Tourism entrepreneurs waiting for season

By Santosh Subedi,Kaski, Aug. 7: Although there is a slogan, “Pokhara is for all seasons”, business operators are waiting for visitors this season. 

A few domestic tourists who do come for a visit are also stuck at home due to the rain and road conditions. Business owners said that although Pokhara is the first choice for domestic tourists, there is no hustle and bustle due to the roads and rains.

Laxman Subedi, Chairperson of the Western Hotel Association, said that the tourism sector has become almost deserted in Pokhara. “This is also off-season. Not many tourists come during the monsoon. If a few come, they are domestic tourists, but even then, it is difficult for them to come due to the rain and road conditions. 

The risk is high due to landslides and floods in various places, which has also reduced the arrival of tourists,” he said.

He said that the accessibility of Pokhara has become very weak. He complained that the road routes are troublesome and the air routes are also sometimes uncertain due to the rainy season, causing problems in the business. 

“Although there is an international airport in Pokhara, international flights have not started yet,” Subedi said.

He suspected that tourists might have been diverted elsewhere for the past three to four months due to the roads. As a result, hotel occupancy in Pokhara has dropped to a meager 5 per cent. 

“Although the rainy season is like this, tourists will start increasing a little from October,” he hoped.

According to Subedi, since trekking does not take place in this season, there are very few foreign tourists. Although there were fewer foreign guests from third countries, there used to be hustle and bustle of domestic guests in the previous years. 

But now, the hustle and bustle of domestic guests has also subsided significantly.

He also said that guests do not travel during this time except for essential work. “After the recent bus and air accidents, tourism sector has been further affected.  The message that travel is unsafe has set in. This has impacted the tourism sector,” said Subedi. 

Currently, at least 1,200 hotels are operating in Pokhara, with a bed capacity of 40,000.Ishwari Pandey, operator of Hotel Dio, said that it felt like an off-season. “This is the time when there are usually fewer guests. Moreover, various incidents of this year have added fear to the movement of guests. The occupancy of the hotels is also very low.