Nepal sees 8.3 pc increase in tourist arrivals in 8 months

KATHMANDU: Over 720,000 tourists have entered Nepal in the first eight months of 2024, according to data from the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). A total of 720,334 tourists visited Nepal between January and August 2024, marking an 8.3% increase in foreign tourist arrivals.

In August alone, 72,719 tourists visited Nepal, an increase of 5,566 compared to the same period last year, which saw 67,153 visitors.

NTB Director Maniraj Lamichhane informed about the recent rise in foreign tourists and expressed optimism that tourism promotion programmes would attract even more visitors from neighbouring and other countries in the coming days.

The NTB's data revealed that the highest number of tourists in August came from India (25,832), followed by China (6,614), the US (5,614), Sri Lanka (4,851), and Bangladesh (3,077).

In comparison, August 2022 saw 41,304 foreign tourists, while the same period in 2021 had 6,093 visitors, and August 2019 recorded 94,749 tourists. March 2024 witnessed the highest number of tourists (111,376), whereas July had the lowest (64,599).

Monthly tourist arrivals for 2024 were as follows: January (79,100), February (97,426), March (111,376), April (103,076), May (90,211), June (76,736), and August (72,719).

Since the Covid 19 pandemic, foreign tourist arrivals have steadily increased, with 1,014,885 tourists visiting Nepal in 2023.

The government aims to attract 1.6 million foreign tourists in the current fiscal year 2024/25, as outlined in the budget. The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation plans to achieve this target by implementing the Tourism Strategy Plan (2016-25) and the Visit Nepal Decade initiative. The Department of Tourism is also developing infrastructure by identifying 100 tourist destinations.

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