Tourist arrivals cross one-million mark for third straight year

KATHMANDU: International tourist arrivals to Nepal crossed the one-million milestone for the third straight year in 2025, though growth slowed sharply after two years of strong post-pandemic recovery.

A total of 1,158,459 international tourists visited Nepal in 2025, up from 1,147,548 in 2024. This marked the fifth time in the country’s history that annual arrivals have exceeded the one-million mark. Nepal earlier welcomed 1,173,072 international tourists in 2018, 1,197,191 in 2019, and 1,014,876 in 2023.

Nepal first set a target of welcoming one million international arrivals in 2011, which was celebrated as the Nepal Tourism Year (NTY).  But the milestone was achieved only in 2019, eight years later. However, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the momentum, and it took Nepal another four years to cross the one-million mark again.

Despite the recovery, arrivals in 2025 remained 3.2% percent below pre-pandemic levels of 2019.

While growth remained positive in 2025, it was significantly slower than in previous years. Tourist arrivals had surged by 65.24% in 2023 and 13.1% in 2024.

Nepal’s growth also lagged behind global trends. According to the UN World Tourism Organization, international tourist arrivals worldwide increased by 5% during the January–September period of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Asia and the Pacific recorded even stronger growth of 8 percent during the review period.

However, the region as a whole is still recovering. Tourist arrivals in Asia and the Pacific remain about 10 percent below January–September 2019 levels, suggesting that Nepal’s post-COVID recovery has been relatively stronger than the regional average.

Arrivals in Nepal in 2025 followed a familiar seasonal pattern, with sharp peaks seen during the trekking and climbing seasons and noticeable declines during the monsoon months. October was the strongest month for the country’s tourism industry in 2025, with 128,443 arrivals. March and November were next with 121,687 and 116,553 visitors, respectively.

Source markets largely stable

India continued to remain Nepal’s largest source market in 2025, with around 292,438 visitors, despite an 8% decline in arrivals from the southern neighbor compared to 2024.

The United States came second with 112,316 visitors, while China was third with 95,480 arrivals. The United Kingdom and Bangladesh rounded out the top five, with 58,684 and 57,545 visitors, respectively.

Region-wise, South Asia remained the largest contributor, accounting for 35.2 percent of total arrivals, or 408,103 visitors, in 2025. Asia (excluding South Asia) followed with 21.9 percent, or 253,311 arrivals. Europe accounted for 19.1 percent of total visitors, with 221,018 tourists, while the Americas contributed 11.7 percent, or 135,503 arrivals. Oceania made up 4.6 percent of total arrivals, with 53,695 visitors.

The Middle East and Africa contributed 1.8 percent and 0.4 percent of total arrivals, respectively, while the remaining 5.4 percent came from other countries.

Monthly breakdown: