Increase in third-country tourists entering Nepal via Kakarbhitta border

KATHMANDU: The number of third-country tourists entering Nepal through the eastern Kakarbhitta border has significantly increased.

According to Indra Kumar Rajbanshi, Information Officer at the Immigration Office in Kakarbhitta, 6,101 third-country tourists visited Nepal in 2024.

In contrast, only 3,125 such tourists entered Nepal via the same route in 2023.

This marks an increase of 2,976 tourists compared to the previous year.

The influx of tourists was previously hindered by restrictions imposed by India during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Without providing specific reasons, India had barred third-country tourists from entering Nepal through the Panitanki border point near Kakarbhitta.

As a result, tourist arrivals via the eastern land route were disrupted for an extended period.

India reopened the Panitanki border for tourists on August 1, 2024, leading to a notable surge in tourist arrivals.

Former Chair of the Koshi Province Committee of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), Uday Kumar Shrestha, highlighted the impact of this reopening.

“Although commercial activities resumed after the pandemic, the restrictions on tourists persisted,” Shrestha said. “It was only after high-level negotiations in August that India allowed tourist movement, bringing the flow of visitors back to normal.”

In the past, Bangladeshi tourists accounted for a significant share of visitors entering Nepal through the eastern border. However, in 2024, 4,916 Bhutanese tourists arrived via Kakarbhitta, according to Information Officer Rajbanshi.

This is a sharp increase compared to 2,931 Bhutanese tourists in 2023.

Nepal offers free visas for up to 30 days each year to tourists from SAARC countries, which has made Nepal a popular destination for Bhutanese visitors, particularly for religious tourism.