Tourist arrivals edge up 2.3% in July

KATHMANDU: Nepal recorded a 2.3% growth in international visitor arrivals in July.

According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), arrivals rose to 71,775 in July from 70,193 in the same month last year. However, the figure represents a 21.43% decline from June this year.

Nepal recorded 78,329 international visitor arrivals in July of 2019, which is widely regarded as the benchmark year for the country’s tourism industry, when a total of 1,197,191 foreign tourists visited the country.

International arrivals have been on a downward trend since reaching a yearly high of 120,516 in March. The country recorded 107,934 visitors in April, 102,626 in May, and 91,363 in June. Despite the recent decline, arrivals in most months of 2026 have remained higher than in 2025, except for March and April.

Tourist arrivals in Nepal generally start to drop with the onset of the monsoon season, which coincides with the end of the peak mountaineering period in April and May. The June–August period typically sees lower footfall, while arrivals begin to pick up again from late August and continue rising through December.

With July’s figures, total tourist arrivals for the first seven months of 2026 have reached 692,887. This marks a 6.84% increase from 647,882 recorded during the same period in 2025.

India remained the largest source market in July, accounting for nearly one-third of total arrivals. A total of 23,490 arrived in Nepal from the southern neighbor during the month. China followed with 11,099 arrivals, while the United States recorded 7,754 visitors. Bangladesh and the United Kingdom contributed 4,179 and 3,773 tourists, respectively.

By region, South Asia (SAARC) accounted for 41.5% of total monthly arrivals. It was followed by Asia (other) at 24.3%, Europe at 12.9%, the Americas at 12.3%, and smaller shares from others (3.9%), Oceania (3.6%), the Middle East (1.0%), and Africa (0.5%).

Nepal recorded 1,158,459 international visitor arrivals in 2025, marking a modest 1% growth over 2024. For comparison, a total of 1,197,191 foreign tourists visited Nepal in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic threw the global tourism industry out of gear.