Tourism based revenue increased significantly !

Nepal’s tourism sector generated Rs240.7 billion in revenue and supported more than a million jobs directly and indirectly last year, according to the annual World Travel and Tourism Council report. The London-based organisation said that travel and tourism’s total contribution to the country’s gross domestic product stood at 7.9 percent last year, up 3.6 percent.

This primarily reflects the economic activity generated by industries such as hotels, travel agencies, airlines and other passenger transportation services, excluding commuter services. It also includes, for example, the activities of the restaurant and leisure industries directly supported by tourists.

The Travel and Tourism Economic Impact 2019 report released last month said the industry was expected to create more than 1.35 million jobs directly and indirectly by 2029. The total contribution of the travel and tourism industry to the gross domestic product was Rs195 billion in 2017. The report said that domestic tourists spent 56 percent of the total Rs240.7 billion revenue generated by the tourism industry last year.

Nepalis started visiting their own country after the earthquake of 2015, and there is a massive domestic tourist movement, said Deepak Raj Joshi, chief executive officer of the Nepal Tourism Board.