KATHMANDU (AFP) – Two years after the end of Nepal's brutal civil war, more tourists than ever visited the Himalayan country in 2008, officials said Friday.
Tourism brings vital foreign currency into the young republic governed by former rebel Maoists who won elections last April with pledges to lift Nepal out of dire poverty.
"With nearly 550,000 tourists in 2008, arrivals have increased by just over four percent compared to the previous year," said Aditya Baral, Nepal Tourism Board spokesman, adding that 2007 set the previous record for the highest number of tourist arrivals.
Officials had been expecting higher numbers, but the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and recent unrest that shut down Thailand's main international airport have taken their toll on arrivals, the spokesman said.
Indians account for one quarter of Nepal's tourists, and have been arriving in lower numbers since the attacks, Baral said.
"Bangkok is a major gateway to Nepal for tourists from Australia and Southeast Asia, and the number of arrivals declined due to the political disturbances there," the spokesman said.
The former rebel Maoists who now govern Nepal have made tourism central to their economic reforms.
Tourism provides jobs for around 300,000 people and contributes around four per cent of GDP. The government has announced that by 2011 it plans to attract one million tourists annually.
The effects of the global financial crisis on Nepal's tourism have yet to bite, the tourism spokesman said, but he expressed concerns that the downturn will hit next year's arrivals.
"The impact of the financial crisis will be seen in Nepal in the next three to four months as belt-tightening Westerners economise on their 2009 holidays due to the ongoing financial crisis," said Baral.
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