 55,869; France 30,644; South Korea 29,679 and Spain 19,057.
Nepal’s major source of revenue, the tourism sector, has suffered a loss of more than one billion Nepali rupees due to COVID-19 pandemic. With the number of arrivals in the current fiscal year slashed, NTB expects revenue of about 200 million Nepali rupees.
Majority of Indians arriving in Nepal visit religious sites such as Pashupatinath, Lumbini, Pokhara and other places of interests.