Over 1 million tourists enter Nepal in 2025 despite political unrest

KATHMANDU: Nepal welcomed more than one million foreign tourists in 2025, crossing a key psychological milestone for the tourism industry despite political unrest, policy uncertainty, and infrastructure-related challenges during the peak travel season.

According to data from the Department of Immigration, a total of 1,015,378 foreign nationals entered Nepal in 2025. During the same period, 982,561 foreign visitors exited the country, indicating that the majority of arrivals were short-term tourists, largely visiting for leisure, trekking, mountaineering, and cultural travel.

Foreign nationals visiting Nepal were issued visas under 10 different categories, including tourist, labor, study, business, and non-tourist visas, as per immigration authorities. Tourism remains the dominant purpose of foreign arrivals, reinforcing the sector’s importance as a source of foreign exchange, employment, and service-sector growth.

Monthly Arrival Trend Shows Sharp Fluctuations

Monthly data show that foreign tourist arrivals were strong in March, April, and October, while mid-year months recorded a noticeable slowdown.

Tourist arrivals peaked in October, with more than 128,000 foreign visitors, coinciding with Nepal’s prime autumn tourism season.

March and April also recorded strong inflows, exceeding 120,000 arrivals, supported by spring trekking and mountaineering activities.

In contrast, arrivals dropped sharply in June and July, falling to around 70,000, reflecting both off-season travel patterns and political uncertainty.

The monthly chart above illustrates how the tourism sector struggled to maintain momentum during the middle of the year before rebounding strongly in the final quarter.

Gen-Z Movement Disrupted Peak Tourism Season

Tourism industry stakeholders attribute the mid-year slowdown largely to the Gen-Z movement that erupted on Bhadra 23 and 24, which caused widespread damage to public and private infrastructure, including hotels, corporate buildings, and state institutions.

The unrest coincided with the beginning of the autumn tourist season, leading to a sharp decline in arrivals in September, when tourist inflow dropped to around 78,000, significantly below potential.

Several internationally branded hotels, including Hilton and Hyatt Regency, suffered damage during the unrest. The destruction of Hilton Kathmandu alone sent a negative signal to international markets, according to tourism entrepreneurs. More than 2,000 employees in the hospitality sector were directly affected, while Hyatt Regency Kathmandu was forced to shut down indefinitely, putting 133 staff members on leave.

Outbound Migration Far Exceeds Tourist Arrivals

While inbound tourism crossed the one-million mark, outbound migration continued to rise sharply. Immigration data show that more than 1.5 million Nepali citizens traveled abroad in 2025, primarily for foreign employment and education.

Economists note that the growing gap between inbound tourists and outbound Nepali travelers highlights structural weaknesses in Nepal’s economy, including limited domestic job creation, slow industrial growth, and dependence on overseas labor markets.

Government Policy Moves and Industry Response

In 2025, the government introduced several tourism-friendly policy measures, including:

Allowing foreign tourists entering by air or land to carry up to USD 5,000 or equivalent foreign currency.

Granting hotels benefits equivalent to productive industries through the national budget.

Revising trekking permit fees, replacing the earlier high-cost structure with a flat USD 50 per day per tourist, a move aimed at making Nepal more competitive in the global trekking market.

The year also saw the entry of multiple international hotel brands, including Moxy Kathmandu, Mercure Kathmandu, Royal Tulip Chitwan, and new properties in Pokhara, Butwal, and Bhairahawa, strengthening investor confidence in Nepal’s long-term tourism prospects.

Outlook Remains Cautiously Optimistic

Despite political disruptions, industry leaders say the sector demonstrated resilience. The Nepal Tourism Board estimates that 2024 recorded 1.147 million tourist arrivals, and projects that Nepal could reach around 1.15 million arrivals annually if stability is maintained and air connectivity improves.

Tourism entrepreneurs argue that without the Gen-Z unrest, Nepal could have attracted up to 1.5 million foreign tourists in 2025, underscoring the cost of political instability on economic recovery.

The 2025 data suggest that while Nepal’s tourism sector has regained volume, policy execution, political stability, and international confidence will determine whether the country can convert potential into sustained growth in 2026 and beyond.