Conclusion

The tourism industry, a significant contributor of Nepal’s economy, had been steadily growing before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. After a significant drop in tourist arrivals in the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, the industry has shown signs of recovery in 2022 with tourist arrival in the year reaching 51.3% of pre pandemic year of 2019 The average expenditure per visitor in USD terms was declining steadily until 2019, indicating that the tourists arriving in Nepal were composed of budget travelers and backpackers. On the other hand, the average length of stay increased from 2015 to 2021 which could be attributed to a strengthening of the USD against the NPR.

While the tourism industry can be expected to bounce back within the next year, several new trends has emerged within the industry The rise in domestic tourism, fueled by the travel restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, is one of the most noteworthy trend in the sector. Similarly, with the popularity of staycation among domestic tourists and the potential for Meetings, Incentives,

Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE)

tourism, investments in the hospitality sector has increased with several international hotel chains entering the Nepali market.

For Nepal to realize its full potential in the tourism industry, the challenges bought on by weak infrastructure and lack of Human Resource needs to be addressed Further, a data driven approach to the industry would help understand the behavioral patterns of tourists and create and market products tailored to different interests. A united effort from the regulatory bodies and the private sector to create and follow a uniform tourism policy would provide a long term support to grow and sustain the tourism industry in Nepal.