Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Nepal Welcomes Record Number of Tourists in 2018

by AFP

   KATHMANDU --

   Tourist arrivals in Nepal topped one million for the first time in 2018
   -- boosted by increased visitors from India, China, the U.S., Sri Lanka
   and the U.K.

   The Himalayan nation saw the number of tourists jump nearly 25 percent
   as it welcomed a record high of 1,173,072 visitors in 2018, the
   country's tourism authorities said Tuesday.

   Rabindra Adhikari, Nepal's tourism minister, called the new total
   "remarkable."

   Last year also saw a record 807 climbers reach the summit of Mount
   Everest, including 563 summits from Nepal.

   Tourism is a major revenue earner for impoverished Nepal, home to eight
   of the world's 14 peaks over 8,000 meters (26,000 feet).

   Fears for the industry rose after a devastating earthquake in 2015 that
   killed nearly 9,000 people and destroyed many of the country's heritage
   sites.

   The industry's annual revenues fell by almost a third that year,
   dealing a devastating blow to the economy, but the sector has since
   gradually recovered.

   Tourism contributed 7.8 percent to Nepal's GDP in 2017, creating over a
   million jobs, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.