KATHMANDU: Nepal witnessed a significant increase in foreign tourist arrivals in the first eight months of 2024, with over seven hundred thousand foreign tourists entering the country.
According to the Nepal Tourism Board, a total of 720,334 tourists visited Nepal from January through August this year.
In August, the number of foreign tourists rose by 8.3 percent compared to the previous month, totaling 72,719 visitors.
This marks an increase of 5,566 tourists from August 2023, which saw 67,153 visitors.
Maniraj Lamichhane, Director of the Nepal Tourism Board, attributed this rise to the recent surge in foreign tourist traffic.
He expressed optimisim that ongoing tourism promotion programs targeting neighboring countries, such as India and China, will lead to an even greater influx of tourists from these regions.
In August 2024, the highest number of tourists arrived from India (25,832), followed by China (6,614), America (5,614), Sri Lanka (4,851), and Bangladesh (3,777).
In comparison, previous data shows that August 2022 had 41,304 tourists, August 2021 had 6,093 tourists, and August 2019 saw 94,749 tourists.
Throughout 2024, tourist arrivals varied each month. The peak month was March, with 111,376 visitors, while July saw the lowest number of tourists at 64,599. April also saw a high influx of 111,376 tourists.
Other monthly figures include January with 79,100, February with 97,426, May with 90,211, and June with 76,736 tourists.
The government has set an ambitious goal for the tourism sector, aiming to attract 1.6 million foreign tourists this year.
This target is part of the broader ‘Tourism Strategy Plan (2016-25)’ and the ‘Visit Nepal Decade’ initiative, which focus on developing and expanding tourist destinations, building infrastructure, and promoting Nepal both domestically and internationally.
The Tourism Department is also working on enhancing 100 new tourist destinations to further boost visitor numbers.
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