The hotels and lodges are swarmed by both domestic and foreign tourists. According to hotel entrepreneurs, these days around 200 tourists visit Bandipur everyday while earlier only 25-30 tourists arrived on a normal day. [break]
Suman Shrestha, who runs Hill Heaven Hotel and Lodge in Bandipur, said that the number of tourists from China, Japan, Germany and America was higher than other countries. “Even the number of domestic tourist is overwhelming. Hotels are under pressure due to lack of available rooms,” he added.
Tourism entrepreneurs say a tourist spends one to two nights on an average. “The view of nearly half a dozen snow covered peaks is magnificent during this season which is the major pulling factor for tourists,” manager of The Old Inn Ram Sharan Shrestha said.
Officials at Bandipur Mountain Resort said that 40-45 tourists visited the resort everyday beginning October.
Bamdev Bhattarai, president of Tourist Information Centre, echoed entrepreneurs and said that the number of arrivals was up by 20 percent compared to the same period last year. “Up to 300 tourists are visiting Bandipur these days,” he said.
With the number of tourists increasing, even locals have opened their doors to accommodate tourists. Around 45 tourists find accommodation at local houses on a daily basis.
Bandipur is popular for Siddha Cave, traditional Newari settlement and beautiful view of Himalayan range.
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