Gone are the days when the only international destinations on Indians’ minds were the UK and the USA. Now, Indians are keen to visit their neighbours, particularly, Nepal. Interestingly, Nepal’s tourism industry is on the road to recovery post-COVID-19. And out of the total tourist arrivals from January to April 2023, around 28 per cent are Indians.
Nepal Has 28 Per Cent Indians Out Of Total Tourist Arrivals
As per a report by Hindustan Times, Nepal’s tourism industry is recovering from post COVID-19 era faster than ever. From just January to April 2023, there were a whopping 3,26,528 tourist arrivals by air. Out of this number, 28 per cent were Indian touristy arrivals. Senior Director of PR and Publicity of the Nepal Tourism Board, Nandini Lahe-Thapa revealed to Hindustan Times stated that tourist arrivals in Nepal have increased a lot recently.
Infact Nepal Tourism Board expects to welcome 1.2 million tourists — equivalent to the arrivals in 2020. Thapa further adds that Nepal is no more focussing on just traditional destinations like Kathmandu, Lumbini, Pokhara and Chitwan. Eastern and Western Nepal is slowly becoming home to many 5-star properties, tourism activities and cable cars as well.
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Desis Prefer Both Road Trips & Air Travel To The Mountainous Region
By the end of 2023, Nepal is razor focused on achieving a tourism target of 1.2 million arrivals which will cement their post-COVID-19 tourism recovery. When it comes to Indian tourists, Nepal has witnessed a 39.9& increase in April 2023 as compared to April 2022. There were 31,437 Indian tourists in Nepal this April as compared to 22,479 last April.
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Thapa further added to Hindustan Times that the Indian tourism market is doing well post-pandemic. So, this could be the reason why many Indian tourists are also travelling to Nepal for holidays. She observed that regions in the country like Manakamna, Pokhara and border areas have many vehicles with Indian number plates. The tourism official hinted that Indians were preferring to not just fly but even visit the mountain region via road trips.
Well folks, are you planning on a scenic road trip to Nepal this year? Or are you preferring to have a detailed itinerary and fly down?
Cover Image Courtesy: Canva