More than 720k international tourists visit Nepal

KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 5: Over 720,000 foreign  tourists have visited Nepal in the first eight months of 2024. According to data from the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), a total of 720,334 tourists arrived in Nepal from January to August 2024. This represents an 8.3 percent increase in foreign tourist arrivals compared to the same period last year.

In August alone, Nepal saw an increase of 5,566 tourists compared to August 2023. Last year, 67,153 tourists visited Nepal in August, while this year’s figure rose to 72,719.

NTB Director Maniraj Lamichhane noted the recent upward trend in foreign tourist numbers and expressed optimism about further increases, particularly from neighboring countries, due to ongoing tourism promotion initiatives.

According to NTB data for August 2024, the largest number of tourists came from India (25,832), followed by China (6,614), the US (5,614), Sri Lanka (4,851), and Bangladesh (3,077).

In August 2022, Nepal welcomed 41,304 foreign tourists, while August 2021 saw 6,093, and in August 2019 recorded 94,749. The peak month was March with 111,376 tourists, and the lowest was July with 64,599 tourists.

In 2023, Nepal attracted 1,014,885 tourists. The government aims to attract 1.6 million foreign tourists in the current fiscal year, supported by the Tourism Strategy Plan (2016-25) and the Visit Nepal Decade initiative. Additionally, the Department of Tourism is working on infrastructure development for 100 identified tourist destinations.