India leads Nepal tourism growth with 23,490 visitors in July 2026
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Despite the monsoon season, Nepal saw a 2.3% year-on-year increase in foreign tourist arrivals, welcoming 71,775 visitors in July 2026.
Nepal’s tourism sector demonstrated notable resilience during the July 2026 monsoon season, welcoming 71,775 international arrivals. This represents a 2.3% year-on-year increase compared to July 2025. Quoted by a local news agency report and the statistics released by Nepal Tourism Board confirmed that India remains the primary driver of growth, contributing 23,490 visitors and securing a dominant 32.73% share of the total monthly arrivals.
According to the board India remained the largest source market, with 23,490 visitors, accounting for 32.73% of total arrivals. Tourist arrivals from China recorded a significant increase with total of 11,099 Chinese tourists, up 61.09% from 6,890 in July last year. The number has also surpassed pre-pandemic levels. In July 2019, Nepal received 10,215 Chinese visitors, meaning arrivals from China are now 8.65 %higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The United States ranked as the third-largest source market, with 7,754 visitors in July. Nepal also welcomed 4,179 tourists from Bangladesh, 3,773 from the United Kingdom, and 2,428 from Australia. By region, South Asia contributed the largest share of visitors. Nepal received 29,755 tourists from SAARC countries in July, accounting for 41.46 %of total arrivals. However, this represents an 11.93 %decline compared to 33,787 visitors from the region in July last year. Among other SAARC countries, Nepal received 991 visitors from Bhutan, 475 from Pakistan, 581 from Sri Lanka, and 39 from the Maldives.
South Asia remains the most significant regional contributor with 29,755 tourists (41.46% of total), despite an 11.93% decline in SAARC arrivals compared to last year. Conversely, other Asian markets saw a robust 33.05% increase, totaling 17,424 visitors. Key secondary Asian markets include South Korea (1,394), Malaysia (1,380), and Japan (1,111).
European arrivals accounted for 12.93% of the total, with the UK leading the region (3,773), followed by Germany (723) Spain (681), 644 from France, 514 from the Netherlands, 489 from Portugal, and 467 from Russia. Additionally, Nepal recorded 8,824 visitors from the Americas and 2,607 from Oceania, 736 from the Middle East (Gulf countries), and 324 from African nations highlighting the diverse geographic appeal of the destination even during off-peak seasons.
