The tourist arrivals  to Nepal are on track to record significant growth in 2012 with more tourists visiting here on January.

The tourist arrivals via air have increased by 27.7 percent recording total 42,031 visitors in January 2012 compared to the same month last year.

All regions have shown positive growths in the first month of 2012.

The figures released by Immigration Office, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) reveal that India has recorded positive growth of 29.2 percent which also constitutes the major market of Nepal.

In the SAARC region, arrivals from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have registered positive growth by 34.4 percent and 112.5 percent respectively. However, the arrivals from Pakistan declined by 29.6 percent. In aggregate, the South Asian segment has registered a positive growth of 27.7 percent.

Arrivals from Asia (other than South Asia) have also recorded positive growth of 42 percent in aggregate with all markets showing improved performance except Malaysia.

The visitor's arrivals from China have increased significantly by 107 percent. Similarly, the arrivals from Japan, Singapore, Thailand and South Korea have also increased by 6.4 percent, 5.2 percent, 8.4 percent, and 7.9 percent respectively. Malaysia registered negative growth of 13.5 percent in January 2012 compared to the same month in 2011.

An overall positive growth of 22.8 percent has been observed from the European markets with arrivals from major generating markets such as the UK, Germany, France and Switzerland up by 4.7 percent, 27.9 percent, 88.1 percent and 132.4 percent respectively.

However, the arrivals from Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden have declined by 3.8 percent, 9.7 percent and 59.9 percent respectively compared to the same month last year.

Tourist arrivals from Australia, Canada and USA have also registered growths of 8.6 percent, 27.8 percent, and 7.7 percent respectively. A negative growth of 12.2 percent was recorded from the New Zealand in January 2012 compared to January 2011.

"Nepal has enjoyed a continuous positive growth in the international visitor arrivals since June 2009 and the trend continues in year 2012 too. These figures reflect rising confidence amidst international visitors and tour operators," reads the press statement issued by Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) on Wednesday.

A total of 52,617 foreign tourists departed from TIA in January 2012. The number of Nepali arrivals stood at 82,897 while 67,194 Nepali departed from TIA in January 2012. nepalnews.com