MUSTANG: Tourist arrivals in the mountainous district of Mustang have declined significantly following the devastating flood in Bhote Koshi, Rasuwa, on August 26.
According to tourism statistics maintained by the District Police Office, Mustang, the number of domestic and foreign tourists visiting the district fell sharply in the Nepali month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) compared with the previous month of Shrawan.
The decline came despite repeated disruptions along the Kaligandaki Corridor road connecting Beni, Jomsom and Korala. The road was blocked dozens of times in Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August) due to floods, landslides and river erosion. Police statistics show that tourist arrivals declined further following the Rasuwa disaster.
A total of 61,263 tourists entered Mustang in Shrawan, including 30,655 domestic tourists, 31,575 visitors from SAARC countries and 193 tourists from other countries, according to records maintained by the Border Police Posts in Myagdi and Mustang under the District Police Office.
In Bhadra, however, the number fell to 31,989, comprising 16,503 domestic tourists, 15,138 SAARC visitors and 348 tourists from other countries. Overall, tourist arrivals declined by 29,274 in Bhadra compared with Shrawan, a drop of 47.78 percent.
Santosh Basyal, information officer and police inspector at the District Police Office, Mustang, said domestic tourist arrivals decreased by 14,152, or 46.16 percent, while arrivals from SAARC countries fell by 16,437, or 52.05 percent, compared with Shrawan.
In contrast, the number of tourists from countries outside the SAARC region increased. A total of 348 such tourists visited Mustang in Bhadra, up by 155 from 193 recorded in Shrawan.
According to the District Police Office, a total of 93,252 domestic and foreign tourists visited Mustang during Shrawan and Bhadra combined. Of them, 47,158 were domestic tourists, 46,713 were from SAARC countries and 441 were from other countries.
Inspector Basyal said the decline in tourist arrivals in Bhadra may have been influenced by the grief and disruption caused by the Rasuwa flood disaster on Bhadra 10, which affected the country as a whole.
Despite the month-on-month decline this year, tourist arrivals in Mustang during Shrawan and Bhadra were higher than during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year 2082/83. However, police records indicate a significant drop in arrivals between Shrawan and Bhadra this year.
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