On Wednesday afternoon, she was seen in the Gorkha Museum, admiring artifacts belonging to the time of King Prithivi Narayan Shah. "After the catastrophic earthquake, I wasn't sure whether I should visit Nepal," said Alexandra. "I was informed that the situation here is very bad. However, I decided to visit the country after consulting with my friends in Nepal," she added.
Alexandra, who is in Nepal with her husband, said the situation here is far better than she had anticipated. "I visited various places in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur and now I am in Gorkha. There is no reason why people should be afraid of visiting the country."
She plans to spend one more week in Nepal and visit another tourist-hub Pokhara. Her husband, Stephen, said, "What worries me is that Nepal has not been able to utilize its resources properly. The country has so many beautiful places, Himalayas and historically significant heritage sites. Nepal can attract a great number of tourists if those can be managed properly."
He opined that positive news about the country should be spread. "We need to inform others that the country is peaceful and beautiful even after the catastrophic earthquake. However, all foreigners hear about its destruction."
Direct impact of the earthquake was felt in the tourism sector. The numbers of foreign tourists sharply diminished after the quake. However, the tourism sector is getting back on its feet.
Fifteen tourists visited the Gorkha museum within a month of the quake. The number reached to 34 from May 15 to June 15 and then to 30 from June 15 to July 15. At present, the number of foreign tourists visiting the museum has soared to 40 in the last three weeks alone.
"The number of foreigners visiting the district is increasing," informed Durga Chaudhary, staffer at the Gorkha Museum. Most of the tourists visiting Gorkha district are from Canada, Italy, Bangladesh and various other countries of Europe.
Tourists are attracted to Gorkha for its famous museum, Gorkha Palace, Gorkhanath Temple, Manakamana Temple, Mt Manaslu and Manaslu trek, among others.
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