KATHMANDU: At least 700,000 tourists visited national parks and conservation areas of Nepal in the fiscal year 2017/18.

Of them, 325,856 were foreign tourists and the remaining were domestic tourists, according to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation.

Information Officer at the Department, Narayan Rupakheti, said that Rs 646.472 million in revenue was collected from tourists visiting the parks and conservation areas during the period.

The Ministry of Forests and Environment said, "At least 60 per cent of all foreign tourists coming to visit Nepal explore parks and conservation areas."

Ministry spokesperson Dhananjaya Poudel said that the ministry has forwarded policy and plan to promote tourism in these areas by maintaining the environmental balance.

Nepal is a leading country in terms of protection of genetic resources and biodiversity as per the ecosystem.

There are 12 national parks including Chitwan, Bardiya, Sagarmatha, Rara, Shey-Phoksundo, Langtang, Makalu Barun, Khaptad, Shivapuri Nagarjun, Banke, Shuklaphanta and Parsa.