Nepal’s outbound tourism led by shopping trips to bordering Indian towns: Survey

Kathmandu, July 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) Cross-border shopping, particularly along the Nepal-India border, has emerged as the primary driver of Nepal's outbound tourism, according to the findings of a survey conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO).

The government's statistics body said in a domestic tourism survey, which also covered outbound tourism undertaken by Nepali residents, that Nepalis made more than 4.1 million trips abroad during the survey period from October 16, 2024, to October 15, 2025, to capture seasonality in travel patterns.

The survey recorded a total of 3.5 million same-day outbound trips and 622,000 overnight outbound trips during the reference period.

"During the survey period, shopping was the dominant purpose of same-day outbound travel, accounting for nearly two-thirds (63.9 per cent) of all same-day trips," the survey report titled Domestic Tourism Survey 2025 released on Thursday, revealed. "This highlights the importance of cross-border shopping, particularly along the Nepal-India border."

Nepal and India share a porous border, and relations between the two countries are often characterised as those of "roti-beti" (bread and daughter), reflecting close social and cultural ties. Besides cross-border movement for livelihood and marriage, cross-border commerce has also been an important feature of bilateral relations. Nepali residents in border regions frequently travel to Indian towns across the border to purchase essential goods, as they can buy them at relatively lower prices.

When the government led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah decided to enforce a rule requiring customs duty to be paid on goods brought from India worth more than NPR 100, it triggered strong protests from residents of border regions as well as Indian traders. Following the intervention of Nepal's Supreme Court, the government's move has since been halted.

According to the survey, India accounted for the largest number of same-day outbound trips by Nepali residents, underscoring the close economic and social ties, as well as the ease of cross-border movement, between the two countries.

Among the seven provinces of Nepal, Madhesh Province recorded the largest share of same-day outbound travel, while Lumbini accounted for the highest number of overnight outbound trips. Both provinces share borders with India.

The survey attributed the prominence of the two provinces to their extensive border connections with India, which facilitate travel for shopping, business, religious activities and social visits.

According to the survey, shopping activities accounted for 70.7 per cent of same-day outbound expenditure across Nepal's seven provinces.

Madhesh and Lumbini provinces, both of which share borders with India, recorded particularly high shares of shopping expenditure, reflecting strong cross-border purchasing activities with India. "Especially, the number of same-day trips to India is the highest among outbound tourism trips," the report stated.

In contrast, overnight outbound trips were largely driven by visits to friends and relatives (40.3 per cent), followed by health and medical treatment (19.6 per cent) and religious purposes (19.6 per cent).

Outbound travel by Nepali residents was highest during the November-January period, accounting for 50.2 per cent of same-day trips and 32.7 per cent of overnight trips.

"This pattern suggests a strong seasonal concentration of outbound travel, likely influenced by festivals and favourable travel periods," the report said.

Source: IANS