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International carriers to boost Nepal frequency
Most international airlines serving Nepal have planned to increase their frequency in anticipation of swelling demand from September, leading the tourism industry to see good times ahead.Sangam Prasain
Most international airlines serving Nepal have planned to increase their frequency in anticipation of swelling demand from September, leading the tourism industry to see good times ahead.
Travel agencies said that the foreign carriers that had been forced to cut the number of flights to Nepal after the April 25 earthquake and jet fuel shortage at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) last year would be resuming normal operations from autumn. “The expected increase in seat demand is backed by the approaching tourist and festival seasons,” said Shyam Raj Thapaliya, managing director of Osho World Nepal. The period September-November is Nepal’s peak tourist season, which accounts for 35 percent of the year’s tourist arrivals.
In addition, autumn is Nepal’s main festival season when thousands of migrant workers and other Nepalis living abroad return home to celebrate Dashain and Tihar with their families.
“Current flight booking trends for autumn show that Nepal is expected to receive an increased number of tourists this autumn, putting the country’s shattered tourism industry back on track,” said Thapaliya.
Indian private carrier Jet Airways has recently announced expanding its service from three flights daily to five daily by October. It currently flies twice daily to Delhi and once daily to Mumbai, and plans to add one flight each on these two major tourist sectors. According to Osho World Nepal, Hong Kong-based Dragon Air will be conducting daily flights from September, up from three flights weekly.
China Southern Airlines will start daily flights between Guangzhou and Kathmandu on Sept 1, and the frequency will be upped to double daily flights on Oct 30, it said in a statement. After last year’s disaster and fuel problem, the carrier had cut its frequency to three flights weekly.
Likewise, China Eastern Airlines that connects Kathmandu with Kunming is planning to boost its frequency from three flights weekly to daily from October this year, said the agency. Another Chinese airline, Air China, currently operates nine flights weekly to Nepal.
According to Thapaliya, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has also announced conducting double daily flights from October. It currently operates daily flights. Travel agencies said that Kuala Lumpur-based Malaysia Airlines was also planning to double its frequency from once daily to twice daily.
Tour operators said that Nepal could receive a record number of tourists this autumn due to increased publicity by different popular travel publications.
Nepal has been placed in the number one spot in the list of 10 countries to visit this year by UK-based Rough Guides, one of the leading travel publishers in the world. The company said that after a series of devastating earthquakes and aftershocks, Nepal’s tourist industry was on the rise again. “Though hundreds of thousands have been left homeless, and daily life is not fully back to normal, the country’s historic landmarks are slowly being restored.”
Thapaliya said this was a good time for Nepal to attract tourists, particularly from India and China, as potential travellers were looking for new and safer holiday destinations following terrorist atta-cks in Thailand and Europe.
Re-inaugural flight to Dubai sold out
KATHMANDU: Nepal Airlines is set to resume its Dubai flights on Thursday on an auspicious note. According to travel agencies, flights on August 18 and August 21 have been sold out. More than 70 percent of the seats have been booked for August 23. The national flag carrier is reviving its Dubai service four years after it was suspended due to lack of aircraft.
It will be conducting three flights weekly sector on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. (PR)