Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Tourist arrivals to Nepal via air increased by 6.21% to 76,737 in June compared to 72,250 in the same month last year, according to data released by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).
Nepal has welcomed 583,017 foreign tourists in the first half of 2024, marking a growth of 22.36% compared to the tourist arrivals in the same period in 2023.
These figures indicate that Nepal is on track to achieve record tourist numbers this year.
Nepal welcomed a record 1,197,191 foreign tourists in 2019. However, tourist numbers took a hit in subsequent years due to the COVID pandemic. The arrival numbers fell to 230,085 in 2020 and further dipped to 150,962 in 2021 due to the pandemic. However, the figures improved to 614,869 in 2022 and rebounded strongly to 1,014,876 in 2023.
The year 2024 started on a positive note for the industry with 79,100 arrivals in January. The number increased to 97,426 in February and further to 128,167 in March. April saw 111,376 arrivals, followed by 90,211 in May.
May traditionally marks the end of Nepal’s spring tourist season. Tourist arrivals usually decline in the next three months. Tourist arrivals, however, start to pick from September when the autumn season begins.
Tourist arrivals in June 2024 were the highest for the month so far, surpassing 74,883 arrivals recorded in June 2019.
