Nepal Records 1% Growth In Global Tourist Arrivals In 2025; Indian Tourists Decline By 8%

Nepal received around 1.16 million tourists by air in 2025, registering a 1% growth over the previous year, with the number of Indian tourists decreasing by 8%, said the Himalayan nation's tourism board.

According to data released by the Nepal Tourism Board on Thursday, the country achieved 97% recovery in the number of tourist arrivals compared to the pre-pandemic level.

Nepal welcomed 1,158,459 visitors by air from January to December 2025, against the 1,147,548 tourist arrivals recorded in the previous year, according to the data.

In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the country received a total of 1,197,191 tourists by air.

Altogether 292,438 Indian visitors arrived in Nepal by air in 2025, which is 8% less than the previous year's arrival from the southern neighbour, 317,781.

The decline in Indian visitors can be attributed to the Gen Z protest of September last year, which toppled the K P Oli-led government, resulting in the deaths of 77 people, said Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Tourism Board Deepak Raj Joshi.

He, however, added that the overall tourist arrival was good in 2025 despite the political unrest, as the country registered 1% growth in global tourist arrivals by air.

Now the situation has returned to normal, and we expect more arrivals by next year, he said.

India continues to be the largest source of foreign visitors to Nepal as the share of Indian tourists in 2025 was 35.2% of the total arrivals, the highest among the world.

The top five countries generating tourists to Nepal are India with 292,438 visitors; the US with 112,316; China with 58,684; the UK with 57,545; and Bangladesh with 49,357 visitors.

Region-wise, South Asia or the SAARC countries generated the highest number -- 408,103 tourists -- while other Asian countries came next with 253,311 tourists, and the Americas generated 221,018 tourists to Nepal.