Record 95k trekkers visit Annapurna area
POKHARA, Sept 10:
Nearly 100,000 tourists visited Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) -- one of the most attractive tourist destinations of the country -- in the last fiscal year. The area is famous for its biodiversity, scenic beauty and trekking routes.
Statistics show that a record 95,314 tourists visited ACA in the last fiscal year. More than 85,000 tourists had visited the area in fiscal year 2009/10.
However, arrivals from South Asia to ACA have dropped in fiscal year 2010/11. Devendra Thapa, information officer of Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), said a total of 12,943 South Asian tourists visited the area in the last fiscal year. “Total arrivals from South Asian region has declined by 25 percent and overall growth of other region stands at 9.4 percent,” he added.
ACAP charges Rs 200 per person from South Asian Tourists visiting Annapurna area and Rs 2,000 from other nationalities.
Number of tourists to ACA had dropped by 40 percent in 2005. With the improvement in peace process, number of trekkers in this region has gone up. When the impact of Maoist insurgency was minimal, the number of trekkers had reached up to 76,407 in 2000. The number had dropped to 36,224 in 2005.
ACAP covers an area of 7,629 square km. Popular for rich biodiversity, the region also includes world´s deepest river gorge in the Kali Gandaki river and Tilicho Lake.
ACAP collected Rs 170 million from the permit fee in the last fiscal year. The project had collected Rs 140 million in the previous fiscal year.
Although tourism entrepreneurs have said that the number of trekkers has gone down with the construction of motor ways, ACAP has denied it.
Trekkers are particularly interested in Annapurna Base Camp, Annapurna-Circuit, Ghorepani Punhill, Ghorepani-Ghandruk, Ghandruk-Circuit and Muktinath-Jomsom trails, Thapa added.
Source: Republica
Nearly 100,000 tourists visited Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) -- one of the most attractive tourist destinations of the country -- in the last fiscal year. The area is famous for its biodiversity, scenic beauty and trekking routes.
Statistics show that a record 95,314 tourists visited ACA in the last fiscal year. More than 85,000 tourists had visited the area in fiscal year 2009/10.
However, arrivals from South Asia to ACA have dropped in fiscal year 2010/11. Devendra Thapa, information officer of Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), said a total of 12,943 South Asian tourists visited the area in the last fiscal year. “Total arrivals from South Asian region has declined by 25 percent and overall growth of other region stands at 9.4 percent,” he added.
ACAP charges Rs 200 per person from South Asian Tourists visiting Annapurna area and Rs 2,000 from other nationalities.
Number of tourists to ACA had dropped by 40 percent in 2005. With the improvement in peace process, number of trekkers in this region has gone up. When the impact of Maoist insurgency was minimal, the number of trekkers had reached up to 76,407 in 2000. The number had dropped to 36,224 in 2005.
ACAP covers an area of 7,629 square km. Popular for rich biodiversity, the region also includes world´s deepest river gorge in the Kali Gandaki river and Tilicho Lake.
ACAP collected Rs 170 million from the permit fee in the last fiscal year. The project had collected Rs 140 million in the previous fiscal year.
Although tourism entrepreneurs have said that the number of trekkers has gone down with the construction of motor ways, ACAP has denied it.
Trekkers are particularly interested in Annapurna Base Camp, Annapurna-Circuit, Ghorepani Punhill, Ghorepani-Ghandruk, Ghandruk-Circuit and Muktinath-Jomsom trails, Thapa added.
Source: Republica
