According to Nepal Tourism Board, 619,765 visitors came by air and 122,835 came overland. Tourist arrivals from India increased 6.1 percent to 142,286 in the first eight months (January-August).

The overall arrivals from SAARC countries registered a growth of 6.2 percent in the first eight months. There were 204,192 arrivals from SAARC countries.

Likewise, 106,050 Chinese tourists visited Nepal in the first eight months, up 9.8 percent. Similarly, visitors from Thailand and Japan have also increased significantly by 38.9 percent and 12.8 percent respectively as compared to the same period last year.

Arrivals from Europe surged with 136,198 total arrivals in the first eight months. Visitors from the United Kingdom, Germany and France were 36,972, 20,362 and 16,324 respectively.

The total number of US visitors to Nepal in the first eight months has been recorded at 58,621, an increase of 6 percent over last year. Likewise, the number of Australian visitors to Nepal increased by 8.1 percent to 20,819.

Deepak Raj Joshi, chief executive officer at Nepal Tourism Board, said that the suspension of Jet Airways and daily closure of Nepal’s sole international airport for a few hours for rehabilitation has somehow affected the expected growth rate of tourist numbers.