May 3: There has been an improvement in the arrival of tourists since the beginning of 2024.

According to Nepal Tourism Board, a total of 416,069 foreign tourists arrived in Nepal in the first four months of 2024. In the corresponding period of 2023, only 326,528 foreigners had arrived in Nepal.

A comparative analysis shows that the arrival of tourists in the first four months of 2024 increased by 27.42 percent than the corresponding period of the previous year.

According to the data released by the Nepal Tourism Board on Thursday, 111,376 tourists arrived in Nepal in April. However, the arrival of tourists in April was less than that of March when a total of 128,167 tourists had arrived in Nepal through the air route.

The National Statistics Office says that the rise in arrival of tourists has played a positive role in the country's economy. According to the annual estimate released by the office on Tuesday, the growth rate of accommodation and food services is expected to be the best this year. It is estimated that the growth rate of the sector will be 21.84 percent due to the improvement in arrival of tourists.

In April, most of the tourists arrived from India. In the review month, a total of 30,158 tourists arrived from India.

In second place was tourists from America followed by visitors from China in the third place.

Similarly, Britain stood fourth in terms of number of tourists visiting Nepal in April followed by Australia, Bangladesh, France, Germany, Russia and Malaysia respectively.

Before the start of coronavirus pandemic, the number of Chinese tourists was second only to India. However, even though the number of tourists from other countries has reached the pre-pandemic level, the number of Chinese has not increased significantly.

Kishor Raj Pandey, president of Saathi Travels, said that the number of American tourists has increased due to the trekking and mountain climbing season in Nepal.

According to him, more American tourists tend to visit Nepal from October to March, while the number of Americans gradually decreases from May.