India became Nepal's largest tourist source country with 292,438 tourists (25.2%) in 2025. The top five source markets were followed by the United States with 112,316 (9.7%), China with 95,480 (8.2%), the United Kingdom with 58,684 (5.1%), and Bangladesh with 57,545 (5.0%).
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According to preliminary data released by the Immigration Office and the Nepal Tourism Board, international tourist arrivals for the entire year 2025 have reached 1,158,459.
While this is about 97 percent of the overall level before the COVID pandemic in 2019, the latest quarterly tourist arrival trend is a clear sign that it is heading towards a full recovery.
Data from the Immigration Department shows that not only is international passenger demand for the Himalayan nation of Nepal stabilizing, but regional diversification is also accelerating.
Despite limited air infrastructure, such a large number of tourist arrivals should be seen as a positive achievement, said Deepak Raj Joshi, CEO of the board.
India has emerged as Nepal’s largest tourist source country in 2025 with 2,92,438 tourists (25.2%). The top five source markets are followed by the United States of America (1,12,316 (9.7%), China (95,480 (8.2%), United Kingdom (58,684 (5.1%)) and Bangladesh (57,545 (5.0%).
Looking at regional figures, a total of 35.2% (4,08,103) tourists came from South Asia (SAARC). Other Asia contributed 21.9% (2,53,311) while Europe contributed 19.1% (2,21,018) of the total arrivals to Nepal. This data shows that regional tourism is supporting the overall inflows to Nepal's tourism market, even though the European and American markets are yet to fully recover.
98,190 international tourists visited Nepal in December 2025. This is 6.7% more than in December 2024. This number is almost at the same level as in December 2019, indicating an encouraging end to the year.
The economic impact of tourism is also evident with the arrival of tourists. During the current fiscal year 2082/83 (Shrawan-Kartik), more than Rs 27.15 billion has been earned from tourism.
Similarly, from Shrawan to Mangsir, more than Rs 30 billion in foreign direct investment has been committed in the tourism sector through 476 projects. This indicates that investor confidence in the hotel, resort, adventure tourism and infrastructure sectors is increasing.
The data shows a qualitative transformation along with quantitative improvement in Nepal's tourism sector. While India and China have not fully recovered to pre-COVID levels, Bangladesh, the US, Europe and Oceania markets have been steadily expanding.
Bangladesh in particular seems to be establishing itself as a new emerging source market for Nepal, benefiting destinations such as Kathmandu, Pokhara, Nagarkot and Dhulikhel.
This growth, which has been seen despite the capacity constraints of Tribhuvan International Airport, is seen as a clear sign that the Nepal tourism sector has emerged from the post-pandemic recovery phase and entered a new expansion phase, said CEO Joshi.
