A total of 124,393 tourists visited Nepal in October this year. In comparison, October 2023 saw 117,306 tourists, marking a 6% increase in arrivals compared to the same month last year. In 2023, tourist arrivals in Nepal surpassed the one million mark for the first time in four years.
However, the number of tourist arrivals in October this year is still short of pre-pandemic levels when 134,096 tourists visited Nepal in October 2019. That year, the country received 1.9 million visitors. One of the reasons for this month’s decline compared to 2019 could be the recent disaster that struck the country, which significantly impacted the capital city too.
However, over the first 10 months of the year 2024, Nepal has welcomed a total of 941,032 tourists — a growth by 16.22% compared to the same period last year when tourist arrivals were 809,678. The peak month for arrivals was March with 128,167 visitors. April followed with 111,376 tourists and October saw 124,393 arrivals.
Here is the monthly breakdown of tourist arrivals for 2023 and 2024:
| Month | 2023 | 2024 | Y-o-Y growth (in %) |
| Jan | 55,074 | 79,100 | 43.6 |
| Feb | 73,255 | 97,426 | 33 |
| Mar | 99,426 | 128,167 | 28.9 |
| Apr | 98,773 | 111,376 | 12.8 |
| May | 77,703 | 90,211 | 16.1 |
| Jun | 72,250 | 76,736 | 6.2 |
| Jul | 57,726 | 64,599 | 11.9 |
| Aug | 67,153 | 72,719 | 8.3 |
| Sep | 91,012 | 96,305 | 5.8 |
| Oct | 117,306 | 124,393 | 6.1 |
Top 10 tourism markets in October
| Countries | No. of incoming tourists |
| India | 16,313 |
| US | 16,023 |
| UK | 8,019 |
| China | 7,750 |
| Australia | 6,929 |
| Germany | 6,018 |
| France | 5,485 |
| Bangladesh | 4,476 |
| Sri Lanka | 3,125 |
| Italy | 2,635 |
Meanwhile, starting November 8, Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport will be closed for 10 hours each night, from 10 pm to 8 am, for a period of five months until March 31, to facilitate taxiway expansion. This closure comes during Nepal’s peak tourist season, from September to November, which could potentially affect the tourism industry.
