Pokhara Tourism Promotion Campaign Launched Targeting Eastern Nepal Cities

The 'Jaun Hai Pokhara' (Let's Go to Pokhara) program has been initiated with the main objective of promoting domestic tourism, targeting major cities in Eastern Nepal.

The program, organized by the Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) Pokhara in coordination and collaboration with the Nepal Tourism Board Gandaki Province Office, will continue from today until Chaitra 13.

Laxman Subedi, the association's chairman, informed that this campaign, which has been running for the past 22 years, will feature tourism promotion programs in cities like Birgunj, Hetauda, Biratnagar, and Ilam.

He stated that a 19-member team comprising tourism entrepreneurs, hotel entrepreneurs active in Pokhara, and media personnel will engage in tourism partnership discussions, interactions with Eastern Nepal's tourism entrepreneurs, and distribute promotional materials during the campaign.

He further informed that attractive domestic tourism packages will also be unveiled during this period. "Another objective of our program is to invite locals from Eastern Nepal for the 21st edition of the Fewa New Year Festival, which is organized by the association every Nepali New Year," he said.

The festival will take place from Chaitra 29 to Baisakh 1 along the Lakeside area on the banks of Phewa Lake. The festival has consistently focused on connecting tourism, culture, and cuisine, with the primary goal of preserving and promoting Nepali art and culture.

Mani Raj Lamichhane, Chief of the Nepal Tourism Board Gandaki Province, stated that this campaign will significantly contribute to making Pokhara, which is the capital of tourism, the first choice destination for tourists.

The program aims to increase tourism partnership between Eastern Nepal and Pokhara. A proposal will be put forth to Eastern tourism entrepreneurs for the re-regularization of direct air services previously operated from Pokhara to cities like Bhadrapur and Biratnagar, as well as for the operation of quality tourist bus services from those cities to Pokhara.

Chairman Subedi mentioned that an investment of six hundred billion rupees has been made in the hotel sector in Pokhara alone, and informed that there are approximately 1,200 hotels here.

The association stated that approximately 15,000 people have received direct employment due to the hotels operating in Pokhara.