Dhaka : For the third time, Nepal has surpassed the one million tourist arrival mark, with 1,055,533 visitors entering in the first 11 months of 2024-between January and November-via air and other means. Of them, Bangladeshis bag the fifth spot among the top five tourist generating source markets for the Himalayan country in the month of November alone, according to Nepal Tourism Board.

India reigns the list with 19,915 tourist arrivals in November 2024; followed by the United States with 10,981; the United Kingdom with 6,611; China with 9,458; and Bangladesh with 5,148 tourists, as per the data from the country's Department of Immigration.

Altogether, in November 2024, 114,501 tourists visited Nepal, marking a 5.4 per cent increase compared to November 2023, when 108,630 tourists arrived.

The figure also reflects an 88 per cent recovery compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, when 130,302 tourists visited the country. Departures from Nepal in November totaled 126,457.

However, throughout the year, in January 2024, a total of 79,100 tourists visited Nepal; followed by 97,426 tourists in February; 128,167 in March; 111,376 in April; 90,211 in May; 76,736 in June; 64,599 in July; 72,719 in August; 96,305 in September; and 124,393 tourists in October.

On the development, Mani Lamichhane, Director, NTB, said, "The data from the last 11 months show signs of hope for the tourism industry."

Mani Lamichhane, Director, NTB, further added, "We believe tourism will gradually gain momentum."

Also, a total of 31,167 tourists arrived in Nepal from SAARC countries in November alone.

As many as 19,915 people arrived from India, marking a decrease of 18.5 per cent compared to the same period last year, when 24,443 Indian tourists had arrived.

As mentioned above, a total of 5,148 tourists arrived from Bangladesh; 381 from Pakistan; 1,328 from Bhutan; and 4,395 from Sri Lanka.

However, 10,981 tourist arrivals from the United States in the review month mark a decrease of 4.2 per cent compared to November 2023, while 9,458 tourist arrivals from China mark an increase of 24.5 per cent compared to November last year.

The number of European tourist arrivals has also increased largely. In November 2024, the number of European tourists rose by 15.3 per cent.

A total of 26,155 tourists arrived from Europe, with the highest number coming from the United Kingdom-6,611 tourists-followed by visitors from Germany (3,926) and France (3,841). Similarly, 4,829 tourists arrived from Australia, which is a decrease of 4.5 per cent compared to the same period last year.

For the last few years, the number of Bangladeshis visiting Nepal has been on the rise.