According to officials at Pokhara Airport, a total of 102,243 international tourists visited the lake city via air in the first 11 months of 2010, up from 90,846 recorded during the same period last year.[break]
A total of 17,677 international tourists had visited Pokhara via air in November, up from 16,395 recorded during November last year. Similarly, the arrivals in October had increased to 20,868 from 16,252 in the same period last year.
Narendra Bahadur Thapa, chief of Pokhara Airport, said the number of international tourists have been increasing this year. “The growth in arrivals relays a positive message ahead of the Nepal Tourism Year (NTY) 2011 campaign,” Thapa said, expressing hope that the arrivals will grow further in the coming year.
March-May and September-November are considered the best seasons for tourism industry in Pokhara.
Thapa also informed that arrivals to the lake city have been growing since 2006.
“Increment has been seen in number of flights, international tourists and overall passengers,” Thapa said, adding that rise in arrivals in the latter part of the year was due to the NTY 2011 campaign.
Tourism entrepreneurs say arrivals have been picking up in the lake city as political situation has largely remained stable over the period. Biplab Poudel, chairman of Regional Hotel Association of Nepal, Pokhara, said the arrivals would have grown further had the government focused more on international promotion with the announcement of fiscal budget on time.
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