Gandaki. With the increase in tourist arrivals, the income from tourist entry fee of Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) has also increased.

According to ACAP, rs 464.88 million was collected from foreign tourists in the last fiscal year. According to ACAP, tourist arrivals have increased by 25 percent in the last fiscal year as compared to the fiscal year 2080÷81 BS.

According to ACAP data, the number of foreign tourists visiting the area increased from 222,180 in the previous fiscal year to 278,113 in the last fiscal year. Of them, 157,786 were from South Asian countries and 120,327 from other countries.

In the fiscal year 2080÷81 BS, rs 389.46 million was collected as tourist entry fee. Project chief Dr Rabin Kadariya said the entry fee has been fixed at Rs 1,000 for tourists from South Asian countries and Rs 3,000 for other foreign tourists.

According to him, a large part of the income from tourist fees is spent on conservation activities and tourism promotion programs. “The government does not give a separate budget for ACAP, and the annual programmes are run from the internal income from the office, staff management,” said Project Chief Dr Kadariya. A budget of Rs 380 million has been approved for the current fiscal year, he added.

ACAP has been carrying out activities such as trekking route construction, waste management, minor irrigation, construction of drinking water projects, income generation and conservation education. Project chief Dr Kadariya said that the income from tourist entry fee remains in ‘ACAP’ and the amount collected for the use of natural resources including collection of herbs is deposited in the revenue of the Government of Nepal. According to him, the state is also benefiting significantly from the fees of hydropower projects operating under ‘ACAP’, mountaineering fee, prohibited area entry fee, etc.

An entry fee of Rs 301.75 million was collected from tourists entering Upper Mustang and Manang’s Nar Phu area in the last fiscal year. The fee for entry into the prohibited area is collected through the Immigration Office. Tourists visiting Upper Mustang pay $500 and tourists visiting Nar Fu pay $1,000.

Annapurna, the world famous for trekking tourism, has two main tourist seasons, October-October and March-April. Project chief Dr Kadariya said that the number of tourists visiting the temple during the same season is also significant. A total of 172,108 foreign tourists entered the region in the fiscal year 2079÷80 BS, while more than 100,000 tourists were added in the last fiscal year.

Although the number of trekkers visiting the area during the rainy season and winter is low, there is a movement of domestic and foreign tourists in other years. Although most of the Indian tourists visiting muktinath and other destinations use the road route, tourists from other countries prefer trekking. The office maintains data of only foreign tourists visiting the Annapurna Conservation Area.

Every year, millions of domestic and foreign tourists visit Annapurna Base Camp, Mardi Himal of Kaski, Sikles, Lwang, Gandruk village, Tilicho Lake of Manang, Thorangla Bhanjyang, Upper Mustang, Muktinath area, Ghodepani of Myagdi and Punhill.

Spread over 7,600 square kilometers, the Annapurna Conservation Area comprises 87 wards of 15 local levels in Kaski, Lamjung, Manang, Myagdi and Mustang.