Kathmandu: The country has witnessed a significant surge in the number of foreign tourists visiting Nepal in 2024, with a total of 940,732 foreign tourists over the first 10 months of the current fiscal year 2024/25.
According to National News Agency Nepal, statistics from the Nepal Tourism Board revealed that 124,393 tourists arrived in Nepal in October alone, marking a 6.4 percent increase compared to the same month last fiscal year when 117,306 tourists had visited. In the corresponding month of fiscal year 2019/20, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nepal received 134,096 foreign tourists.
The Board shared that the rise in tourist numbers reflects the trend of recovery in the country’s tourism sector after the pandemic. Maniraj Lamichhane, the Board’s Director, expressed satisfaction over the overall arrival of foreign tourists. He remarked that tourist arrival seems positive despite the adverse effects of torrential rainfall and subsequent disasters in late September. Lamichhane expressed hope for an incr
ease in tourist numbers in the coming months.
Despite the overall increase in foreign tourist arrivals, the numbers from neighboring India and China have decreased in recent months. The number of Indian tourists declined by 13 percent in October compared to September, with 16,313 visiting Nepal in October against 22,984 in September. A similar trend was observed in August, with 25,832 Indian tourists recorded.
The number of Chinese tourists also dropped in October, with 7,750 visitors compared to 8,042 in September and 6,614 in August. This decrease from India and China is attributed to monsoon-induced disasters in the country.
In contrast, the number of American tourists increased notably in October, rising by 12.88 percent compared to September. In October, 16,023 American tourists visited Nepal, compared to 10,084 in September.
Additionally, the report highlighted tourist arrivals from other countries: 8,019 from the UK, 6,929 from Australia, 6,018 from Germany, 5,485 from France, 4,476 from Bangladesh
, 3,112 from Sri Lanka, and 2,635 from Italy over the last 10 months of the current fiscal year.
March 2024 saw the highest number of tourists at 128,167, while July recorded the lowest at 64,599, as per the Board’s data.