October 17: The arrival of tourists has increased in Pokhara after Dashain festival. The visitors include both domestic tourists as well as foreign tourists, according to tourism entrepreneurs of the lake city.

Generally, Pokhara bustles with tourists from mid-September. But the entrepreneurs were dejected until recent due to the unusually low number of tourists even in October. However, the scenic city has turned lively with the arrival of tourists after Dashain festival.

Hotels have started receiving advanced bookings. The increase in number of tourists is also attributed to the Dashain-Tihar vacation during which lots of students visit Pokhara.

Singapore Hotel’s operator Govind Sharma told New Business Age that the hotel’s occupancy increased all of a sudden after Dashain.

According to him, the new trend of visiting different places among the Nepalis has contributed to the increase in the number of domestic tourists. However, the number of foreign tourists is still not satisfactory, says Sharma.

“There is encouraging presence of domestic tourists in lakeside area of Pokhara,” said Sharma, “But foreign tourists are more attracted to remote areas.”

He said that foreign tourists have been heading towards villages after the Gandaki Province started home-stay facility in more than 300 places.