The five-day festival, organized by Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal (REBAN) to commemorate New Year 2012, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai on Wednesday.[break]
The festival venue, which sprawls over an area of 3km from Fishtail Gate to Dihiko Patan, has been fully decorated and is now abuzz with both domestic and foreign tourists. It also hosts around 150 stalls, where handicraft goods to pashmina and other garment products have been put on display.
The festival, organized with a slogan of ´Eat on the Street, Dance on the Street and Enjoy on the Street´, plays a key role in promoting the arts and culture of Pokhara, Balram Pahari, president of REBAN, said. At the same time, the festival also promotes tourism and stimulates economic activities, REBAN has said.
Inaugurating the function, PM Bhattarai tried to boost the confidence of tourism entrepreneurs by expressing commitment to develop an international airport in Pokhara, for which, he said, the Chinese government had given a tacit approval. “I hope the new airport will be able to draw more tourists to Pokhara,” he said.
He, however, urged entrepreneurs not to be urban-centric while promoting tourism and tourism-related activities.
“If entrepreneurs can promote tourism in rural areas surrounding the city this would not only raise the income of people residing in those areas but also prolong foreign tourists´ visit in our country,” he said.
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