March 3: The number of tourists visiting Nepal has increased with the onset of the tourist season. According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), as many as 97,426 foreign tourists arrived in Nepal via air in the month of February.

The number of foreign visitors who entered Nepal in February 2024 is 33 percent more compared to February 2023.

The figure is 95 percent of the arrivals in the year 2019 when highest number of tourists visited Nepal before the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the NTB, a total of 73,255 foreign tourists had visited Nepal in February 2023. NTB officials say that tourists mostly visit Nepal in March, April and May for trekking when the weather is favourable.

In February 2019, altogether 102,423 foreign tourists had entered Nepal.

Tourists from neighbouring India comprised the largest share of foreign arrivals in Nepal in February, with 25,578 Indian guests arriving in the country. Following Indians, the next largest group was Chinese tourists at 9,180. American tourists also made a significant contribution with 9,089 US citizens visiting Nepal in February.

The NTB data also shows that tourists from Thailand (4,799), the United Kingdom (4,571), Bangladesh (4,099), Sri Lanka, Australia, Myanmar, and Germany contributed to the total tourist arrivals.