Nepal Now / News / Archive 2016
Nepal’s Tourism Industry has started to recover
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Nepal’s tourism industry, which faced a major blow after the April earthquake has started to recover gradually. Thamel Streets are getting back to how they used to be before the earthquake. Hordes of adventure seekers from around the world have started to embark on trekking and mountaineering activities with the onset of spring(March-May), the second peak tourism season in Nepal after autumn. Besides, travel trade entrepreneurs have reported a sharp rise in volunteer tourism numbers. Hoteliers said room occupancy and bookings have started to increase after a disappointing 2015 when the occupancy had hit rock bottom as visitors left the country immediately after the earthquake.
Hotels have reported a gradual increase in their occupancy rates since the beginning of March. “Hotel occupancy and tour inquiry trends have improved and we can expect a rebound in Nepal’s tourism this year,” said Binayak Shah, general secretary of Hotel Association of Nepal. He said five-star hotels’ occupancy has increased to above 50 percent. “We estimate all hotels now have more than 40 percent occupancy on an average,” he said.
The occupancy is expected to rise further with the arrivals of mountaineers. Last week, the government decided to extend climbing permits of hundreds of mountaineers who had been forced to abandon their expeditions last year due to avalanche on the Himalaya triggered by the April 25 earthquake. The permits will be extended for two years until 2017.
“Though late, it was a positive move of the government and it could boost the number of mountaineers, who are the high-spending visitors,” said Chandra Rijal, president of Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal. Rijal said there has been a dramatic growth in the number of trekkers. “At least 500 tourists are obtaining Trekkers’ Information Management System (TIMS) card daily,” he said.
Foreigners should obtain the TIMS card before embarking on their journey in Nepal. Annapurna is the most preferred trekking destinations after Everest and Manaslu. Kanchanjunga trek is also gaining popularity of late, according to Rijal. Tourist arrivals to Nepal fell to a six-year low of 538,970 in 2015, according to the statistics of the Department of Immigration.
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