By Santosh Subedi,Kaski, June 13: With Pokhara being declared the tourism capital, a new ray of hope has emerged in the tourism sector. Alongside this, investments in tourism are also on the rise. The tourism sector, which was sluggish for a while due to COVID-19, is gradually returning to its former status.
Pokhara's journey in tourism began in 1950 when French citizen Maurice Herzog first climbed Mount Annapurna. Since then, Pokhara has become a ‘brand’ in the global tourism market.
Pokhara boasts numerous tourist destinations, and in terms of ancient culture, art, and civilization, both Pokhara and the entire Gandaki Province stand out. Currently, there is significant investment in tourism in Pokhara.
According to Pom Narayan Shrestha, President of the Pokhara Tourism Council, there is an investment of Rs. 700 billion in the Gandaki Province, with Rs. 600 billion invested in Pokhara alone.
“With the construction of Pokhara International Airport, investments in this sector have increased with an expectation of more tourists. Businesspeople feel that the tourism sector would flourish as tourists could come directly to Pokhara. Although regular international flights have not yet started from Pokhara International Airport, there were a total of seven international charter flights last year,” Shrestha said.
He added that both before and after COVID-19, hotel construction targeting tourists had been ongoing. About 500,000-600,000 tourists arrive by air and nearly 1 million by land each year.
“About 50 vehicles come daily with tourists. Currently, more tourists are coming from India due to the high temperatures there. Domestic tourism is also increasing. It is estimated that around 1 million tourists, both domestic and foreign, visit annually,” he said.
According to him, with a plan to attract 2 million tourists annually to Pokhara alone, Pokhara Metropolitan City, Gandaki Provincial Government, Nepal Tourism Board Gandaki Province Office, and other tourism-related organisations have collectively requested the federal government for support.
“We need to promote tourism so extensively that we have to work with concrete plans and policies. We are optimistic about the inclusion of the project in the federal government's budget for the upcoming fiscal year,” Shrestha added.
Hotels constitute the largest part of Pokhara's tourism sector, with an investment of Rs. 500 billion. Pokhara has the necessary natural infrastructure, services, facilities, hotels, travel agencies, trekking companies, casinos, nightlife, and airports.
According to Laxman Subedi, President of the Hotel Association Pokhara Nepal, there are about 1,200 hotels in Pokhara, with over 700 of them being tourist-standard hotels.
The Hotel Association Pokhara has 425 affiliated hotels, and these hotels can accommodate 40,000 guests per night. The hotel sector alone employs 15,000 people. Currently, the occupancy rate in hotels is between 35 to 40 per cent.
Shrestha stressed the need for immediate international flights to Pokhara. The government needs to take immediate initiatives for international flights, he added.
“Although Pokhara Airport has helped bring in air tourists, there is a great need for international flights. About 40 per cent of Indian tourists coming to Pokhara visit Muktinath. With organised promotion and marketing, it is possible to easily attract 2 million Indian tourists annually to Pokhara,” he concluded.
