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TRAVEL & TOURISM OCTOBER 16, 2026 | The Indian Eye 52

Travel Gets More September

Flexible in 2027 with Solo Trips witnesses 12%
rise in Indian

to Smaller Getaways tourists to

ravel in 2027 is expected to Nepal
become shorter, more flexible
Tand increasingly focused on epal recorded 88,248 inter-
personal wellbeing and meaningful national tourist arrivals in
experiences, as travellers move away NSeptember 2026, marking a
from the pressure of planning the 12.1 per cent increase over the same
“perfect” holiday. month last year, with Indian visitors
According to Hilton’s 2027 accounting for the largest share, ac-
Trends Report, based on a survey of cording to the Nepal Tourism Board
more than 14,000 travellers across (NTB). The growth came despite
14 countries, five shifts are expected floods and landslides that had raised
to shape the way people travel: the concerns about the country’s tourism
rise of “solo-ish” holidays, greater season.
reliance on trusted human advice, India remained Nepal’s largest
growth-focused trips, nature-led source of international tourists, with
wellness and the growing popularity 17,425 arrivals during September,
of shorter getaways. a 12 per cent increase from the cor-
One of the biggest changes is responding period last year. China
the “micro-travel mindset”, with fect. This includes “solo-ish” travel, with new skills or interests. Mean- ranked second with 11,212 visitors,
travellers choosing frequent, short- where people travel independently while, wellness trips are becoming followed by the United States with
er breaks that can fit more easily but meet friends or family at their more closely connected with nature, 8,299. Sri Lanka and Australia ac-
around work and everyday commit- destination or join group activities. with 79% of respondents saying fresh counted for 7,108 and 4,842 arrivals,
ments. About 21% of respondents Nearly one-third of travellers have air and outdoor environments are respectively.
cited spontaneity as a reason for travelled solo to meet someone they important for relaxation. The total number of interna-
preferring shorter trips, while 67% know at their destination. Despite the growing use of AI tional visitors also increased from
said they enjoy visiting multiple cities Travel is also increasingly being for travel planning, personal recom- August, when Nepal received 85,444
during a single journey. viewed as an opportunity for per- mendations remain influential. The tourists. The latest figures indicate
The report also points to the sonal growth. “Growth getaways” report found that 70% of travellers continued growth in tourism despite
“rise of ‘ish’”, reflecting a growing may include language, cooking or art trust advice from hotel staff for trav- natural disasters affecting parts of
willingness to let holidays be imper- classes, allowing travellers to return el guidance. the Himalayan nation and travel ad-
visories issued by some countries.
Between January and Septem-
India, Italy to Mark 2027 as Year of ber 2026, Nepal welcomed 865,920
international visitors, registering a
Culture and Tourism six per cent rise compared with the
815,273 arrivals recorded during the
corresponding period in 2025.
In a parallel development, tour-
ndia and Italy will celebrate 2027 exhibitions, heritage cooperation, measures including tourism-data ex- ism stakeholders from Nepal and
as the “Year of Culture and Tour- creative industries and tourism-re- change, promotion of lesser-known India have agreed to develop a Bud-
Iism” to deepen cultural exchang- lated initiatives. India and Italy have destinations, cine-tourism, desti- dhist and cultural tourism circuit
es, promote tourism and strengthen also proposed a major exhibition nation twinning, skill development connecting Lumbini, the birthplace
people-to-people ties between the highlighting their ancient cultural and stronger business-to-business of Lord Buddha, with India’s eight
two countries, the governments an- connections, to be jointly organised engagement. Both sides agreed to northeastern states.
nounced following high-level talks in by their Ministries of Culture. establish focused technical groups The agreement between the
Rome. The two nations are also explor- and designate points of contact to Lumbini Hotel Association Nepal
The initiative was announced ing cooperation between UNESCO advance these areas. and the North East India Tourism
by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia World Heritage sites, film and au- The cultural initiative comes Federation aims to strengthen re-
Meloni alongside Prime Minister dio-visual industries, higher educa- amid a broader strengthening of In- gional tourism networks. Assam,
Narendra Modi during their meeting tion and cultural institutions. An It- dia-Italy relations. In May, the two Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh,
in May. Both countries have since aly–India Cultural Forum has been countries elevated their relationship Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tri-
begun preparations for expanded proposed to bring together institu- to a Special Strategic Partnership and pura and Sikkim will be connected
cooperation in tourism and cultural tions, experts and representatives agreed to expand cooperation across through the proposed initiative.
exchange, with a broad calendar of from the creative sector. trade, defence, technology, educa- Under the plan, Lumbini will
initiatives planned for 2027. Tourism cooperation gained fur- tion, tourism and people-to-people serve as a regional transit hub, link-
The programme is expected to ther momentum in September, when ties. They have also set a shared ob- ing visitors with other Buddhist her-
showcase the shared cultural links the second India–Italy Joint Work- jective of increasing bilateral trade to itage sites, including Ramgram, Ti-
between the two countries through ing Group on Tourism discussed €20 billion by 2029. laurakot and Devdaha.

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