Tourist Arrivals in Nepal Climb 12% in September Driven by Asian Influx

Nepal welcomed 88,248 international tourists in September 2026, marking a 12.1 percent increase compared to the 78,711 visitors recorded during the same month last year, according to official data compiled by the Department of Immigration and published by the Nepal Tourism Board.

As Onlinekhabar and Onlinekhabar English reported, the tourism rebound took place despite severe disruptions caused by persistent monsoon rains and floods across several districts over the preceding two months.

South Asia and China Drive Growth

Regional travel within Asia served as the primary growth engine for the month. Visitors from South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member states accounted for roughly 34 percent of total entries, increasing by 23.9 percent year-on-year to 30,085, according to data cited by Ratopati English. India remained Nepal's single largest source market, contributing 17,425 visitors—a 12 percent rise. Sri Lanka supplied 7,108 tourists, reflecting a 54 percent jump, while arrivals from Bangladesh climbed 31.5 percent to 3,964. Bhutan and Pakistan sent 1,111 and 429 visitors, respectively.

Arrivals from non-SAARC Asian countries expanded by 58 percent overall to 19,888, largely propelled by a massive influx from China. However, reporting differed on the exact rate of Chinese growth: Onlinekhabar and Ratopati English reported that Chinese arrivals surged by 114.1 percent to 11,212, more than doubling from 5,237 in September 2025. By contrast, Nagarik News described Chinese arrivals as having increased by over 58 percent. Japan contributed 2,066 visitors, up 45.4 percent.

Western and Long-Haul Markets Decline

While regional arrivals surged, long-haul inbound travel from Western countries witnessed a contraction. European visitors fell 8.7 percent to 15,148, according to statistics reported by Nagarik News. British arrivals led the European cohort at 3,725 but fell 25.2 percent year-on-year. Germany delivered 1,974 travelers, France 1,389, and Spain 1,120, though Italian, Russian, and Czech arrivals bucked the trend with double-digit growth.

Arrivals from the Americas dropped 12.3 percent to 10,107, driven by a 14.3 percent drop in United States travelers to 8,299, alongside 1,224 visitors from Canada.

Coverage also diverged over regional classifications for another declining market: Onlinekhabar reported that entries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) dropped 25.9 percent to 5,422. Conversely, Nagarik News and Ratopati English attributed that identical figure and percentage drop to the Oceania region, noting 4,842 travelers from Australia and 580 from New Zealand.

Elsewhere, arrivals from the Middle East rose 11.9 percent to 2,606, including 1,957 from Israel, as noted by Ratopati English, while African arrivals reached 424, up 23.3 percent.