Gandaki. Even in the second main tourist season, hotels in the tourism capital city of Pokhara have fewer tourists than expected. The occupancy rate of hotels here is currently only 40 percent, informed Laxman Subedi, president of the Hotel Association Pokhara.
According to him, the number of guests in hotels had reached almost 50 percent of capacity at this time last year.
‘The hotel occupancy rate is low because tourists coming for trekking and Indian tourists going to Muktinath do not stay in Pokhara but go directly to their destinations,’ he said. ‘As the New Year approaches and the school-level exams are over and the holidays have begun, the influx of domestic tourists is expected to increase.’
The number of foreign tourists visiting Pokhara and spending the night in hotels here is lower than expected, said Subedi. Tourism entrepreneurs who have invested heavily in the hotel business are worried about the low tourist traffic during the main season.
The association has also organized the 20th Fewa New Year Festival on the occasion of the New Year with the aim of attracting tourists to Pokhara. Association President Subedi said that the hotel occupancy is expected to reach above 90 percent during the New Year.
He said that a 30 percent discount has been arranged in hotels during the festival period. According to him, hotels in Pokhara have the capacity to accommodate 40,000 tourists daily. “Currently, an average of 20,000 domestic and foreign tourists are in Pokhara every day,” he said. “For the more than 1,200 hotels here to be full, 40,000 tourists should be in Pokhara every day.”
Indian tourists come to Pokhara and surrounding destinations to visit and beat the heat. The Pokhara Tourism Council has stated that about 40 percent of Indian tourists who come to Pokhara go to Muktinath.
Third-country tourists who go to various destinations for trekking also spend some time in Pokhara. Tourists enter Pokhara using air and road routes. The Annapurna Circuit Trek, a famous tourist destination here, has also seen an increase in the number of tourists trekking.
The months of Chait-Baishakh and Asoj-Kartik are considered the best for trekking in this region. Trekking Association of Nepal (TAAN) Gandaki President Krishna Prasad Acharya said that the number of tourists has increased with the onset of Chait.
‘Tourist activity has increased on trekking routes at this time,’ he said. ‘After autumn, many tourists enter Nepal for trekking in the spring season.’ According to Chairman Acharya, along with foreign tourists, the attraction of domestic tourists has increased in recent times in trekking.
In the Annapurna Conservation Area, Annapurna Base Camp, Mardi Himal, Ghandruk, Tilicho Lake in Manang, Thorangla Bhanjyang, Upper Mustang, Muktinath, Ghodepani in Myagdi, Khumai Danda in Kaski, Kori, etc. are the preferred destinations for trekking tourists.
Chairman Acharya said that the Annapurna Cycle Trail is a world-famous destination for trekking. He said that after Pokhara was declared the tourism capital city last year, the attraction of tourists in the region has increased further.
He said that if the main road connecting Pokhara and international air travel are made regular and organized, a significant number of tourists can be brought in. Chairman Acharya said that some old and established trekking routes are in danger due to roads and alternatives should be found.
According to the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), 244,450 foreign tourists entered the Annapurna region in 2024. Of these, 132,094 were from South Asian countries and 111,951 from other countries. The number is said to be the highest ever.
Before that, the highest number of tourists visited the region in 2023, when 191,558 people visited the region. In 2019, 181,000 tourists visited the region, but since then, the number of tourists has decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, a total of 16,155 tourists visited the Annapurna region in 2021.
The following year, i.e. 2022, a total of 129,733 tourists visited the Annapurna region. According to ‘ACAP’, tourism in the region has returned to its previous rhythm since last year.
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