Nepal has become a popular and lucrative tourist destination to Bangladeshis as the  Himalayan country has witnessed a substantial growth of Bangladeshi tourists over the last three calendar years

The number of Bangladeshi tourists posted 34 per cent growth to neighboring Nepal in the just concluded year 2024 as the Indian government has restricted the issuing of visas to Bangladeshis since the ungracious departure of former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024, sources in New Delhi and Dhaka said.         

According to the Nepal Tourism Board, a total of 48848 Bangladeshis visited Nepal in 2024 as against 36,483 Bangladeshis visited the Himalayan country in 2023.  

In 2023, a total of 36,483 Bangladeshis visited Nepal (28,362 men and 8113). In 2022, over 25,000 Bangladeshi tourists visited Nepal, which is close to the pre-pandemic level.

A senior editor of a vernacular English daily while talking to this correspondent said that he visited Nepal 50 times during his life as he considers Nepal as one of the most lucrative and beautiful countries in the world.

As Nepal gives on arrival visas to Bangladeshis and the Indian High Commission offices in Dhaka, Sylhet, Khulna, Sylhet and Chattagram have restricted the issuing of visas, Bangladeshi tourists visited Nepal in good number during the months of September- December, said a member of Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB).

Meanwhile, according to the Himalayan, a popular and well circulated newspaper in Nepal, more than 1.14 million foreign tourists visited Nepal in 2024, marking a significant milestone for the country's tourism sector.

According to data released by the Nepal Tourism Board this morning, a total of 1,147,024 tourists entered Nepal over the year.

This is the highest number of tourist arrivals recorded in Nepal since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Board Director Marin Raj Lamichhane noted that, on average, approximately 3,000 tourists arrived in Nepal daily. Tourist arrivals increased by over 14 percent in 2024 compared to 2023.

In comparison, Nepal welcomed 1.197 million foreign visitors in 2019, before the pandemic brought international travel to a halt in early 2020.

The revival of Nepal's tourism industry is evident, with United Nations World Tourism Organisation data indicating a 96 percent recovery in post-COVID tourism over the past six months.

The surge in tourist numbers has been attributed to major events such as the Nepal Premier League, the Global Buddhist Summit, the International Balloon Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, and other cultural celebrations.

Meanwhile, the tourism sector in Nepal experienced a rapid recovery, with a significant increase in tourist arrivals in 2023. The total number of tourists reached 1,014,882, marking a 65.05% increase compared to the previous year. The pattern of tourist arrivals has also changed, with notable shifts in the top five countries of origin. In 2023,

India accounted for 31.52% of tourist arrivals, followed by the USA (9.88%), China (5.99%), the U.K. (5.20%), Australia (3.82%), and Bangladesh (3.59%). Among these, 914,270 (90.09%) arrived by air, while 100,612 (9.91%) arrived by land.

Meanwhile, Nepal welcomed 1 million tourists between January and December 2023, attributed to China's border reopening and record arrivals from India.

As per Nepal Tourism Board, the arrival numbers crossed the million mark on December 27, the first time in four years. However, this is the third time that Nepal has received over a million tourists, the previous two dating back to pre-covid era.

Arrivals crossed the coveted one-million mark for the first time in 2018, with 1.17 million foreign tourists streaming into the country. In 2019, the number rose slightly, to 1.19 million, following better flight connectivity with several Chinese cities. Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, bringing arrivals to a standstill.

Nepal welcomed 230,085 and 150,962 tourists in 2020 and 2021, respectively. In 2022, the foreign tourist numbers shot up to 614,869.

NTB Director Maniraj Lamichhane said the number of foreign tourists has been increasing in recent days. He expressed the belief that a significant number of tourists would come from other countries including neighbouring countries in the coming days as a result of tourism promotion programmes.

Meanwhile, foreign tourist arrivals have continuously increased after the COVID pandemic. A total of 1,014,885 tourists visited Nepal in 2023.

The government has set a target of attracting 1.6 million foreign tourists in the current fiscal year’s budget.

The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has set a target of attracting 1.6 million tourists in the current fiscal year by implementing the Tourism Strategy Plan (2016-25) and the Visit Nepal Decade. The Department of Tourism is also constructing infrastructure by identifying 100 tourist destinations. (RSS)

According to Mani Raj Lamichhane, head of the Research, Planning and Monitoring Department at the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), this is an almost 97 per cent recovery to the pre-pandemic levels, according to the Rising Nepal.

To revitalise the tourism sector of the country, the government announced in its budget for the Fiscal Year 2023/24 that it would celebrate the 10 years from 2023 to 2033 as the tourism decade and shared its intention to bring 1 million tourists into the country in 2023, according to the Rising Nepal.

The latter is in line with the target unveiled by the NTB last year and one that it has since maintained is possible by attracting visitors from Asia.

In July 2023, 50 per cent of the total tourists came from SAARC countries. Among them, 21,357 were from India, 26,096 from Bangladesh, 807 from Bhutan, 484 from Sri Lanka, and 372 from Pakistan.

Apart from China, South Korea had 13,075 visitors from Asian countries. Among European countries, the largest number of tourists, 3,630, came from the United Kingdom. There were 1,102 visitors from Australia, and 653 from Canada.

As per tourism entrepreneurs, Chinese tourists, along with sightseeing, are also interested in adventure and outdoor activities. Hence, they consider Nepal as an “Alps-like” destination.

Meanwhile, Nepal Ambassador to Bangladesh Ghanshyam Bhandari in an interview with The Business Standard said “ The two countries offer unique and diverse tourist products that can complement each other. In 2022, over 25,000 Bangladeshi tourists visited Nepal, which is close to the pre-pandemic level. However, considering the number of outbound tourists from Bangladesh, this figure remains relatively low.  To fully capitalise on the opportunities, we need to promote tourism circuits and build stronger linkages between our touristic destinations. Facilitating smooth and hassle-free travel between our countries through enhanced air and land connectivity will be critical. We can also explore opportunities for collaboration in adventure tourism, medical tourism, and eco-tourism projects. We stand ready to share our experiences with Bangladesh in this regard.”

 According to data released by the Nepal Tourism Board, a total of 57,726 tourists came to Nepal in July 2023. Out of that only 21 thousand 357 Indians have come. In second place are Chinese citizens. Their number is 5 thousand 593 people. According to the board, the number of American tourists is 5,561.

Among other Asian countries, 1,375 tourists came from South Korea after China. Most of the European countries, 3,630 British tourists have come to Nepal. According to the data, 1 thousand 102 Tourists came to Nepal from Australia and 653 people came from Canada.

As per tourism entrepreneurs, Chinese tourists, along with sightseeing, are also interested in adventure and outdoor activities. Hence, they consider Nepal as an “Alps-like” destination.

 As Bangladesh and Nepal are separated by the "Siliguri Corridor", the number of Bangladesh tourists to Nepal will easily cross one lakh, provided India allows transit to Bangladeshi tourists through the chicken neck, said members of Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB) and Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB) 

The two nations are separated by the "Siliguri Corridor" - a 22 kilometres (14 mi) wide stretch of territory of the Indian state of West Bengal that lies between southern Nepal and northern Bangladesh.