Santosh Pokharel

The contributor for Republica.
news@myrepublica.com

Manange appointed as Physical Infrastructure Minister in Gandaki

Published On: March 18, 2024 01:51 PM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, March 18: Rajiv Gurung (aka Deepak Manange), who left the CPN (Unified Socialist) and demanded the status of an independent parliamentarian, has been appointed as a minister.

Mustang tourism: 230,000 visitors in eight months

Published On: March 15, 2024 12:30 PM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, March 15: Over the past eight months, about 230,000 visitors have flocked to the mountainous district of Mustang. Among them, 187,014 were domestic tourists, 35,356 were from SAARC countries, and 7,284 were from third countries, as per the statistics maintained by the police.

Concerns of Pokhara hoteliers: Despite enhanced facilities and services, prices remain unchanged

Published On: March 13, 2024 05:43 PM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, March 13: Businessmen in Pokhara have raised concerns regarding the tourism sector’s inability to generate expected income despite an increase in commercial competition and hotel facilities. With about 700 touristic hotels and around 40,000 beds, Pokhhara’s hospitality industry faces strong competition. Although some hotels are still under construction, the overall number of rooms is expected to rise further, intensifying the competition.

Indian tourist dies of altitude sickness while visiting Muktinath

Published On: March 4, 2024 04:29 PM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, March 4: An Indian pilgrim visiting the Muktinath temple in Mustang has died of altitude sickness. Bhupendra Bhai Patel, 57, of  Gujarat, India, succumbed to altitude sickness on Monday morning, as confirmed by the police.

Foreign tourist arrivals this February rose 33 percent compared to February 2023 arrivals

Published On: March 1, 2024 08:00 PM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, March 1: Nearly 100,000 foreign visitors entered Nepal in February 2024, which is a 33 percent increment compared to February 2023. According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), as many as 97,426 foreign guests arrived in Nepal via air travel alone in February 2024.

Dispute over 'takeoff and landing spot': CAAN warns suspension of paragliding flights if the dispute is not resolved within three days

Published On: February 6, 2024 11:00 AM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, Feb 6: Less than a month after the dispute over whether or not to implement the one-door system imposed on paragliding flights, another dispute has surfaced between tourism entrepreneurs. The controversy is about the 'takeoff and landing' point of paragliding.

Pokhara faces shortage of five-star hotels

Published On: January 14, 2024 05:17 PM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, Jan 14: The Gandaki Province government has studied the feasibility of declaring Pokhara as the country’s tourism capital. A study committee formed by the provincial government while submitting its report also suggested declaring Pokhara as the tourism capital by mid-February.

Paragliding fee drops to Rs 3,000 from Rs 12,000 in Pokhara

Published On: January 10, 2024 08:00 AM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, Jan 10: Paragliding flights in Pokhara have now become affordable for an average middle-class family of Nepal after the end of the syndicate system. The fees have taken a nosedive due to competition in the market after the end of a one-door system for fixing the rate of paragliding flights.

Pokhara In’t Airport witnesses just seven international flights in a year

Published On: January 2, 2024 08:30 AM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, Jan 2: On June 18, a Sichuan Airlines flight from Chengdu, China, landed at Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA), which was the first international flight with passengers after the airport came into operation. The aircraft from Sichuan landed in Pokhara with 84 Chinese guests who arrived to participate in the Dragon Boat Race Festival held at Fewa Lake. The plane returned empty via Kathmandu.

Govt meets its target of bringing in one million tourists in 2023

Published On: December 27, 2023 06:15 PM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, Dec 27: The government's target of bringing in one million foreign tourists in 2023 has been achieved.

Himalayan settlements facing severe cold

Published On: December 17, 2023 11:00 AM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, Dec 16: The settlements in the upper parts of the Himalayan districts of Manang and Mustang are wearing deserted looks due to extreme cold. The locals say that villagers are flocking to the city to escape the cold.

CAAN halts paragliding in Pokhara amid dispute between pilots and entrepreneurs

Published On: December 17, 2023 10:00 AM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, Dec 16: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the regulatory body of the aviation sector of the country, has indefinitely suspended paragliding flights in the sky of Pokhara citing potential risk in this sector due to the ongoing disputes among the stakeholders.

Tourism business thriving in Nepal due to substantial number of Indian tourists

Published On: December 3, 2023 09:30 AM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, Dec 3: The government has set a target of attracting one million foreign tourists in 2023. During the eleven months of this year (January-November 2023), a total of 918,308 foreign guests have entered Nepal. If 82,000 foreign tourists arrive in Nepal within the next month, the government's target will be fulfilled. During the review period, most of the tourists visiting Nepal were from India.

Police safely rescue tourists and guides lost on Dolpa-Mustang trek

Published On: November 24, 2023 04:30 PM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, Nov 24: Police have safely rescued a group of foreign tourists who were lost and out of contact for five days while trekking from Dolpa to Mustang. During the trek, they lost their way while en route to Mustang from Dolpa.

Pokhara airport handling 4,000 passengers daily

Published On: November 21, 2023 03:00 PM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, Nov 21: The influx of foreign visitors has surged during the festive holidays and the domestic tourist season, resulting in increased passenger traffic on the Pokhara-Kathmandu-Pokhara air route. Despite the availability of 27 daily flights by various airlines on this route, passengers are struggling to secure air tickets due to the heightened demand. The Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) reports approximately 4,000 air passengers per day.

Gandaki receives Rs 500 billion investment in tourism sector despite pandemic challenges

Published On: October 5, 2023 04:30 PM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, Oct 5: The tourism sector, which has been affected by the corona virus infection, has not yet recovered. Recently, the businessmen have not stopped complaining about the lack of visitors even during the tourist season, but they are increasing their investment in the tourism sector every year. Businessmen say that the amount of investment in Gandaki Province is increasing every year.

Dengue in Gandaki Province: Number of infections highest this year

Published On: October 3, 2023 08:30 PM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, Oct 3: As of September 25, the number of dengue-infected people in Tanahun was 1,714. That number reached 3,353 on Tuesday, eight days later.

Airline companies increase flights along Kathmandu-Pokhara route due to growing demand

Published On: September 23, 2023 08:25 PM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, Sept 23: Airline companies of Nepal have started expanding flights to meet the increasing demand on the Kathmandu-Pokhara route.

As footpaths shrink, Annapurna trek duration plummets from 28 to 5 days

Published On: September 10, 2023 08:30 PM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, Sept 10: Renowned trekking entrepreneur, Tikaram Sapkota, once offered comprehensive 28-day packages for adventurous tourists embarking on the awe-inspiring Annapurna trek, but things have dramatically changed over the past 15 years.

PRIA finally earning from int’l flights after eight months of operation

Published On: September 8, 2023 01:30 PM NPT By: Santosh Pokharel

POKHARA, Sep 8: The Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) marked its eighth month of operations on September 1 since becoming officially operational on  January 1, 2023. Despite its international status, PRIA has been limited to domestic flights until now, with regular international flights yet to be confirmed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).