Tourist arrivals up 45 percent in Pokhara

Pokhara: The number of foreign tourists visiting Pokhara via air in 2012 increased by 45 percent to 84,423 compared to arrival figures of 2011.

According to Pokhara Airport, 58,173 foreign tourists had entered Pokhara by aerial route in 2011.

"The trend of tourist arrivals by air is looking very positive for the past few years," said Pratap Babu Tiwari, chief of Pokhara Airport. He further added that the number of tourists traveling to the lake city had grown by 25 percent in 2011, compared to a year ago.

Tiwari said the increasing tourism related activities and various promotional programs in and around Pokhara were helping increase the number of tourists in the lake city.

"Tourism entrepreneurs should focus more on promotional campaigns," he said.

According to the statistics, the airport handled about 200,000 foreigners in 2012.

“Majority of tourists to Pokhara come via surface; they prefer to fly back while returning from the lake city,” Tiwari said.

Tourism entrepreneurs are overjoyed to see the growing number of tourists in Pokhara growing. “Natural beauty and favorable weather conditions throughout the year is making Pokhara a popular destination among tourists,” Surya Bahadur Bhujel, president of Pokhara Tourism Council, said, adding that the number of tourists coming via land route is also on the rise.

Kedar Sharma, president of Nepal Association of Tours and Travels Agents (NATTA) Pokhara Chapter, said, “The number of tourist buses serving Pokhara has increased. This shows the number of tourists is on the rise."

source: republica,2 Jan 2013