POKHARA, Nov 3: On average, 440 foreign tourists enter the tourist city of Pokhara every day, according to statistics compiled by the Ministry of Energy, Tourism, Forest and Environment of Gandaki Province. Of them, 230 are Indian nationals.
The data shows that 730 foreign tourists enter the Gandaki Province every day on average.
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The ministry had started keeping record of tourists entering the province since the beginning of the current Fiscal Year 2018/19. Earlier, the Tourism Office located in Pokhara used to keep record of tourists arrival. But the office had stopped doing that since 2011.
According to the ministry data, a total of 20,821 tourists have visited Gandaki province in the first month of FY2018/19. Of them, 18,097 entered the province via roadway. According to Civil Aviation Office in Pokhara, 703 Indian and 2021 foreign tourists came to the Gandaki province via air route.
In the second month of the current fiscal year, a total of 19,097 tourists entered the province, while in the third month, a total of 8,012 tourists came via the air route and 14,796 visitors entered via the land route.
The Civil Aviation Office in Pokhara keeps the record of tourists coming via air route, while check posts located at Galyang of Syangja district and Abukhaireni of Tanahu district keep the record of tourists using the land route.
Gandaki Province is planning to celebrate 2019 as 'Domestic Tourist Year' and 2020 as 'Neighboring Country Tourism Year'. Likewise, 2022 will be celebrated as 'Pokhara Tourism Year'. Embracing the plan, the provincial government has started to keep proper record of tourist arrivals.
Talking to Republica, Bishnu Bhandari, secretary for the Tourism Ministry of Gandaki Province, said: "Scientific data collection of tourists can help us make proper strategies for the development of tourism in the province."
Tikaram Sapkota, former member of Nepal Tourism Board, said that keeping record of tourist arrivals in a scientific way has shown positive results in the tourism industry. "Scientific data collection can provide exact number of tourists, which can be helpful for both entrepreneurs and the government," he added.
