KATHMANDU, Nepal–As many as 694,136 Indian tourists visited Nepal in 2012 via air and surface routes, states Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).
The data is based jointly on the arrivals figure of the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) and terrestrial tourist arrivals survey held by the by the Board.
The survey ‘Indian Visitors to Nepal by Land 2012’ shows 528,321 Indian tourists entered Nepal via eight border points.
The number of overland Indian travelers was 520,522 and 298,821 respectively in 2010 and 2009.
The survey, considered as the third of its kind, shows among eight border points, Belihiya and Bhairahawa saw the highest inflow of visitors, accounting 48 percent of the total Indian arrivals, while arrivals from Vittamod and Kakarvitta accounted 14 percent and 13 percent, respectively.
NTB estimates show Nepal received 1.33 million tourists in 2012, including Indian arrivals through surface transport. However, data from the Rani entry point in Biratnagar were excluded because of incomplete data.