Tourist arrivals up 21.22% in seven months

KATHMANDU: Total tourist arrivals via air over the first seven months of 2024 increased by 21.22% compared to arrival figures for the same period of 2023. According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), 648,316 foreign tourists have visited Nepal till July, compared to 534,907 during the same period last year.

Data shows Nepal welcomed 79,100 foreign tourists in January, 97,126 in February, 129,167 in March, 90,211 in April, 76737 in May, and 64,599 in June.

The monsoon months of June-August are considered lean months for the Nepali tourism industry. Foreign tourist arrivals generally drop in these months.

Tourist arrivals in July increased by 11.9% to 64,599, compared to 57,726 in the same month last year. This is the lowest monthly arrival so far this year.

Nepal had welcomed 70,916 visitors before the COVID pandemic in July 2019. The drop in visitor numbers compared to 2019 shows tourism is yet to recover fully.

India was the largest tourism market for Nepal during the month as Nepal welcomed 21,419 tourists from the southern neighbor in July. The US came second with 8,868 arrivals, up from 6,214 in the same month of 2003. China was in the third position with 6,819 arrivals, up from 5,693 in July last year.

Total Tourist Arrivals

Year       Arrivals              Change