Tourist Arrivals in Nepal via Air Reach Nearly 600,000 in First Half of 2024

The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has reported that 583,016 foreign tourists arrived in Nepal by air within the first six months of 2024. In June alone, 76,736 tourists entered the country, marking a 6.21 percent increase compared to June 2023. This figure also surpassed the previous record set in June 2019.

The NTB Director, Mani Raj Lamichhane, expressed satisfaction with the June arrivals, noting that Indian tourists constituted the largest group at 37,835, followed by Americans at 8,281, and Chinese at 7,494. Despite the increase in arrivals from India and the United States, Lamichhane highlighted the need to attract more Chinese tourists, whose numbers have not risen as expected due to economic factors affecting outbound travel.

The overall upward trend in tourist arrivals each month in 2024 suggests a positive trajectory for the year, with expectations that the annual total will surpass the previous year's figures. The Nepalese government aims to further boost tourism, targeting 1.6 million visitors for the fiscal year 2024/25, as outlined in the recent budget which includes initiatives like tourism promotion programs and identifying new tourist destinations.