Out of the total 97,426 tourists that arrived in the country via air route last month, 25,578 were from India
India has retained its pole position as Nepal’s main source of foreign visitors as of February, according to data released by the tourism department of the Himalayan kingdom, which continues to recover from the Covid-19 impact.
According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), out of the total 97,426 tourists that arrived in the country via air route last month, 25,578 were from India, making it the leading source of inbound tourism. China followed with 9,180 visitors and the United States came in third with 9,089 visitors.
The statement adds that Thailand secured the fourth position with 4,799 inbound visitors, while the United Kingdom and Bangladesh ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, with 4,571 and 4,099 tourists each.
Mani Lamichhane, Director of the NTB, noted that although the data reported over 25,000 Indian visitors in February, the actual number is likely higher due to a significant number of tourists arriving from India come via land routes.
NTB says that in January, Nepal welcomed 18,041 visitors by air from India. The number of tourists arriving by air in Nepal in February marked a 33 pc increase from February 2023, when 73,255 visitors arrived. Compared to February 2019, before the pandemic, which saw 102,423 tourist arrivals, the recovery rate was 95.12 pc.
Lamichhane expressed optimism about the recovery of Nepal’s tourism sector in 2024, citing the positive trend indicated by the February data. With the onset of the tourism season in March, Nepal expects a significant increase in the number of visitor numbers.
NTB adds that in the first six months of 2023, Nepal also registered a significant increase in the number of Indian tourists as 1,68,000 tourists from across the border visited the country by air compared to 97,313 visitors during the same period in 2022.
Recently, Nepal announced that it would host its inaugural tourism conference aimed at showcasing the country as a secure and appealing destination for travellers from the LGBTQ+ community. Dubbed ‘Yatra 2 Happiness: First Rainbow Tourism International Conference’, the two-day event is scheduled to be held on April 20-21 in Kathmandu, the statement says.
