Speaking at an interaction in Pokhara on Wednesday, they said many tourists interested to visit the lake city were returning from Nepalgunj itself because of the unavailability of direct flights to Pokhara. [break]
“We are not being able to send interested tourists to Pokhara because of the lack of proper means of transportation,” said Nandalal Baidya, vice-president of Nepalgunj Trade Association. “It takes lot of time to reach Pokhara by road. Also, we don´t have proper bus service.”
Every year thousands of tourists from India visit Nepal through Bhairahawa, Dhangadi and Mahendranagar. Most of these tourists visit religious sites in Nepal and travel up to Muktinath.
Entrepreneurs said there was no alternative to starting direct flights between the two cities to draw more tourists in the country.
Bhaskar Kafle, president of Nepalgunj Hotel Association, requested entrepreneurs in Pokhara to start proper bus service if direct flights between the two cities cannot be started immediately. “We can bring in more tourists if there is direct flight from Nepalgunj to Pokhara and Jomsom,” Kafle added.
In response, tourism entrepreneurs in Pokhara said they had already asked airlines to operate direct flights between the two cities.
“Once there is direct flight, we would be able to send tourists from Pokhara to Nepalgunj as well,” said Biplav Paudel, president of Regional Hotel Association Nepal, Pokhara.
Gautam Baral, station manager of Buddha Air in Pokhara, said the airline was positive about operating direct flights between Pokhara and Nepalgunj.
“Tourism entrepreneurs have long been demanding that airlines operate direct flights from Pokhara to Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj and Biratnagar. If there is good foreign tourist traffic, direct flights can be possible,” he added.
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