Nepal welcomes record number of tourists in 2018
Agence France-Presse
Myanmar mountaineers during their ascent of Ama Dablam mountain in Nepal on November 9, 2017 in preparation for a mountaineering expedition to Hkakabo Razi on the northern tip of Myanmar near the border with China and India. (AFP/-)
Tourist arrivals in Nepal topped one million for the first time in 2018 -- boosted by increased visitors from India, China, the US, Sri Lanka and the UK.
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.
Read also: Global insurers threaten to stop cover for tourists in Nepal
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.
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