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NEPAL ECONOMIC FORUM
DOCKING NEPAL’S ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
TOURISM TOURISM Tourist arrival has taken a massive plunge with the onset of the second wave and the lockdown that ensued. While the number of tourist arrivals in 2021 has improved compared to 2020, it is still down by 80%–98% from the pre-pandemic level. The first four months of 2021 saw a gradual pick up in the inflow of international tourists; however, the nationwide lockdown that was imposed in May 2021 due to the onset of the second wave brought down the arrival number by a striking 98%. TOURISTS ARRIVALS International tourist arrival continues to dwindle amid the pandemic: COVID-19 has been a
huge blow to the tourism industry with lockdown and safety measures substantially reducing the number of incoming tourists. As per the Nepal
Tourism Board (NTB),221 around 61,049 international tourists arrived in Nepal over the last seven months. While the inflow of tourists seemed to gain momentum in March 2021 (14,977) and April 2021 (22,450), the number has plunged significantly from May 2021 (1,468) onwards. In June 2021, during the nationwide
lockdown, the number of arrivals went down to 1,143, while July 2021 saw a slight pick-up with the number reaching 2,991. The decline in tourist arrival is largely due to the imminent threat of a third wave of COVID-19 in Nepal.
Figure 14. Tourist arrival from January to July in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Source: “61,000 int’l tourists visited Nepal in past seven months”, August 8, 2021, Republica
