COVID-19 impact on tourism

A dozen paragliding companies unable to resume operation

Published On: December 28, 2021 05:29 PM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel


POKHARA, Dec 28: About a dozen paragliding companies have not yet been able to operate their businesses.

Those paragliding companies that have not been able to run their business are in a state of closure. Paragliding entrepreneurs have not been able to operate their businesses even though they have to pay huge amounts of money every year to various agencies for license renewal, and expenses for staff, office and vehicle management. They said that the service was suspended as there would be less loss in closing down the business than running it.

Shailendra Rawat, general secretary of the Nepal Paragliding and Hang-gliding Association, said that the companies, shut down after the first lockdown imposed to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, have not been able to resume operation.

Rawat was also running a paragliding company called Himalayan Frontiers. He said that the flights were not running smoothly as there were no foreign tourists and it was not possible to cover the cost of flying only through domestic tourists. "I closed the company after the first lockdown since the COVID-19 pandemic started, and it has not been operational since then," Rawat said.

According to Krishna Bhandari, president of the Nepal Airsports Association, 60 paragliding companies were registered in Pokhara and were in service earlier. But now about a dozen companies have stopped their service of flying.

According to Bhandari, a paragliding company has to renew its license at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) every year. Each company has to pay a fee of Rs 84,000 a year while renewing their licenses. Similarly, each of them has to pay Rs 25,000 every year to Pokhara Metropolitan City.

The companies need to pay Rs 200,000 as flight and landing fees every year. Besides, a fee of Rs 50,000 has to be paid to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation every four years. Apart from regular and renewal fees, the cost of office, staff and transportation has also become expensive, entrepreneurs complained.

“The annual renewal fee is also high. Similarly, the office management expenses are also the same,” said Chairman Bhandari. “The companies have not been able to cover the expenses due to low income.”


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