KATHMANDU: As many as 729,550 number of foreign tourists visited Nepal in 2016.

The number of foreign tourists visiting Nepal in 2016 increased by 24 per cent as compared to 2015, according to the Department of Immigration.

A total of 554,747 tourists had visited Nepal in 2015 while the number of tourists was up by 174,803 in 2016 as compared to 2015.

Director General at the Department, Kedar Neupane, said that there was improvement in the number of tourists visiting Nepal in 2016. However, there was slight decline in numbers of tourists visiting Nepal in 2015, due to massive earthquake and unofficial blockade along Nepal-India border points, added Neupane.

Indian tourists top the list of tourists visiting the Himalayan nation to China and Sri Lanka respectively.

A total of 118,249 Indian tourists visited Nepal via air route while, 23, 452 number of Chinese tourists out of 104,005 entered the nation via Rasuwa.

Likewise, 57,521 tourists from Sri Lanka, 53, 645 from US, 46,295 from UK, 26,722 from Thailand, 25,769 from Myanmar, 25,507 from Australia, 25,171 from South Korea, 23,812 from Germany visited Nepal last year, according to the Department of Immigration.

A statistics of the Department shows that the highest numbers of tourists visit Nepal during September, October and December.