Nepal Tourism Board is aiming at attracting 100,000 tourists from India this year, seeking a 40 per cent growth in their inflow over the previous year, Nepalese officials said on Monday.

Over 63,000 tourists had travelled from India to Nepal between January and December last year, the officials told a news conference on the occasion of the launch of the 'Pashupati Darshan Package' from July to September.

In 1996, the highest number of 160,000 tourists had visited Nepal from India, which generates one third of the total tourist traffic flow into the neighbouring kingdom,

Aditya Baral, manager, PR and publicity, tourism marketing and promotion, Nepal Tourism Board, said.

He said there was a dramatic 41 per cent rise in the arrival figure of Indians in June.

To a query, he said the activities of Maoist rebels had not affected the tourist inflow into Nepal, even during the 'height of insurgency'.

Royal Nepal Airlines managing director Mohan Khanal said ever since the introduction of a direct flight from Bangalore to Kathmandu two and a half years ago, the traffic was improving. "We are trying to develop the traffic. We may add the frequency later".