The Kanchenjunga region has witnessed a rise in the arrival of domestic and foreign tourists. 

At least 65 foreign tourists left for the Kanchenjunga Base Camp on Friday, October 4, alone. 

According to Tasi Tenzing, an official at the Office of the Kanchanjunga Conservation Area Management Council in Ghunsa, the visitors were from Spain, France, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Romania, the US, Poland, and India.

Besides the foreign visitors, the area has witnessed more domestic travellers from cities in the Southern plains such as Biratnagar, Dharan and Damak of late.

The increase in tourists' arrival has elated the tourism entrepreneurs in the area.

Pema Sherpa, a hotelier at Kanchenjunga Entry Point of Phaktanglung Rural Municipality-6, added that the increase in tourists' footfalls has brought many hotels back to business.

Tourism is the main income for the locals of Kyapla, Phale, Ghunsa, Khabajen and Lonak of Phaktanglung Rural Municipality-6.

According to the statistics of the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Management Council, 52 hotels are in operation on the way to the base camp including Hotel Shingi Namjong, a luxury hotel built with an investment of over Rs 70 million. 
The hotels have contributed to the local economy by providing employment opportunities and using local produce.

Foreign tourists' arrival in Nepal in September this year surged by 5.8 percent as compared to the corresponding month of last year.

According to a data from the Department of Immigration, analysed by by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the country welcomed 96,305 international visitors in September 2024. It brings the total number of foreign tourists entering Nepal in the first nine months of 2024 to over 800,000.

Tourist Assistant Dies

Tika Bahadur Rai, an assistant for a team of tourists, was killed in a landslide on the way to the Kanchenjunga Base Camp, reported RSS. Rai, the resident of Silichong Rural Municipality-5 of Sankhuwasabha district, was hit by a stone at Ilifok near Japantar in Phaktanglung Rural Municipality-6, according to the Taplejung District Police Office. 

Police have yet to retrieve the body owing to continuous landslip. The other members of the team were safe, police confirmed.

RSS