Nepal welcomed 132,814 international tourists by air in October 2026, marking the highest monthly arrival figure of the year. This represents a 3.4 percent increase compared to October 2025, when 128,000 tourists visited.
The surge in October pushed the total number of international tourists arriving by air in Nepal to 1,008,616 for the first 10 months of 2026, from January to October. This milestone was announced by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), Nepal’s official national tourism organization, on November 2, 2026.
Background
- Nepal welcomed approximately 1.16 million international tourists in 2025.
- About 1.21 million foreign tourists were reported to have arrived in the fiscal year 2025/26.
The United States emerged as the top source market in October 2026, with 17,437 visitors, a 31.24 percent increase from the same month last year. Traditionally Nepal’s largest tourism source, India, fell to second place with 12,097 tourists, a 30 percent decrease compared to October 2025. China became the third-largest source market, contributing 11,695 tourists, a significant 73 percent increase year-on-year.
Regional trends
Europe accounted for 39,877 tourists in October 2026, making up 30 percent of total arrivals. European arrivals saw a substantial 163.2 percent increase compared to October 2025. Arrivals from Oceania also grew by 48.9 percent, while those from the Americas increased by 29.6 percent, and Asia (excluding South Asia and China) saw a 16.9 percent rise.
Conversely, arrivals from South Asia decreased by 17.2 percent, the Middle East by 34.2 percent, and Africa by 5 percent.
Context
The strong performance in October follows a period of mixed results for Nepal’s tourism sector. From January to September 2026, Nepal received 865,920 international tourists, a 6.21 percent increase over the same period in 2025. Earlier in the year, May 2026 saw 102,626 international tourists, up 19 percent from May 2025 and 31 percent from pre-pandemic May 2019. June 2026 also recorded 91,363 international tourists, a 19.5 percent increase from June 2025.
However, there was a nearly 7 percent decline in tourist arrivals in April 2026 compared to the previous year. Additionally, international negative publicity following floods in the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river systems in August 2026 led to numerous booking cancellations in Nepal’s hospitality industry. Despite this, September 2026 saw 88,248 tourists, an increase from 85,444 in August 2026.
What happens next
To achieve the projected annual target of 1.3 to 1.5 million international tourists for 2026, the arrival figures for November and December will be crucial. The Nepal Tourism Board is expected to publish the full-year statistics for 2026 in January.
