Middle East Conflict Disrupts Air Travel, Causing Decline in Tourist Arrivals to Pokhara

Tourist arrivals in Pokhara, the tourism capital, have decreased due to the disruption of international flights caused by the ongoing war in the Middle East. The hustle and bustle in Pokhara and surrounding destinations have diminished during the second main tourist season as tensions escalate between the US-Israel and Iran.

Krishna Prasad Acharya, Chairman of the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) Gandaki, stated that nearly 50 percent of foreign tourists scheduled to visit Pokhara have canceled their bookings. "Tourists from Europe and America traveling to Nepal via Middle Eastern countries are unable to come due to air insecurity and flight cancellations," he said. "If this situation continues, the tourism sector could come to a standstill, similar to the COVID-19 pandemic."

He mentioned that trekking destinations, including the Annapurna Conservation Area, have become deserted due to the low number of foreign trekkers. The Chaitra-Baishakh season is considered ideal for trekking tourism. "This is the peak season for foreign tourists, and the war raging in the Middle East is affecting movement, with tourists canceling bookings," Chairman Acharya added.

Mani Raj Lamichhane, Chief of the Nepal Tourism Board Gandaki Province, said that while daily tourist arrivals to Nepal used to be between 3,500 and 4,000 during this season, they have dropped to only 1,800 to 2,000 following the tension in the Middle East.

"There has been a sharp decline in the number of tourists coming to Nepal from Western countries like Europe and America via Middle Eastern countries," he said. "If the war does not end soon and the situation in the Middle East does not normalize, an even bigger crisis will hit Nepal's tourism sector."

Chief Lamichhane explained that tourist arrivals in Nepal have decreased because key 'transit hubs' like Qatar and the UAE have been affected by the war in the Middle East. He noted that 70 to 78 percent of tourists visiting Nepal come to Pokhara. "The Tourism Board is currently planning and conceptualizing tourism promotion in Southeast Asian countries," Chief Lamichhane said. "This will further expand Nepal's tourism market in the international arena."

He emphasized the need to formulate tourism promotion plans in a new way because the war and instability occurring in foreign countries also affect Nepal's tourism sector. Raju Thapa, CEO of 'The Vinci' Tours and Travels, stated that tourists coming to Nepal, as well as the general public, are facing problems because flights from countries like Qatar, the UAE, and Kuwait, which connect Nepal by air, are being affected.

"Flights are being canceled one after another due to insecurity, and there is a compulsion to pay expensive fares when using alternative air routes," he said. CEO Thapa mentioned that most tourists and travelers coming to Nepal have canceled their 'pre-bookings'. He added that tourists who came to Nepal from Western countries like Europe and America are finding it difficult to return to their respective countries.