KATHMANDU -- Chinese tourists took the lead in Nepal's visitor arrivals boost in August, with tourists from China posted an increase of 157.6 percent growth, according to figures released by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).

Nepal recorded some 43,487 tourist arrivals by air in August, up 26.4 percent compared to the same month last year, said the NTB.

Every day in an average, some 1,402 tourists landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport, the only international airport in Nepal, in August, according to the visitor arrivals figure.

"Robust growth in arrivals from South Asian region and China that posted an increase of 38.7 percent and 157.6 percent propelled the tourist arrivals," the NTB said, adding that the arrivals from Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand also registered positive growth of 9.5 percent, 95.2 percent, 51.6 percent and 55.6 percent.

Arrivals from India, the major tourist generating market, increased by 50 percent compared to the same month last year.

Meanwhile, the country observed a growth of 7.9 percent in the arrivals from the European region during the first eight months of this year, compared to the same period last year.

According to NTB, there has been steady rise in arrivals from January and it has continued recording a cumulative growth of 24.6 percent.