Reports
from Kaski and Myagdi districts say that Maoists continue extortion from
tourists demanding NRs 1800 as "tourist fee". Maoist activists beat up
a foreign tourist at Dangsing northeast of Birethanti (Kaski district)
for refusing to pay donation as demanded by them. The tourist was ron the
way back from a trekking tour to Tatopani (Myagdi district) and Ghorepani
(Around Annapuran Trail) demanding that he pay Rs 1800 as "tourist fee".
Dangsing lies on the "Manang trail" from Ghandruk or Ghorepani to Naya Pul some 42 kilometers away from Pokhara. A deployed police team arrested the two Maoists involved in the incident.
DRAGONAIR
TO START SERVICES TO KATHMANDU IN DECEMBER
Reports from Manang, Lamjung and Solo-Khumbu districts say that Maoists continue extortion from tourists.
October 2007
An
outbreak of cholera in west Nepal has claimed the lives of least 62 people
and affected hundreds of others, local media reports said. At least 13
villages in the northern part of Kalikot district have been severely affected,"
reports from the region said.
SILKAIR
TO FLY TO KATHMANDU Customers
can now enjoy direct flights between Kathmandu and Singapore October 2007. Flights
out of Nepal's capital will depart at 1305 hours, arriving in Singapore
at 2015 hours (local time).
Abu Dhabi: Etihad Airways will start a four flights-a-week service from its Abu Dhabi home base to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, in October. The flights will provide a valuable link for the 90,000 Nepalese nationals living in the UAE as well as the growing demand from leisure travellers looking to sample Nepal's ancient culture and the world-famous Himalayas. Kathmandu will join Etihad's expanding network across the Indian subcontinent which includes Dhaka, Delhi, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar and Lahore. James Hogan, Etihad Airways' chief executive, said: "Etihad continues to provide our customers with frequent flights and connections to the world's leading capital cities and population centres. The Kathmandu service will be enormously popular with the UAE's Nepalese community as well as leisure travellers flying with Etihad from Europe and North America." Tourism in Nepal has developed considerably in recent years with thousands of travellers visiting the country each year to enjoy its spectacular scenery, wildlife and Everest, the world's highest mountain. Etihad
will operate a two cabin Airbus A330-200 between Abu Dhabi and Kathmandu
configured to carry 262 passengers, with 22 in business class and 240 in
economy.
Hotels
in Nepal intend to raise room rates. Five-star hotels have recently decided
to raise the rates by 15 percent from October 2007. In addition to increment,
hotel rooms will see another 20 percent rise, which includes a 10 percent
service charge from coming January 2008.
The
Immigration Office at Tribhuvan International Airport said that visitor
arrivals to Nepal by air increased by 9.6 % with a total of 23502 tourists
visiting the country in June 2007. The European market has recorded a strong
increase by 39 %. the Asian market registered a commendable upsurge in
arrivals with a notable rise of 289.5% from China, 235.4 % from Taiwan
and 11.7 % from Japan. Though the Indian market recorded a negative growth
of 12.8 %, more than 50% of the tourists visiting the country last month
were from India, according to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) statement.
According to data that Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) made public, the inflow of tourists jumped by 33.5 percent in March 2007, as more tourists were encouraged to visit Nepal following the improved scenario for peace. A
total of 34,122 foreign tourists came into the country by air during the
month, well above from 25,553 tourists in the same month last year. The
number of tourists from Europe increased by 58.2 percent, US tourists by
36.9 percent, Japan and South Korea by 31.9 percent. The number of Indian
visitors dropped by 5.3 percent.
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