Kathmandu: Indicating a surge in Indian
tourist arrivals in Nepal, new data published by tourism
authorities here shows over six lakh Indians visited the
country in 2010, a jump of over 70 per cent.
The data also showed that the number of Indian tourists
visiting Nepal by land is three to four times more than the
number arriving by air.
While over five lakh Indian tourists arrived in Nepal last
year by land, over one lakh arrived by air, a data published
by Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) showed.
Using a mean data on the basis of number of Indian
vehicles entering Nepal, NTB said that 520,522 Indian tourists
visited Nepal in 2010 by land, which is a 74.43 per cent
increase over last year`s estimated arrival of 298,415.
Besides, a total number of 120,898 Indian tourists arrived
in Nepal by air which is an increase of 28.8 per cent over the
previous year`s figure, of 93,884, according to the NTB.
Altogether 96,928 vehicles including tourist buses,
mini-buses, jeeps, cars and bikes with Indian number plates
were registered in eight main entry points connecting Nepal
and India through land route, a senior official at NTB said.
Out of eight entry points, the Behiliya?Bhairahawa entry
point accounts for 50 per cent of the total passenger traffic
between Nepal and India, the report states.
Indian tourists coming to Nepal via land route contribute
significantly to Nepalese economy, the NTB official said.
Nepal government has launched Nepal Tourism Year 2011
campaign with an objective of attracting one million tourists
from foreign countries.
PTI
