Tuesday 30th May 2023
During a meeting at the Ministry on February 18, 2020, Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai has said that Nepal is a ‘Coronavirus Free Zone’ and safe for tourists.
He confirmed that the 175 Nepali evacuees airlifted from coronavirus-hit China, who have been isolated in Kharipati, tested negative for the coronavirus.
He added that high alert with stringent health screening has been maintained at Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA) as well as at border points to restrict the spread of coronavirus infection.
The Minister’s response comes amid the fear that the nation will struggle to reach the target of 2 million tourist arrivals due to the coronavirus outbreak in China.
So far, only one coronavirus case has been confirmed in Nepal. A Nepali student, who had returned from China, tested positive for coronavirus. However, he is totally cured now.
Even though there have been no other reported cases so far, tourist influx has decreased significantly in Nepal.
The tourist arrivals from China has dropped drastically in February even though the first month of 2020 had recorded small growth. Even the tourists from Europe and India have canceled their trips to Nepal.
[UPDATE: January 2020 Nepal Visitor Arrivals]
In a bid to minimize the impact of coronavirus outbreak on tourism sector, the Nepali Government has decided to promote Nepal as ‘Coronavirus Free Zone‘ across the world.
Minister Bhattarai has ordered the concerned authorities to create and spread promotional materials with ‘Nepal is a Coronavirus Free Zone’ message in English, Chinese and Hindi languages within three days.
The message will be promoted at
The Nepali Government has already imposed restrictions on the arrival of Chinese tourists into the nation.
Moreover, the government has instructed NTB to deploy 12 desks to look for possibilities to attract visitors from Europe, America and the Middle East.
The Nepali government is aiming to attract 2 million foreign tourists during the ‘Visit Nepal year 2020’ campaign.
Date: February 19, 2020
| Country | Confirmed Cases | Deaths |
| China | 74258 | 2008 |
| Singapore | 81 | 0 |
| Japan | 66 | 1 |
| Republic of Korea | 46 | 0 |
| Thailand | 35 | 0 |
| Taiwan | 22 | 1 |
| Malaysia | 22 | 0 |
| Vietnam | 16 | 0 |
| United Arab Emirates | 9 | 0 |
| India | 3 | 0 |
| Philippines | 3 | 1 |
| Nepal | 1 | 0 |
| Sri Lanka | 1 | 0 |
| Cambodia | 1 | 0 |
| Cases on an international conveyance Japan | 542 | 0 |
| Germany | 16 | 0 |
| France | 12 | 1 |
| United Kingdom | 9 | 0 |
| Italy | 3 | 0 |
| Spain | 2 | 0 |
| Russia | 2 | 0 |
| Sweden | 1 | 0 |
| Finland | 1 | 0 |
| Belgium | 1 | 0 |
| United States of America | 15 | 0 |
| Canada | 8 | 0 |
| Australia | 15 | 0 |
| Egypt | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 75192 | 2012 |
