Tamish Giri
March 2: The arrival of tourists to Nepal through air route has increased by 3.06 percent in February compared to the previous month, according to the data released by the Department of Immigration.
In February, a total of 9,146 foreigners arrived in Nepal by air through the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), compared to 8,874 foreign nationals in January.
Among the visitors, 6,151 were male, 2,983 were female, while 12 were of the other sex.
Country-wise, India was the prime tourist market for Nepal.  In total, 3322 Indian tourists landed at TIA in February, up from 2,865 in January.
Meanwhile, the number of Chinese tourists arriving in Nepal has declined in February. However, the number of American tourists has increased.
According to the report, only 613 Chinese nationals landed at TIA in February, down from 1,666 in January. The number of US nationals arriving in Nepal grew slightly from 524 in January to 721 in February.  
According to the report, foreigners from 123 nations arrived in Nepal in February compared to 122 in January.   Likewise, the number of Nepali nationals returning home has also grown marginally in February. A total of 46,471 Nepali nationals landed in Kathmandu in February, up from 46,384 a month ago.
In total, 44,152 Nepalis left for abroad in February, down from 47,238 in January.
According to the data, two refugees landed at TIA in February. In January, no refuges had landed at TIA.