Pokhara, September 2

At a time when the tourism sector was gradually reviving after the massive April tremor and subsequent powerful aftershocks, it has been further hit by continuous strikes and curfews in various parts of the country.

Pokhara Tourism Council Chairperson Som Bahadur Thapa said the sector had witnessed a huge decline in tourist arrival due to political turmoil during the peak tourist season.

September, October and November are months when tourists arrive in droves every year. “But with the curfew clamped and bandhs enforced every day in the Tarai, how can we expect Indian tourists from across the border to come. Neither is it possible for foreign visitors travelling on the land route to arrive here,” said Thapa. Those tourists who were preparing to visit Nepal have changed their plans due to the disaster as well as the political uncertainty prevailing in the country.

According to tourism entrepreneurs, normalcy was gradually returning to the tourism sector after the devastating quake, but with the political uncertainty worsening, tourism entrepreneurs have lost cconfidence.

Western Regional Hotel Association Pokhara Chairman Bharat Raj Parajuli said though around 40 hotel rooms were booked for the season after the devastating tremor, the political chaos has led to cancellation of bookings. The plunge in tourist arrivals is disappointing. “Hence, the country should be relieved from the prevailing political uncertainty,” said Parajuli.

In the wake of the devastating April earthquake, entrepreneurs in Pokhara had formed Pokhara Tourism Revival Committee to revive the sector. They launched various promotional activities, but the ongoing political deadlock has spoiled everything, said PTRC Assistant Coordinator Tika Ram Sapkota.

PTRC, Hotel Association and Nepal Tourism Board Pokhara branch were jointly preparing to launch a five-day promotional campaign in different cities of India from August 25, but the programme was cancelled at the last hour due to the killings in Tikapur, Kailali, just a few days ago.

Ram Chandra Sharma, chairperson of Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), Western Regional Association Pokhara urged the agitating forces and the government to settle the yawning rift among them through dialogue to relieve the country from the present stalemate. “It is very hard to carry on with business at present,” said Sharma. Now is the time for European tourists to trek along the Annapurna area, but that’s not happening,” he regretted.

Ganesh Bahadur Bhattarai, PTRC coordinator, said though the government and tourism entrepreneurs were trying their best to revive the entire sector, it had been a futile endeavour due to growing uncertainty in the country.

Around seven lakh tourists, both internal and external, arrive in Pokhara every year. Around Rs 55 billion to Rs 75 billion has been invested in the tourism sector in Pokhara and its adjoining areas so far, claimed entrepreneurs.