Around 100 thousand foreign tourists visit Nepal in Dec.

KATHMANDU, JANUARY 2: Nepal has seen the arrival of almost 100 thousand foreign tourists in the last month of December alone. According to the data released by the Department of Tourism (DoT), 96,568 such tourists visited Nepal in the review month.

The very figure is  95.76 per cent more compared to the corresponding month in 2019 when just 101,030 tourists entered Nepal. Such a meagre tourist arrival 4 years back can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent travel restrictions.

The largest number of tourists i.e. 32,693 entered the country from India followed by China at 7,370.  Similarly, 7,027 people from the US, 5,206 people from Bangladesh, 4,534 from Thailand, and 4,267 from the UK, came here in the country. Likewise,  3,834 Australians, 2,533  Myanmar people, 2,363 South Koreans and 2,339 Japanese entered Nepal in December 2023.

Last year, a total number of 1,008,614 foreigners visited the country. So, the target of 1 million tourists set by the government in 2023 was achieved comfortably. This has helped the tourism sector to recover from the severe pangs of COVID-19.