Saturday, Jun 07, 2025 10:15 [IST]
Last Update: Friday, Jun 06, 2025 17:14 [IST]
GANGTOK, : Sikkim has recorded its highest-ever domestic tourist arrivals for the
January to May period, with 8,43,231 domestic tourists, as per the permit cell
of State tourism department. This marks a 24.2% increase from the 6,78,909
tourists recorded during the same period in 2024 and a 1.4% rise over the
previous all-time high of 8,31,644 domestic arrivals by May 2019.
The
strong recovery follows two years of consistent post pandemic growth, with
6,85,079 arrivals in 2022 and 7,49,165 in 2023 for the same period.
Monthly
figures for 2025 show that January saw 1,92,973 tourists, despite being a
typical winter month, the January high was one of the best tourism month since
pandemic. February registered a seasonal dip to 87,377. However, March saw
1,77,200 arrivals, followed by 1,72,111 in April, while May recorded the
highest single-month count of the year at 2,13,570 visitors, despite widespread
rainfall across all six districts.
Now
with the State government declaring alternative tourism spots to North Sikkim,
the figures for Nathu La circuit, particularly the 3rd Mile, Lingtam, and
Rongli regions are promising. In April a combined total of 1,31,400 tourists
visited the famed silk route region with 1,05,626 domestic and 15,774 foreign
visitors. The 3rd Mile area alone accounted for 1,23,404 visitors—1,09,454
domestic and 13,950 foreign.
April
6 marked the busiest day for Nathu La circuit, with 6,199 tourists visiting the
3rd Mile area, including 5,153 domestic and 1,046 international travellers. A
total of 28,384 vehicles moved through 3rd Mile in April and 3,230 were
recorded on the other end of Lingtam-Rongli silk route.
Despite
the disruptions in June, North Sikkim registered 55,528 tourists in April 2025,
of whom 54,419 were domestic and 1,109 were foreign. Vehicle movement remained
high, with 11,037 entries for the month. The single highest daily tourist count
was recorded on April 21 with 4,781 visitors, followed by 4,330 on April 18 and
4,013 on April 19.
However,
this momentum was disrupted by weather-related closures. Tourist access to 3rd
Mile was shut on April 13, and routes to Lingtam and Rongli were closed from
April 25. North Sikkim remained entirely closed to visitors between April 24
and 29.
In
contrast, foreign tourist arrivals have fallen sharply from January to April
2025, Sikkim received 34,847 foreign visitors, a 25.4% drop from the 46,697 recorded
in the same period of 2024 and a 24.3% decrease from 2019’s pre-pandemic figure
of 46,012. Monthly foreign tourist counts stood at 7,279 in January, 10,004 in
February, 7,846 in March, and 9,718 in April. The dip breaks the upward trend
seen in 2023, when Sikkim welcomed 45,208 international visitors over the same
time period.
Tourism
activity remained strong across East and North Sikkim during April-May 2025.
However, the momentum was impacted early June when approximately 1,500 tourists
were stranded in North Sikkim’s Lachen and Lachung due to a suspected
cloudburst in Singhik area followed by a major landslide in Chhaten Army camp,
where five army personnel and a six-year-old child have gone missing.
While Lachung tourists were evacuated earlier via road, road evacuation from Lachen was deemed unsafe, prompting phased airlifts starting June 3. Almost all the stranded tourists were evacuated by June 6, despite weather disruptions to sorties from the Indian army’s helipad in Chhaten, with tourists being flown to Pakyong’s greenfield airport.
