Steady Growth in Tourist Arrivals and Earnings

Nepal’s tourism sector saw a continuous steady recovery in October 2025, with growth in both tourist arrivals and earnings from tourism.

According to the preliminary data from the Department of Immigration compiled by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the country welcomed 128,443 international visitors during the month, up 3.3% from October 2024 and reaching 95.8% of pre-pandemic arrivals in October 2019.

India remained Nepal’s largest source market with 17,298 visitors, followed by the United States (13,286), United Kingdom (8,718), China (6,755), and Germany (6,366).

Between January and October 2025, Nepal recorded 943,716 international arrivals, reflecting a 0.3% increase from the same period in 2024 and achieving 97.7% of arrivals during the corresponding months in 2019. The leading source markets for the ten-month period were India (243,350), USA (93,985), China (78,929), UK (47,261), and Bangladesh (45,287).

Tourism also provided a steady boost to foreign exchange earnings. In Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) of the current fiscal year 2025/26, earnings from tourism reached Rs 6.21 billion, up 7.34% compared to the same month last fiscal year.

Cumulatively, earnings for the first two months of the fiscal year totalled Rs 11.58 billion, representing a 9.76% year-on-year rise, according to Nepal Rastra Bank data.