Two and a half weeks after Dashain closes, Nepal lights up again for Tihar, the five-day festival of lights that in 2026 runs from Kaag Tihar on 7 November to Bhai Tika on 11 November, and this time the commercial centre of gravity is not the return-to-family surge Dashain generates, it is Laxmi Puja, the worship of the goddess of wealth on 8 November, when households light oil lamps at every window, step, wall and rooftop and open their doors to prosperity for the year ahead. Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM), Nepal's sole international gateway, carries the diaspora and gifting traffic this second festival generates in its own right.
The opportunity for advertisers is distinct from Dashain: Tihar is a retail, gifting and gold-buying occasion built around Laxmi Puja and the sibling bond marked on Bhai Tika, not a family-reunion travel surge, and it rewards brands in jewellery, gifting, home goods and consumer retail that Dashain's remittance-and-bonus spending pattern does not centre in the same way.
Why Airport & City Advertising Works During Tihar
Tihar's five days each carry a distinct ritual: Kaag Tihar (7 November) honours crows as messengers of Yama, Kukur Tihar and Laxmi Puja fall together this year on 8 November, honouring dogs and then the goddess of wealth with oil lamps lit across every home, Gai Tihar (9 November, a public holiday) honours cows separately, Govardhan Puja and Mha Puja (10 November) honour oxen and mark Newar self-worship and the Nepal Sambat new year, and Bhai Tika (11 November) closes the festival with sisters placing a seven-strand, five-colour tika on their brothers for protection.
Commercially, Laxmi Puja is the pivot. Nepali households treat the night as the year's key moment to invite prosperity, and that translates into concentrated pre-festival retail activity: gold and jewellery purchases, new clothing, home decoration, sweets and gift baskets, and the consumer electronics and appliance spending that accompanies a household refresh timed to the goddess of wealth's worship.
Bhai Tika adds a second, distinct commercial layer. Sisters and brothers exchange gifts as part of the ritual, and for Nepal's diaspora, workers and professionals abroad who could not return for Dashain often make a second, shorter trip home specifically for Bhai Tika, or send gifts and remittances timed to it, giving Tihar its own diaspora-linked travel and spending pattern distinct from Dashain's.
Tribhuvan International Airport is Nepal's sole international gateway and the hub of its domestic network, serving all 32 international airlines that fly to Nepal through one international terminal. It handled more than 5 million international passengers in 2025, an all-time record, up from 4.96 million in 2024, an average of 13,598 international travellers a day. The carrier mix, led by Qatar Airways, Nepal Airlines, IndiGo, Air India, FlyDubai and Air Arabia, reflects the same Gulf and Indian diaspora corridors that make Dashain valuable, giving Tihar the same structural reach through a single airport buy.
Key Benefits of Airport & City Advertising During Tihar
- Reach a qualified, high-spend audience. Laxmi Puja concentrates gold, jewellery, gifting and home-goods purchase intent into a single pre-festival window at Nepal's one international gateway.
- Elevate your brand positioning. Tihar is a festival of prosperity and light, and brands present within it are read as part of the occasion's spirit of abundance rather than as opportunistic advertisers.
- Generate real business opportunity. Retail, gifting and gold-buying decisions during Tihar are made in the days immediately before Laxmi Puja, putting airport and city media directly upstream of the purchase.
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Boudhanath Stupa, Durbar Square and the Himalayas: the backdrop to Nepal's 2026 Tihar festival.
Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM), Kathmandu
Tribhuvan is Nepal's sole international gateway and the hub of its domestic network, handling more than 5 million international passengers in 2025, an all-time record following 4.96 million in 2024. It serves all 32 international airlines flying to Nepal through one international terminal, with a separate domestic terminal linked by shuttle covering onward legs to Pokhara, Biratnagar, Nepalgunj and the hill airfields.
Inventory Highlights
- International arrivals and immigration hall environments, the first Nepali media contact for diaspora returning for Bhai Tika.
- Baggage reclaim and customs exit, reaching returning travellers carrying gifts for the festival.
- Domestic terminal circulation, covering onward legs as urban households travel for Tihar's family rituals.
- International departures and the expanded departure hall, reaching the same diaspora audience on the return leg after the festival closes.
- Premium lounge adjacencies, including the Radisson Hotel Executive Lounge and the Thai Airways Royal Thai Silk Lounge, for the business and premium-cabin segment.
Advantages for Advertisers
- One gateway, national reach. A single airport buy covers Nepal's Tihar-linked diaspora and gifting traffic in full.
- Record and rising volume. International traffic hit an all-time high in 2025, so the environment is growing rather than plateauing.
- Distinct from Dashain. Tihar's retail and gifting focus reaches jewellery, home goods and consumer brands that a Dashain-only campaign would under-serve.
- Date certainty. Tihar 2026 has fixed, published dates, so flighting can be planned precisely around 7, 8 and 11 November.
Destination Kathmandu: Full Visitor Journey Coverage
Tihar reshapes Kathmandu's retail rhythm in the days before Laxmi Puja, as households buy gold, clothing, decorations and gifts through the New Road, Asan and Indra Chowk market districts and the Ring Road showroom corridor. A campaign should open at Tribhuvan, where diaspora arrival dwell time is longest, continue through Kathmandu's retail districts during the pre-Laxmi-Puja buying days, and close on Bhai Tika itself as sibling gift exchange peaks.
Phased this way, the programme produces three compounding effects. Increased brand recall, because the message is met on arrival, again while shopping for Laxmi Puja, and again around Bhai Tika. Consistent presence, because the brand is visible across every environment the household occupies during the five days. Enhanced campaign effectiveness, because repetition against a household already in an active gifting and prosperity-buying mindset converts at a rate ordinary retail media cannot match.
- Increased brand recall, from exposure at arrival, during the retail buying days, and around Bhai Tika.
- Consistent presence, across Tribhuvan and Kathmandu's retail districts throughout the five-day festival.
- Enhanced campaign effectiveness, against households already engaged in prosperity-linked gifting and gold-buying decisions.
Why Brands Choose Airport & City Advertising for Tihar
- Exclusive audience access. Tihar brings a distinct, retail-and-gifting-focused audience through Tribhuvan that a Dashain-only campaign does not fully capture.
- A prestigious environment. Tihar's association with light and prosperity gives brands a warm, aspirational context rarely available in ordinary retail advertising.
- End-to-end campaign support. Masscom Global plans, books, verifies and reports across Tribhuvan and Kathmandu city inventory for the full five-day festival.
- Strategic planning assistance. Our planners advise on weighting spend across the pre-Laxmi-Puja retail buying window (7 to 8 November) and the Bhai Tika gifting close (11 November).
The Masscom Global Standard Behind Every Tihar Placement
- Verified inventory and audience data drawn from Tribhuvan's published passenger and route profile.
- Transparent delivery reporting across the full five-day Tihar window.
- Benchmarked recommendations informed by Tribhuvan's established diaspora and retail travel patterns.
- We absorb the complexity of coordinating airport and city inventory around Tihar's distinct retail and gifting rhythm.
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Book NowFrequently Asked Questions
When is Tihar in 2026, and how is it different from Dashain?
Tihar 2026 runs 7 to 11 November: Kaag Tihar on 7 November, Kukur Tihar and Laxmi Puja together on 8 November, Gai Tihar on 9 November, Govardhan Puja and Mha Puja on 10 November, and Bhai Tika on 11 November. It follows Dashain (11 to 25 October 2026) by around two and a half weeks and is a distinct festival built around light, wealth worship and the sibling bond, not the family-reunion travel surge Dashain generates.
What is the commercial significance of Laxmi Puja?
Laxmi Puja, the worship of the goddess of wealth, is the night Nepali households light their homes to invite prosperity, and it drives concentrated pre-festival spending on gold, jewellery, clothing, home decoration and gifts in the days beforehand.
Who travels during Tihar?
A mix of Nepal's domestic urban population moving for family rituals and a smaller, distinct diaspora segment returning specifically for Bhai Tika, separate from the larger Dashain return-travel surge.
How far in advance should a Tihar campaign be booked?
Tribhuvan's single-terminal footprint means premium inventory is limited even outside Dashain, so we recommend confirming availability at least a month ahead of the 7 November start.
Which brand categories perform best in this window?
Gold and jewellery, gifting and consumer retail, home decor and appliances, apparel, and consumer electronics, aligned with Tihar's Laxmi Puja and Bhai Tika gifting patterns.
Tihar Won't Wait. Neither Should You.
- Once a year, then gone. Tihar 2026 falls on fixed dates, 7 to 11 November, and will not recur until next year.
- Competitors are already moving. Jewellery, gifting and retail brands with a Nepal strategy plan around Tihar every year.
- The window is exact, not approximate. Each of Tihar's five days has a verified, published 2026 date.
- The alternative reaches the wrong audience. A Dashain-only campaign misses the distinct retail, gifting and Laxmi Puja audience Tihar concentrates on its own.
Related Airport Advertising Guides
Detailed inventory, audience and planning notes for the airports covered above:
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Positions for the 7 to 11 November 2026 window are limited. Ask us what is still open.
Tihar closes Nepal's festival season with a distinct commercial rhythm from Dashain: Laxmi Puja on 8 November drives concentrated gold, jewellery and gifting spend, and Bhai Tika on 11 November brings its own smaller diaspora travel pattern through Tribhuvan International Airport. Because the festival's five dates are fixed and published for 2026, campaigns can be planned with precision around the exact days that matter most. Brands that treat Tihar as its own occasion, rather than an extension of Dashain, reach a household audience actively engaged in prosperity-linked buying. Masscom Global's planning team can help confirm availability and build a campaign around this window.
