IS THERE A LONG-RUN RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TOURIST ARRIVALS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NEPAL? AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT BASED ON ARDL BOUNDS TEST APPROACH

The tourism industry has become a significant economic contributor to number of countries worldwide. Until COVID-19, was the world's largest and fastest-growing business. importance tourist arrivals examination their effects triggered curiosity among different researchers, as helps in balance payment boosts overall GDP nation. Thus, this paper aimed examine long-run relationship per year growth (proxied by GDP). study used annual secondary data collected from World Development Indicators between 1995 2019. Cointegration test (ARDL bounds test) applied check variables. result shows that 1% increase arrivals, long run, is associated with 1.15% at (p<0.05) significance level, other things remaining constant. evidence ARDL cointegration confirms have impact on Nepal. recommends some policy implications like allocation government funds for infrastructure development critical since these investments benefit country.