February 15: Foreign tourists have started arriving in Nepal as the threat of coronavirus has subsided. The arrival of tourists had come to a halt due to the lockdown imposed by the government in last March to control the spread of coronavirus. The government lifted a ban on arrival of visitors in mid-October last year despite risk of coronavirus transmission. However, coronavirus infection is largely under control in Nepal, as per the government data, and the number of tourists arriving  in the country has also increased.

A total of 2,025 tourists had arrived in Nepal in October after the government lifted a ban on arrival of tourists. The arrival of tourists declined slightly in November to 1,953. In December, the number of visitors increased to 4,245 while the number of tourists arriving in Nepal in January, 2021 was 8,974.

The number of tourists who visited Nepal in January this year is extremely low compared the figures of last January. In January, 2020, a total of 79,702 tourists had visited Nepal. However, the arrival this year is satisfactory considering the worldwide risk of coronavirus.

During normal time, around 80,000 to 100,000 tourists visit Nepal in an average month.