April 13: The Nepali New Year 2080 BS is starting from Friday. Domestic tourists have started pre-booking hotels to celebrate the New Year. However, only popular destinations have witnessed bookings and inquiries from domestic tourists.

According to tourism entrepreneurs, while hotels in Pokhara and Chitwan have witnessed 80 per cent of pre-bookings other destinations only have normal bookings. Hotels and resorts in  Pokhara, Sauraha, Dhulikhel, and Nagarkot are witnessing massive pre-booking.

There is no booking in destinations like Lumbini, Kailali, Karnal and Chisapani in the west. The first day of 2080 is Friday and the next day is a holiday (Saturday). Due to this, tourists have booked hotels for 2 days. Regional Hotel Association Kanchanpur President Jagdish Chandra Bhatt informed New Business Age that there is no booking for the next few days.

"Despite being a tourist destination in the Far West, there is no enthusiasm among the businessmen," said Bhatt.

He shared that due to the lack of quality roads and expensive airfare, few tourists are coming to Sudurpaschim Province. He said that even though organizations like the Nepal Tourism Board prioritized the promotion of the region, tourists haven’t arrived as expected.

"Though hotels are increasing in Jumla, tourists have not been able to come because of the bad condition of roads," Bhatt said, adding, "Domestic tourists visiting Rara do come, but foreigners are a far cry."

Rajan Shrestha, president of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) Biratnagar, said that although there will be a rush of Indian tourists on January 1, the new year of the Gregorian calendar, there is no charm during the Nepali new year. He said that bookings are normal in areas like Sriantu, Ilam, and Bhedetar in the east.

CP Shrestha, president of Siddharth Hotel Association, Bhairahawa, said that bookings are low for the New Year. The booking of 2-3 hotels is only up to 25 per cent. There are 146 hotels, big and small, in the area. He said that some discounts have been arranged for domestic tourists for the New Year. He said that the room rate had already been reduced by 40 per cent due to the low number of tourists. 

Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nepal Tourism Board, Deepak Raj Joshi, said that domestic and foreign tourists are looking for popular destinations. "However, now there is a trend of searching for new destinations in Nepal and the world," said Joshi, "After Covid-19, tourists no longer prefer crowded places. They are looking for new destinations."

He said that proper branding and publicity about new destinations is likely to attract tourists.

The pre-booking of hotels is 100 per cent in the popular destinations. Hoteliers from Kavre, and Nagarkot, which are close to Kathmandu, are excited. They said that the situation is good for the first time after Covid-19.

President of the Hotel Association, Kavre, Premkant Shrestha said the hotels in the region have "100 percent booking for Thursday, Friday and Saturday." He added that for the first time after Covid, there has been a significant improvement in business. Hotel bookings in Nagarkot are also said to be good. New Year bookings are also good in Sauraha in Chitwan.

Deepak Bhattarai, outgoing president of HAN Chitwan, said that hotels have received 80 per cent of pre-booking until Tuesday for the New Year.

Pre-booking is growing in Pokhara. Lakshman Subedi, President of the HAN Pokhara Chapter, said that the hotels have witnessed 50 per cent pre-booking as of Tuesday. There are 1,000 hotels, big and small, in Pokhara.