Himal Press 
Tourists enjoy views of mountains at Poon Hill in the Annapurna Region in this undated photo. (Photo Courtesy: NTB)
KATHMANDU: Nepal’s tourism industry witnessed a remarkable resurgence in 2023, as revenue from the sector went up by 52.35% to $548.20 million compared to $359.70 million recorded in the previous year. This impressive growth can be attributed to the significant improvement in tourist arrivals in 2023, according to the Nepal Tourism Statistics 2023 recently published by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation.
According to the annual report, the number of foreign tourists visiting the country via air routes surged by an impressive 54.3% to 914,270 in 2023, compared to 592,631 in 2022. Additionally, tourist arrivals by land routes experienced a staggering 352.4% growth, with 100,612 arrivals in 2023, up from 22,238 in the previous year. In total, Nepal welcomed 1,014,882 tourists in 2023, a remarkable 65.05% increase compared to the 614,869 arrivals recorded in 2022.
The pattern of tourist arrivals has also changed, with notable shifts in the top five countries of origin. In 2023, India accounted for 31.52% of tourist arrivals, followed by the USA (9.88%), China (5.99%), the U.K. (5.20%), Australia (3.82%) and Bangladesh (3.59%).
The average length of stay of foreign tourists also saw a slight improvement in 2023. According to the report, the average length of stay of foreign tourists increased from 13.1 days in 2022 to 13.2 days in 2023, an increase of 0.8%. Likewise, the average daily spending of foreign tourists improved slightly to $41 in 2023, compared to $40.5 in 2022.
The majority of foreign tourists visiting Nepal cited holiday and pleasure as their primary purpose in 2023, with 634,301 arrivals falling under this category. Additionally, 132,949 tourists arrived for pilgrimage purposes, while 154,262 came for trekking and mountaineering activities, and 93,370 visited for other purposes.
Nepal’s tourism infrastructure and services also experienced positive growth during the year. The number of star hotels increased to 182 in 2023, up from 173 in the previous year, while the number of non-star hotels rose to 1,416, compared to 1,228 in 2022. Consequently, the total number of available hotel beds increased to 54,370 per night in 2023, up from 53,365 in 2022.
