October 4: With the beginning of the peak tourism season in Nepal, the country has seen an increase in arrival of tourists. This year, foreigners' arrival in September, also known as the start of the tourist season, has reached the level of pre-Covid-19 in 2019.

The tourism data for 2023 shows that arrival of tourists is higher in the peak season than during other months of the year. Spring (March, April and May) and autumn (September, October and November) are considered peak tourism seasons in Nepal.

In September, the month when the tourist season begins, there has been a significant improvement in the arrival of foreign tourists compared to previous years. In September 2023, 91,012 tourists entered Nepal by air. According to the data released by the Nepal Tourism Board on Sunday, the arrival of tourists in this year's peak season is almost equal to that of 2019, the year before the onset of Covid-19.

In September 2019, a total of 92,604 tourists came to Nepal by air. In 2020 and 21, the number of tourists visiting Nepal in September was low. In those two years, COVID-19 and the ban on cross-border travel and international flights, mandatory quarantine, and the necessity of anti-Covid vaccination affected tourist arrivals. The number of tourists visiting Nepal in September has increased since 2022.

Similarly, the arrival of tourists in May and June this year is also more compared to the corresponding months of 2019. However, tourism entrepreneurs argue that their business has not yet returned to the state of 2019.

Khum Bahadur Subedi, outgoing president of Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), shared that tourism is yet to return to the state of 2019. 

He estimates that it will be back to normal in 2024. He said that the current influx of tourists can be considered positive, but he said that during the off-season, tourists could not come due to the effects of the global economic situation.

Sajan Shakya, general secretary of the Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) believes that the arrival of tourists will increase till November as it is the main season. "We estimate that 300,000 tourists will visit Nepal in September, October and November," Shakya said. 

According to the data published by the board, the highest number of tourists came from India in September. A total of 28,694 Indian tourists visited Nepal in September. In terms of numbers, China is second accounting for 8,174 tourists from China in September followed by the United States, Bangladesh, Australia, Britain, Sri Lanka, Germany, South Korea and Israel.