Nepal’s tourism industry is seeing a steady recovery in 2024, with foreign visitor numbers climbing notably compared to the previous year. According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), a total of 816,639 tourists arrived in the country from January to September, marking a significant uptick in visitor arrivals since the start of the year.
Month-by-Month Breakdown
Visitor arrivals throughout 2024 show a clear trend of growth, peaking in March with a total of 128,167 tourists, the highest for any single month. On the other hand, July recorded the lowest number of arrivals with 64,599, likely due to the impact of the monsoon season. Here is a breakdown of monthly tourist arrivals:
- January: 79,100
- February: 97,426
- March: 128,167
- April: 111,376
- May: 90,211
- June: 76,736
- July: 64,599
- August: 72,719
- September: 96,305
Overall, tourism arrivals saw a 6% growth compared to 2023, indicating a resurgence in interest toward Nepal as a travel destination.
August 2024: A Key Month in Tourism Revival
August 2024 saw a notable 8.3% increase in tourist arrivals compared to the same period in 2023, with a total of 72,719 visitors. This surge is part of a larger rebound in the sector, though it still lags behind the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. In August, tourists from India formed the largest group, accounting for 35.5% of total arrivals. China and the United States followed with 9.1% and 7.7%, respectively.
The regional breakdown of arrivals in August is as follows:
South Asia (SAARC): 48.4%
Other parts of Asia: 17.34%
Europe: 13.7%
Americas: 8.8%
Oceania: 2.9%
While the numbers reflect positive growth, tourism officials like Mani Raj Lamichhane, Director of the NTB, have highlighted that recovery has been slower than expected. “The tourist arrival increased this August, but not at the pace we hoped,” Lamichhane said, indicating that more aggressive marketing strategies, especially in Western markets, are necessary for Nepal to regain its pre-pandemic tourism strength.
Comparing Pre-Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Figures
While the number of tourist arrivals has improved, it remains below pre-pandemic figures. For context, 1.19 million tourists visited Nepal in the fiscal year 2019/20, compared to the significant decline during the pandemic when the number dropped as low as 150,700 in 2021/22. In the first eight months of 2024, Nepal received 720,300 tourists, which is a sharp improvement from the 601,000 tourists who visited during the same period in 2023.