Mustang, a remote Himalayan district in Nepal, has experienced an unprecedented surge in tourism, with visitor numbers skyrocketing in recent months.

According to the Mustang District Police Office, a total of 144,155 domestic tourists and 28,976 international tourists visited Mustang between September 17 and November 15.

Inspector Vishal Adhikari, the information officer at the police office, revealed that 59,831 tourists arrived in Mustang during the month of Asoj (mid-September to mid-October), while 113,300 tourists entered the district during Kartik (mid-October to mid-November) via road and airport.

The hospitality industry estimates that each tourist spends an average of 15,000 Nepali rupees (approximately $130) during their stay. Mohan Singh Lachan, the chairman of the Gharpajhong Rural Municipality Facility Committee, stated that tourists who visited the region between mid-September and mid-November generated transactions worth 2.59 billion Nepali rupees (around $22 million).

Prem Prasad Poudel, the chief of the Mustang Tourism Office, mentioned that the district has 325 hotels and can accommodate approximately 7,000 tourists daily. During the Dashain and Tihar festivals, almost all hotels in Mustang were fully booked.

In the 2080/81 fiscal year, a total of 427,000 tourists visited Mustang, compared to 379,767 in the previous fiscal year.