October 20: Pokhara, a major tourist hub in western Nepal, has seen an increase in arrival of domestic tourists.

The lake city, which had been devoid of tourists for the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, has seen an increase in arrival of tourists. The growing number of domestic tourists has raised hopes of revival of the tourism industry.

Tourists are flocking to Sarangkot, Kahunkot, Vishwashanti Stupa, Pumdikot, Hudikot, and other places. Besides observing sunrise from these places, tourists are attracted to these places due to the beautiful scenery of the mountain range visible from there.

President of the Western Region Hotel Association Laxman Subedi said that the arrival of Dashain has brought great relief to the tourism industry of Pokhara.

In the past, tourists from different parts of the country used to travel during this period due to the holidays and the closure of educational institutions from Ghatsthapana to Kojagrat Purnima. According to tourism entrepreneurs, the number of tourists has increased due to a fall in Covid-19 cases.

Dharmaraj Panthi, manager of Lakeside-based Hotel Asia, said that about 35 percent of the capacity of the hotel in Pokhara, is now full of domestic tourists. There are about 1000 hotels in Pokhara. Of these, 16 are star hotels.

In the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, the big hotels here have announced packages for tourists, which has attracted more tourists than the small and medium hotels. The number of tourists in these hotels has also increased due to various financial institutions and offices organizing seminars and conferences.

Among the tourists entering Pokhara at this time, big hotels are witnessing 50 percent occupancy while small hotels have 25 percent occupancy, said Subedi. 

According to him, about Rs 400 billion has been invested in hotels in Pokhara so far. According to the current statistics of tourists entering Pokhara, 10 percent are Indian tourists, while other foreign tourists account for 5 percent of the total tourists. Eighty-five percent of the total tourists are domestic tourists. Foreign tourists visit Nepal for trekking and mountaineering from September to December.

Sushil Raj Poudel, president of the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN) Western Regional Association, Pokhara, said that 80 percent of the foreign tourists visiting Pokhara go on a trek.

According to him, there are sporadic bookings for hiking this season. He informed that domestic tourists go to Ghandruk, Ghorepani, Mardi, Annapurna base camp, Kafuche, Kori, and other places on foot.

Since both government and private offices and companies give advances and bonuses on the occasion of Dashain, most of them use it for traveling. As Pokhara is the first choice of domestic tourists, most of them come to Pokhara to spend 2 to 3 days of their holiday. Tourists visiting Pokhara visit Talabarahi by boat in the shadow of Mt Machhapuchhre and reach places like Sarangkot, Vishwashanti Stupa, and Pumdikot watching  the beautiful mountainous landscape.