More and more Nepalis are traveling abroad as holiday makers The Kathmandu Post daily reported Sunday.

Nepal is already sending more tourists to Malaysia and Thailand than it receives from those two East Asian countries. According to data from Tourism Malaysia, around 12,000 Nepali tourists visited Malaysia in 2006, and Nepal hosted only 3,141 Malaysian tourists.

Likewise, data from Thailand Tourism Authority shows that 21, 180 Nepalis visited Thailand as tourists in 2006. Only 3,632 Thai tourists came to Nepal in the same period.

Besides Thailand and Malaysia, China and Singapore are also emerging as popular destinations for Nepali tourists. Sensing the outbound tourism potential in Nepal, several countries are making more efforts to tap the market.

"We are aggressively working to woo Nepali tourists, offering attractive packages at reasonable prices. We are expecting at least 10 percent growth in the flow of Nepali tourists this year," said Mohd Roslan Abdullah, director of Tourism Malaysia. He said the Nepali market is showing phenomenal growth.

Increasing wealth of people in the high-income bracket and the changing life-style of the young generation are generating more outbound tourism in Nepal. The relative expansion of the middle class may also have contributed to the phenomenon.

Liberalization on the foreign exchange regime, simplified visa procedures and easy availability of tour packages have also boosted foreign travel.

Subodh Rana, managing director of Marco Polo Travels, said the company, in association with Tourism Malaysia, have been sending around 50 tourists every month to Malaysia.

"The six-day package that costs around 40,000 Nepali rupees (about 615 U.S. dollars) is among the most popular," he said.

Ajay Sharma, business development manager of Genting International that operates Malaysia's First World Hotel, the world's largest hotel, said Nepal has become an important market as Nepalis are increasingly spending quality time abroad with their families.

Cruises are also fast gaining popularity among Nepalis.

"This April, 22 people went to Singapore for the Star Cruise," said Rana. "The package price of the cruise is 2,000 dollars."

Rana said in order to meet the diversified choices of Nepali tourists, his company has recently introduced seven-day packages for China, costing 1,000 dollars.

Even a far away country on the African continent is eyeing Nepali tourists. Sensing the potential, Egypt has just entered the Nepali market.

"We are for the first time coming to Nepali market. Though presently, the tourist volume is not encouraging, there are bright prospects. We are embracing a plan to promote tourism products here to tap potential," said Samy Mahmoud, tourism counselor of the Egyptian Tourism Authority (ETA).

Rana of Marco Polo said working together with ETA, the company has launched seven-day packages for Egypt, with prices starting from 470 dollars.

Apart from these markets, Nepalis have also begun to travel to Europe, the United States and Australia.

"A number of Nepalis are buying travel packages to those countries. We have offered 20-day packages, which cost in the range of 400,000 rupees (some 6,153 dollars) to 500,000 rupees ( some 7,692 dollars)," said Rabin Bajracharya, sales and marketing director of Lalit Mandap Travels.

He said around 400 Nepalis have been going abroad through his company annually.

Source: Xinhua