SOLUKHUMBU: The number of tourists visiting the Mount Everest region has risen by 33.66 per cent in 2016 as compared to 2015.

Overall 27,465 tourists visited the Everest region in 2015 while the number was recorded at 36,694 in 2016, informed Assistant Sub Inspector of Police (ASI), Sarayug Mahato at Tourist Police Office, Lukla.

The number of tourists visiting the region exceeds the previous year by 9,229.

The tourist arrival in the mountainous region had drastically fallen due to the massive earthquake of April, 25, 2015 and the unofficial Nepal-India border blockade; but it increased in 2016 as the situation became more favourable, Namche's tourist entrepreneur Lama Kaji Sherpa shared.