KATHMANDU, Jan 6: The Government of Nepal has failed to meet its target to attract at least 10 percent more tourists in 2025 compared to 2024. The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) reported that a total of 1,158,459 foreign tourists entered Nepal by air in 2025. Last year, the arrival figure was 1,147,548.
According to available records, the highest number of tourists so far visited Nepal in 2019. That year, 1,197,191 foreign tourists arrived in the country. The board stated that 2025 arrivals show only a 1 percent increase compared to the previous year, but a 3 percent decrease compared to 2019.
“The target was to increase arrivals by at least 10 percent compared to 2024. But it could not be achieved,” said Maniraj Lamichhane, chief of the Nepal Tourism Board’s Gandaki office.
“The Gen-Z protests and subsequent incidents also reduced arrivals. The protests affected the tourism sector for nearly a month before the season could properly start.” He added that the lack of aggressive promotional activities also contributed to lower-than-expected arrivals.
Chinese arrivals surpass Indian tourist numbers
According to Lamichhane, arrivals of Indian tourists saw a sharp decline in 2025. The drop began after the Gen-Z protests. While arrivals from other countries recovered quickly, the flow of Indian tourists remained slow. Compared to 2024, arrivals of Indian tourists fell by 8 percent in 2025. Similarly, Chinese tourist arrivals also remained below the target, showing a 6.3 percent decline compared to 2024.
“We could not conduct sales mission programs as expected. Without identifying international markets and executing sales missions, arrivals cannot gain momentum,” he said.
“Although Nepal’s tourism recovered quickly, arrivals from neighboring countries remained weak. Arrivals from third countries improved after a month of the Gen-Z protests, but the expected increase from India and China did not materialize,” he said.
Nepal receives the majority of its tourists from SAARC countries. In 2025, 35.2 percent of arrivals were from SAARC nations. Nepal welcomed 408,113 tourists from SAARC countries in 2025, compared to 417,856 in 2024, a 2.3 percent decline, the board said.
There was, however, some increase in arrivals from European nations. In 2024, a total of 214,015 European tourists visited Nepal, which rose by 3.3 percent to 221,018 in 2025. Europeans accounted for nearly 22 percent of total arrivals in 2025. Likewise, arrivals from other Asian countries also rose slightly, representing about 22 percent of total tourist inflow.
Arrivals from the U.S. saw minimal growth. Compared to 2024, U.S. arrivals rose by 1 percent to 135,503 in 2025. Tourist arrivals from the Middle East, however, increased by 23 percent, from 16,648 in 2024 to 20,504 in 2025.
“Although arrivals from the Middle East are relatively small, the growth rate this time is good. The number of European tourists has also improved, but arrivals from other parts of Asia remain weak,” Lamichhane said.
In January 2025, altogether 79,991 foreign tourists arrived in Nepal. The number rose to 96,880 in February, 121,687 in March, and 116,490 in April. In May, arrivals were 86,216, followed by 76,425 in June, 70,193 in July, and 88,680 in . September saw the arrival of 78,711 tourists, October 128,433, November 116,553, and December 98,190.
Indian arrivals remain highest
Despite the decline in numbers, Indian tourists remained the largest group visiting Nepal in 2025. Among the top ten countries contributing visitors, India ranked first with 292,438 arrivals. The U.S. ranked second with 112,316, China third with 95,480, the U.K. fourth with 58,684, and Bangladesh fifth with 57,545.
