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Indian tourists beat the summer heat in Pokhara

  2 min 14 sec to read

June 28: Tourist-hub Pokhara has seen a rise in the number of Indian tourists in recent days. According to Western Region Hotel Association, Pokhara’s Chairman Bikal Tulachan, Indian tourists basically visit Pokhara to beat the summer heat and to spend their vacation.

“Most of the Indian tourists come to Pokhara to get away from the excessive heat in India,” said Tulachan, adding, “The Indian tourists have increased in comparison to last year.”

Among the Indian tourists, most of them are from the cities of the bordering states.

The presence of Indian tourists in Pokhara was almost nil in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake of 2015 and during the blockade imposed by India. Tourism entrepreneurs are hopeful that the situation will become better as the inflow of Indian tourists has gradually increased since last year. Most of the tourists in Pokhara at present are Indians.

Indian tourists account for around 40 percent occupancy of Pokhara-based hotels, according to Tulachan. The remaining tourists are Nepalis while the number of foreign tourists other than Indians is negligible.

Before the earthquake, majority of tourists during this season used to be Chinese. But after the quake, Chinese tourists have hardly traveled to Pokhara.

Avia Club’s Manager Rijan Rijal informed that most of the tourists at present are Indians. According to Rijal, around 70 percent of tourists who come for ultralight flights are Indians.

Although the number of Indian tourists visiting pokhara has increased significantly, the overall situation is not satisfactory, says Hotel Landmark’s operator Om Pandey.

“Half of the tourists are Indians. But we still need to do a lot to bring more tourists,” he said.

Indian tourists are considered vital for the hospitality business of Pokhara. Even a small number of tourists from India, which shares border with Nepal, would significantly boost the tourism industry in Pokhara. Hotel entrepreneurs are active in increasing the number of Indian tourists, for which the Western Region Hotel Association has been launching a special campaign ‘Chaliye Pokhara’ for the last seven years.

This campaign has helped to a great extent in bringing Indian tourists to Pokhara, says the association’s former chairman Biplav Poudel, who operates Hotel Barahi. Poudel believes that Indian tourists have not only helped tourism thrive in Pokhara but have helped in the overall tourism business across Nepal.

Pokhara falls in the priority list of Indian tourists who live in the bordering cities of India as they can drive to Pokhara on their own. 

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