92,573 tourists visited Nepal by air in Jan 2026 whereas 81,273 tourists visited Nepal in 2019. Despite the government that received an electoral mandate after the GenZ movement and unstable politics, there has been an encouraging increase in tourist arrivals. The Tourism Board stated that this number is 14 percent higher than Jan 2019. This number is 15.7 percent higher than Jan 2025. 79,991 tourists visited Nepal in the review month.
Nepal Tourism Board Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Deepak Raj Joshi said that the data for the first month of 2026 indicates that confidence in Nepal is gradually strengthening in the international tourism market. According to him, the main reasons for the increase in arrivals are the destination promotion carried out in recent years, expansion of air connectivity, attraction towards adventure and cultural tourism, and improvement of Nepal’s image in the international market. CEO Joshi said that these positive figures are establishing Nepal as a ‘Lifetime Experience Destination’.
According to the data for the first month of 2026, India is at the top in tourist arrivals. In January, 26,624 tourists from India came to Nepal, which is 28.8 percent of the total arrivals. On the other hand, there is no exact data on Indian tourists entering Nepal by land.
According to a study conducted by the board in 2018, about 1.3m Indian tourists came to Nepal by land. This is the data of large commercial tourist buses and private vehicles that came to Nepal and spent one night here. This does not include the data of Indian tourists who came to Nepal by motorcycle, bicycle, truck, etc., said Deepak Raj Joshi, CEO of the board.
9,101 (9.8 percent) tourists entered Nepal from China, 8,406 (9.1 percent) from the United States, 5,814 (6.3 percent) from Bangladesh, and 4,957 (5.4 percent) from Australia. Regionally, 39.3 percent of tourists came to Nepal from South Asian countries (SAARC).
This is followed by 26.1 percent from other Asian countries, 12.3 percent from Europe, 10.8 percent from America, and 5.7 percent from Oceania. 1 percent and 0.4 percent of tourists have come to Nepal from the Middle East and Africa, while the share of other regions is 4.5 percent.
From ASEAN Tourism Year to Strategic Plan Nepal’s tourism sector is in the process of reviving in the post-pandemic situation. The board has formally announced the celebration of ‘Nepal-ASEAN Tourism Year 2026’ on the occasion of its 27th founding anniversary.
The board also released seven major travel trends that will define 2026. These include peace over noise, Gen-AI in governance, trust over choice, roads over air, highly personalized experiences over uniform formats, off-grid destinations over tested ones, and culture will be prioritized.
The board said that the 2026-2035 strategic action plan will focus on participatory approaches, digital-inspired professionalism, coordination of innovative policies and practices, a mix of local and global experiences, eliminating unproductive programs, and focusing on high-value tourism. In this context, the board had taken a new strategy for tourism promotion in collaboration with TikTok last August.
