KATHMANDU- A total of 2,475 foreign tourists have come for the Annapurna circuit trek in the first three months of the year 2023.
The tourists included 1,678 male and 797 female, according to Tourism Assistant at Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) Tourist Check Point in Dharapani, Chettra Bahadur Gurung. Around 40 to 50 tourists arrive to the ACAP area every day.
The number of tourists visiting the Annapurna region has not been able to rise significantly, worrying the tourism entrepreneurs. Even after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism business has not been able to gain any momentum, said tourism entrepreneur Pancha Bahadur Gurung.
In the previous year i.e. 2022, a total of 15,900 foreign tourists arrived the Annapurna circuit trek. This included 10,364 men and 5,536 women, said Gurung. In 2021 the number was 2,273 including 1,562 men and 711 women.
Likewise, 1,976 tourists came in 2020. The number was 36,647 in 2019. The majority of the tourists coming for trekking in the circuit are from neighboring countries China and India and also from Japan, Australia, Britain, etc. The Annapurna circuit trek starts from Besisahar, Lamjung also connecting Manang, Kaski, Mustang and Myagdi districts.