Pokhara, December 30

With the English New Year just around the corner, Pokhara, one of the popular tourist hotspots in the country, is bustling with tourists — both domestic and foreigners alike.

According to the Western Regional Hotel Association (WRHA), as many as 400 hotels, guesthouses and restaurants registered with the association and around 50 in the process of being registered were already fully booked for December 30 to January 1 a week ago. Interestingly, majority of the bookings were made by domestic tourists.

“Most tourists visiting Pokhara are Nepalis, accounting for 70 per cent of the total arrivals,” shared Pokhara Tourism Council Chair SomThapa, citing the development of travel and tourism concepts among the Nepalis as the reason behind the swelling number of domestic tourists to the city some 200 km away from the Capital.

The hoteliers, with the ongoing 18th Street Festival on the banks of Fewa Lake and New Year celebration to be held from tomorrow, are upbeat and expecting to witness a footfall of around 500,000 visitors during the course of the festival.

Organised by the Restaurant and Bar Association Nepal (REBAN), the five-day street festival kicked off on December 28 and features numerous activities like music and cultural performances, sports events and screening of documentaries and photo exhibition to promote Pokhara’s internal and external tourism, said GopiBahadurBhattarai, the festival coordinator.

“Earlier, the city remained the top choice among foreign tourists to celebrate the English New Year, but various festivals organised at Lake Side and apt weather for travel have drawn a huge number of domestic tourists this time around,” WRHA President BharatrajPahari said.

He added that besides the enchanting landscapes against the backdrop of Machhapuchchhre, Dhaulagiri and Annapurna mountain ranges, Pokhara’s adventure tourism like paragliding, ultra-light flights and bungee jumps, among others have attracted domestic tourists.

Also, Pokhara has become a popular pick among students for educational tour during their winter holidays, said DharmarajPanthi, proprietor of Hotel Asia in the Lake Side of Pokhara. The hotels in Pokhara have altogether around 9,000 rooms with some 20,000 beds, he added.