Source::Rss
Tourism entrepreneurs have expressed the belief that the operation of Pokhara Regional International Airport in pokhara (Kaski) would add dimension to the country's tourism sector.
Earlier, tourists coming to Pokhara via Kathmandu will now be able to reach Pokhara directly. Entrepreneurs believe that this will increase the arrival of foreign tourists in Pokhara and play an important role in the development of the entire tourism sector.
After the construction of the new airport, night flights would also be operated and it would also increase domestic tourists. The construction of the airport could become a turning point in tourism development in Pokhara.
At present, 40 to 45 percent of foreign tourists who land in Kathmandu reach Pokhara. According to statistics, about 60 percent of the foreign tourists who come to Nepal come for entertainment. Of these, 40 to 45 percent reach Pokhara. In this way, Pokhara has been the second tourist destination of Nepal.
According to Nepal tourism board data, 473,563 tourists visited Nepal in the last 10 months i.e. from January to October. Of these, 88,582 tourists visited Nepal in October alone.
Statistics show that the number of foreign tourists decreasing due to the Covid-19 epidemic is increasing in 2022. Before the pandemic began, 1,197,091 tourists visited Nepal in 2019, but in 2020, the number of foreign tourists decreased by 81 percent to 230,085 due to the corona epidemic. Similarly, a total of 150,962 tourists visited Nepal in 2021. This is a decrease of 34.4 percent compared to the previous year.
Pokhara Airport is the third international airport in Nepal. Gautam Buddha International Airport at Bhairahawa in Rupandehi has become the second international airport after 71 years of its operation. Pokhara Regional International Airport has become operational six months after the airport came into operation. CAAN has already announced to operate commercial flights at Pokhara Airport from Poush 17.
Buddha Air is making necessary preparations for the first international flight from the newly constructed Pokhara Regional International Airport. For this, Buddha Air has applied to CAAN for permission to fly. The airline plans to operate flights from Pokhara to Benares, Delhi and Dehradun in India. Buddha Air will operate pokhara-Benares-Pokhara flight as the first flight from Pokhara Airport.
Buddha Air has applied to CAAN for ground handling 'Bhumist' service for domestic and external flights operating from Pokhara International Airport. Pokhara Regional International Airport, which is a project of national pride, is ready for international flights after the successful completion of a week-long mechanical flight 'Calibration Flight' on Sunday. The mechanical test report will be published in Aeronautical Information Publication (AIT) after can approves it.
Based on the report, international airlines take information that the airport is fully ready for flights and can fly to Pokhara destination. Pokhara Airport, spread over an area of 3,900 ropanis, has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 22 billion. The airport has a runway of 2,500 meters long and 45 meters wide.
According to the NRA, 16 meters of cutting work under the first phase of Ritthepanidanda cutting on the eastern side of the airport has been completed before the operation of the flight. Since the runway has an 'approach', 40 meters of the hill will be cut and levelled. The remaining 24 meters are yet to be cut.
“The operation of new international airport in Pokhara is a matter of happiness for the country's tourism sector. The airport is considered to be very important in tourism infrastructure. This is the most suitable way to connect a landlocked country like ours with the world." Said Tourism entrepreneur Yogendra Shakya, former president of Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), who is also the coordinator of Visit Nepal Year 2011
“Domestic and foreign tourists coming to Pokhara would increase after the operation of Pokhara Airport. The construction of the airport is very good at a time when the country's economic indicators are not good. The construction of the airport has enthused the tourism entrepreneurs of Pokhara,” said Entrepreneur Biplab Poudel, who is also the former president of Western Regional Hotel Entrepreneurs Association.
“With the operation of the airport, a new dimension will be added to the tourism development. Indian tourists would increase significantly in Pokhara after the construction of the airport,” said Han's central first vice-president Binayak Shah._Rss
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