POKHARA, July 2: Almost 600,000 foreign guests have arrived in Nepal via air within six months of 2024.
According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the number of foreign tourists arriving in Nepal has reached 583,016 by the end of June this year.
According to the NTB, a total of 76,736 foreign guests entered Nepal in June. Mani Raj Lamichhane, the director of NTB said, “Almost 600,000 tourists have arrived in Nepal via air within six months. The arrival of tourists in June was satisfactory."
According to the NTB, the number of foreign guests in June surged by 6.21 percent this time, compared to the same period of 2023. A total of 72,250 foreign guests had entered Nepal in June 2023. The number of foreign guests in June exceeded the previous record set in June 2019, when 74,883 tourists visited Nepal.
In June 2020, only 102 tourists entered Nepal due to the direct impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on the arrival of tourists. Similarly, 11,887 foreign guests entered Nepal in June 2021, while 46,957 foreign guests entered in June 2022.
Arrival of tourists in Nepal has been increasing every month. Lamichhane said that the number of foreign visitors this year is expected to exceed that of the previous year. In January 2024, 79,100 foreign tourists entered Nepal which reached 97,426 in February. The number of tourists arriving in Nepal in March was 128,167. In April, the number of arrivals was 111,376, while 90,211 foreign guests entered Nepal in May.
The government has set a target of bringing 1.6 million tourists in the coming fiscal year. Unveiling the budget for the upcoming fiscal year on May 28, the government said it has set a target of conducting a tourism promotion program to bring 1.6 million tourists in FY 2024/25. The budget mentions that the government will identify new destinations aimed at increasing the arrival of tourists. In order to attract tourists, the budget includes plans to conduct tourism promotion programs such as road-shows, fairs and festivals in major cities of India and China as well as other countries.
The highest number of foreign guests visiting Nepal in June is from India. According to the NTB, 37, 835 Indian tourists entered Nepal in June. Similarly, the number of American tourists visiting Nepal in June stood at 8,281. Chinese tourists stand third in the list with 7,494 visitors from the northern neighbor.
"It is necessary to emphasize more on attracting Chinese guests. The arrival of Indian and American guests is satisfactory. However, the arrival of Chinese tourists has not increased as expected,” said Lamichhane. He said that Nepal’s tourism sector has been affected due to fewer Chinese citizens traveling abroad, citing their weak purchasing power.