Tourism in Nepal

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Tourism is the largest industry in Nepal and its largest source of foreign exchange and revenue. Home to eight of the ten highest mountains in the world, Nepal is a destination for mountaineers, rock climbers and adventure seekers. The Hindu and Buddhist heritages of Nepal and its cool weather are also strong attractions.^[1]

Mount Everest, the highest mountain peak in the world (8,848.88m above the sea level), is located in Nepal. Mountaineering and other types of adventure tourism and ecotourism are important attractions for visitors. The World Heritage Site Lumbini, birthplace of Buddha, is located in the south of the West region of Nepal (which despite the name is located in the center of the country) and there are other important religious pilgrimage sites throughout the country. The tourist industry is seen as a way to alleviate poverty and achieve greater social equity in the country. Tourism brings $471 million a year to Nepal.^[2]

According to statistics of 2019, there was a growth rate of 2.1%. According to statistics from Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), a total of 1,197,191 foreign tourists entered the country in 2019 as compared to 1,173,072 in 2018. The government of Nepal declared 2011 to be Nepal Tourism Year, and hoped to attract one million foreign tourists to the country during that year.^[3] The government of Nepal has also declared Lumbini Tourism Year 2012 to promote Lumbini. The government of Nepal has also recently declared Visit Nepal 2020 with the aim of bringing in two million tourists by 2020.

Most of tourists visit for short stays. In 2022, 64.7% of the tourists came to Nepal for holiday vacations,10.03% came for adventure, such as trekking and mountaineering, 12.87% came for religious visits, and 12.39% for other reasons. Tourists who come from the USA, UK, France, Spain, India, and Germany have a main target of activity: mountain climbing. Mt. Everest, Mt. Ama Dablam, and Mt. Manaslu are the most popular mountains.^[4]

The tourism industry of Nepal was affected after the destructive earthquake in 2015, by the series of earthquakes in 2015. In 2020, the tourism sector in Nepal collapsed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[5]

In 2022, tourism income increased by 190% from 2021. The gross foreign exchange earnings were Nrs 46,756,824 thousand (Around 326,282 thousand US$).^[4]

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The most followed religion in Nepal is Hinduism, and the Pashupatinath Temple, the world's largest temple of Lord Shiva, located in Kathmandu, attracts many pilgrims and tourists. This is arguably the most famous Hindu temple in the Indian Subcontinent. Adjacent to the temple, lies a crematorium where bodies are burned to ashes. Pashupatinath is also listed in UNESCO heritage sites.^[6] Other Hindu pilgrimage sites include the temple complex in Swargadwari in the Pyuthan district; Janaki Mandir in Janakpurdham in Mithila region; Lake Gosainkunda near Dhunche; the temples at Devghat; Kalinchowk Bhagwati Temple in Dolakha; Manakamana temple in the Gorkha District; Pathibhara near Phungling; Galeshwordham Myagdi and Mahamrityunjaya Shivasan Nepal in Palpa District where the biggest metallic idol of Lord Shiva is located.

Buddhism is the second largest followed religion in context of Nepal. The World Heritage Site at Lumbini, which is considered to be the birthplace of Gautama Buddha, is an important pilgrimage site. Another prominent Buddhist site is Swayambhunath, the Monkey Temple, in Kathmandu.

Dang valley is a sacred place for Hindus as well as other religions. Kalika and Malika Devi in Chillikot hill, Ambekeshawori temple, Krishna temple, Dharapani temple are among the sacred places in Dang district. Chillikot hill is also a good place for sightseeing and also an ancient palace of a king.

Muktinath is a sacred place for Hindus as well as Buddhists. The site is located in Muktinath Valley, Mustang district.

Badimalika temple in Bajura District, Gadhimai Temple in Bara district, Halesi-Maratika Caves in Khotang. Bhageshwori Mandir in Nepalgunj.

Bhagwati Temple in Rajbiraj are also some popular temples in Nepal.

Sagarmatha National Park

Chitwan National Park

Kathmandu Valley

Lumbini

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Location of World Heritage Sites in Nepal

Nepal ratified the convention on 20 June 1978, making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the list.^[7] Four sites in Nepal were on the list in 2023, with a further fifteen on the tentative list, of sites that may be considered for future submission.^[8] The first sites in Nepal to be added to the list were the Sagarmatha National Park and the Kathmandu Valley, added in 1979. Due to the partial or substantial loss of the traditional elements of six out of seven monument zones and resulting general loss of authenticity and integrity of the whole property, Kathmandu Valley was also added to the List of World Heritage in Danger between 2003 and 2007. Chitwan National Park was listed in 1984, and Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha according to Buddhist tradition, was added in 1997. The National Parks are natural sites, and the other two are cultural.

According to Nepal's Ministry of Tourism, major tourist activities include wilderness and adventure activities such as mountain biking, bungee jumping, rock climbing and mountain climbing, trekking, hiking, bird watching, flights, paragliding and hot air ballooning over the mountains of Himalaya, exploring the waterways by raft, kayak or canoe and jungle safaris especially in the Terai region.^[9] International elephant polo is played at Chitwan National Park.

In 2018, research into global volunteering behaviour identified Nepal as one of the world’s ten most popular destinations for orphanage voluntourism.^[10]

Leading responsible tourism and child welfare organisations agree that it is irresponsible for short term and/or untrained international volunteers to work in orphanages.^[11] Few volunteers are qualified to interact with traumatised, vulnerable children^[12] and many orphanages lack the facilities, trained staff, and child protection policies to create safe, nurturing environments for children in care.^[11]

There are over 800 orphanages in Nepal, with 80% of those in tourist areas.^[13] Out of the 75 districts in the country, most registered orphanages and children’s homes are found in the five most-visited by tourists (Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Kaski, and Chitwan).^[14]

Orphanages attract well-meaning tourists who want to volunteer their time and donate money, unaware that they are supporting an industry exploiting impoverished families.^[15]

In Nepal, there are an estimated 16,886 children living in orphanages, 80% of whom^[16] have at least one parent who could care for them. With promises of an education and a better life, children are recruited into orphanages from rural areas which are still suffering from the economic effects of ten years of civil war, to meet demands for donations^[16] – a phenomenon known as orphanage trafficking.^[17]

The ChildSafe Movement reports instances of orphanages keeping children in impoverished conditions to attract more donors.^[14] ECPAT has also identified a link between orphanage tourism, and an increase in child sexual exploitation by foreigners and volunteers.^[15]

In 2007, the number of international tourists visiting Nepal was 526,705, which was an increase of 37.2% compared to the previous year. In 2008, the number of tourists decreased by 5% to 500,277. In 2018, the number of international tourists arrival was 1.17 million. In 2019, the number increased to 1.19 million. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on tourism in Nepal, with tourist arrivals dropping to just 230,085 with a decrease of over 80.7% and further decrease by 30% in 2021 with a total number of 150,962. Pokhara is one of the main tourist destinations in Nepal.

In 2008, 55.9% of the foreign visitors came from Asia (18.2% from India), while Western Europeans accounted for 27.5%, 7.6% were from North America, 3.2% from Australia and the Pacific Region, 2.6% from Eastern Europe, 1.5% from Central and South America, 0.3% from Africa and 1.4% from other countries.

Foreign tourists visiting Nepal in 2008 stayed in the country for an average of 11.78 days which has now increased to 15.1 days and 15.5 days in 2020 and 2021 respectively^[18][19][20]

This statistic shows the number of international tourist arrivals by year, 1993–2021:^{[21][22] [23]}

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Nepal received 614,869 and 1,014,885 tourists in 2022 and 2023, respectively, according to the Department of Immigration.^[24]

Most tourists arriving to Nepal on short-term basis were from the following countries of nationality:^{[25][26][27][22]}

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Country	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012
India	254,150	194,323	160,832	118,249	75,124	135,343	180,974
China	169,543	153,633	104,664	104,005	66,984	123,805	113,173
United States	93,218	91,895	79,146	53,645	42,687	49,830	47,355
United Kingdom	61,144	63,466	51,058	46,295	29,730	36,759	35,688
Sri Lanka	55,869	69,490	45,361	57,521	44,367	37,546	32,736
Thailand	41,653	52,429	39,154	26,722	32,338	33,422	40,969
South Korea	29,680	37,218	34,301	25,171	18,112	23,205	19,714
Australia	38,972	38,429	33,371	25,507	16,619	24,516	20,469
Myanmar	36,274	41,402	30,852	25,769	21,631	—	—
Germany	36,641	36,879	29,918	23,812	16,405	18,028	22,263
Bangladesh	25,849	26,355	29,060	23,440	14,831	21,851	22,410
Japan	30,534	29,817	27,326	22,979	17,613	25,892	26,694
France	30,646	31,810	26,140	20,863	16,405	24,097	21,842
Malaysia	21,329	22,833	18,284	13,669	9,855	18,915	18,842
Spain	19,057	20,214	15,953	12,255	6,741	13,110	10,412
Canada	17,102	17,317	15,105	12,491	8,398	11,610	12,132
Netherlands	15,032	15,353	13,393	11,453	7,515	12,320	10,516
Total Foreigner	1,197,191	1,173,072	753,918	753,002	538,970	790,118	797,616

• Visa policy of Nepal

• Nepal travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Official tourism website
• Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation