International tourism begins to pick up momentum for Nepal after COVID-19 pandemic

Nepal has had more visitors since January than it would receive for the entire year of 2021. The Nepal Tourism Board estimates that roughly 150 000 foreign visitors will visit Nepal in 2021. (NTB). In May 2022, the NTB received 53,608 visitors. Arrivals, on the other hand, have dropped dramatically since the epidemic. 

In 2019, planes delivered 1.3 million foreign tourists to the country. Visas are not required for land visitors visiting India. Each tourist visit to Nepal is expected to generate ten job possibilities.

The outbreak had a substantial impact on Nepal's tourism and hotel businesses, resulting in considerable labor shortages. Many tour guides and service employees have switched jobs or left the country in search of better chances.

According to the Nepal Rastra Bank, the country's central bank, tourism accounts for 3% of Nepal's GDP and 20% of its labor force (GDP). By 2020, China will be the second-largest source market for Nepal's tourism industry, trailing only India. According to the study, the entire loss was primarily caused by a decrease in the number of Chinese tourists.

In 2019, Nepal had a little over 170,000 Chinese visitors, but just 1,626 Chinese visitors since January. Before the pandemic, China was Nepal's primary source of visitors; however, precautions implemented in the aftermath of the outbreak have curtailed Chinese visits. There were four direct flights from China before the epidemic.

After more than a year of planning, Nepal will launch its first direct flight from China to Nepal on June 2, 2022. According to the board's director, if China had launched flights, the number of tourists would have increased.

Concerning the challenges that the country is experiencing while the tourism industry recovers, "An all-out battle was required to make up for the losses. Over the years, we've lost a lot of outstanding people, with many of them relocating to locations like the Maldives and the Middle East. The number of people present and the number of people being trained to produce new skills for new people is now a supply and demand issue," she stated.

According to the National Tourism Board (NTB), the tourism industry will gradually revive as more people return to work. Despite these reservations, pandemic restrictions and monkeypox remained a cause of concern.