Though the data indicated that over 25,000 Indians visited Nepal in February, NTB Director Mani Lamichhane claims that the real figure is far higher because many Indian tourists traveled to the Himalayan nation by land Image Courtesy Agencies
According to the tourism authorities here on Saturday, India has become Nepal’s top inbound visitor market in February as the country’s vital industry progressively recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.
Data released by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) shows that of the 97,426 tourists that entered the country last month via air travel, 25,578 came from India, followed by China with 9,180 and the US with 9,089 visitors.
With 4,799 foreign visitors, Thailand comes in fourth on the list. The UK and Bangladesh come in fifth and sixth, with 4,099 and 4,571 visitors, respectively.
Though the data indicated that over 25,000 Indians visited Nepal in February, NTB Director Mani Lamichhane claims that the real figure is far higher because many Indian tourists traveled to the Himalayan nation by land.
Nepal saw 18,041 Indian tourists in January.
In February of this year, there were 33% more tourists arriving in Nepal by air than there were in February of 2023 (73,255 visitors). It was 95.12% recovery compared to 2019, the pre-Covid 19 timeframe. There were 1,02,423 tourists that arrived in Nepal in February 2019.
The COVID-19-affected tourist industry in Nepal is predicted to rebound in 2024, and the February data is encouraging, according to NTB Director Lamichhane.
According to him, the number of visitors would rise sharply starting in April since the travel season begins after March.
(With agency inputs)