The first month of the year 2008 has revived the hope of expanding tourism industry with increasing inflow of tourists in the country.

In January, tourist arrival has increased by around 13 percent compared to the same month last year, up by 2,895 numbers.

According to Nepal Tourism Board, although the month saw decline in the arrivals from India (-12.2 percent) and Sri Lanka (-12.5 percent) that dragged down the total arrivals from SAARC region by 7 percent, the European and North American markets have registered robust growth of 33.1 percent and 34.3 percent respectively.

Chinese tourist arrival increased by 96.8 percent, South Korean by 5.1 percent, Thai by 23.2 percent and Malaysian by 12.1 percent.

Korean market contributed more than 10 percent in the total arrivals and it is due to direct flight between Kathmandu and Seoul, NTB said. In contrast, Japanese market is down by 15.3 percent, which could be due to irregular air service of national flag carrier, NAC, to Japan, the board said.

European markets have shown positive growth this month, except Austria (-7.5 percent). The UK registered 33.9 percent growth, France 78.5 percent, Germany 4.5 percent, Spain 28.5 percent, and Netherlands registered 36.5 percent growth in tourist arrival showing increased consumer confidence towards this destination. nepalnews.com ia Feb 01 08