International airlines except Chinese carriers have reported a drop in inbound bookings for the period mid-April to mid-May after seeing an unprecedented rise in occupancy in the preceding one-month period, travel agencies said. 

Carriers from major gateways connecting Nepal—Delhi, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Kuala Lumpur, Doha and Istanbul—were overbooked in March and the trend continued until mid-April. 

“March was exceptional. Airlines had even offered free accommodation to travellers willing to take the next day’s flight,” said Deepak Basnet, ticketing executive at Osho World Travel Nepal.

“Bookings for May, however, have slowed,” he said, adding that it also signalled that the summer season was coming to an end.

The March-May season is one of the key tourist seasons in Nepal as it draws a large number of trekkers and mountaineers, particularly Everest aspirants. 

In contrast, air travel demand from China has been exceptional. Flights on China Southern, which operates double daily services on the Kathmandu-Guangzhou sector, are more than 80 percent booked until April 28, according to Osho Travel.

From April 29, its flights are 90 percent booked until May 5. Flights on Air China, which operates daily flights on the Kathmandu-Lhasa and Kathmandu-Chengdu sectors, are 80 percent booked from April 27 to the first week of May. 

Likewise, flights on China Eastern are 90 percent booked from April 20 to early May. The carrier operates daily services on the Kathmandu-Kunming sector and has planned to double daily flights from May 1. 

“Bookings on Chinese carriers show that Chinese tourists are coming to Nepal throughout the year,” said Basnet.  

However, inbound trends from Nepal’s major tourist gateway Delhi are not encouraging. According to Osho Travel, the Delhi-Kathmandu sector has observed only 40 percent inbound bookings. The sector is served by Nepal Airlines, Indian Airlines, Indigo and Jet Airways producing a combined eight flights daily. 

Qatar Airways has observed 60 percent bookings from mid-April to April-end. Etihad Airways and Oman Air have witnessed 50 percent inbound bookings. 

Turkish Airlines, the only European airline flying to Nepal, has observed 50 percent bookings for the period mid-April to April-end. It currently flies five weekly flights to Nepal.

Nearly 95 percent of the travellers flying to and from Kathmandu with Turkish Airlines are transit passengers.

Hong Kong-based Cathay Dragon is 50 percent booked until April 26 and 80 percent booked from April 28 to the first week of May.

The carrier operates five flights weekly. Likewise, Malaysia-based Air Asia and Malaysia Airlines are 60 percent booked until May 5.