Kathmandu, 24 December: The main tourist season in Nepal is over. As the winter season is cold, relatively few foreign tourists come. Foreign tourists who came to Nepal after December 15 gradually return to their destination countries. A significant number of foreign tourists come to Nepal in October, November and December. Autumn is considered the main ‘season’ for tourism. In the spring, a large number of foreigners come to climb various mountains, including the highest peak, Mount Everest. In this way, autumn and spring are considered the most useful seasons for tourists in Nepal.
Even though it is the low season for foreign tourists, national and international tourism activities in Nepal’s tourism sector not only attract tourists but also help extend their stay. In this context, various international competitions, festivals and other activities related to tourism are currently taking place in destinations including the tourism capital Pokhara, the tourist areas of Chitwan, and Lumbini.
A nine-day International Balloon Festival has begun in Pokhara from today with the aim of promoting Nepal’s tourism. A Nepal-China friendly dragon boat race competition is being organized from Poush 14. Similarly, the 26th Pokhara Street Festival is going to be held from Poush 13 to 17. These festivals and fairs have not only attracted tourists but also helped in extending the stay of foreign tourists in Nepal.
Maniraj Lamichhane, Director of the Nepal Tourism Board, says that international festivals and activities that are held to boost tourism during the low season are helping significantly in promoting tourism. “Even during the low season, when there are fewer tourists, large-scale international events taking place in Nepalese destinations have increased tourism activity and have also helped in increasing tourist arrivals,” he said.
Tourist arrivals in Nepal decrease after December 15. Tourists who come to Nepal for various purposes also return home to celebrate Christmas and New Year. In this context, national and international organizations have started organizing large-scale ‘events’ at various destinations in Nepal to prevent tourists from returning home early. In particular, the Pokhara Street Festival has been held regularly for the past 25 years. It has become an important means of attracting tourists. Similarly, entrepreneurs believe that the festivals and activities such as the Dragon Boat Race Competition, the International Balloon Festival, etc. that started last year have greatly helped in promoting Nepal’s tourism as well as in boosting tourism activities.
Restaurant and Bar Association (REBAN) President Sangharsh Bista said that important events held at tourist destinations play an important role in promoting domestic and foreign tourism. He said, “There is no need to work hard during the good season, more and more activities during the off-season help in promoting tourism, the international fairs and festivals currently being held identify Nepal as an attractive tourist destination, which attracts foreign tourists.”
According to General Secretary Shakya, the occupancy rate in the hotel sector is only about 30 percent due to the off-season. There is a heavy influx of domestic and foreign tourists in destinations such as Dhulikhel, Nagarkot near Kathmandu, and Pokhara, Chitwan, and Lumbini.
International Balloon Festival begins
Tourism-related fairs and festivals organized on various occasions are contributing to tourism promotion. For the first time, the International Hot Air Balloon Festival has been organized in Nepal in the context of the English New Year. Commercial balloon companies from 20 countries are participating in the festival, which began today in the tourist city of Pokhara. Organized by Balloon Nepal Pvt. Ltd., the festival, which will run for nine days, will include balloon flights, fireworks displays, balloon races, and camping every evening. The organizers believe that the festival will promote domestic and foreign tourism as well as contribute to Nepal’s economy.
Pokhara Street Festival from December 28
The 26th Pokhara Street Festival is being held from 13th to 17th of this year on the occasion of the New Year-2025. The festival is being organized by the Restaurant and Bar Association (REBAN) Pokhara. The organizers claim that more than 500,000 people will participate in the festival, which will be organized with the slogan ‘Eat on the road, enjoy on the road’. REBAN Saurah (Chitwan) is organizing a five-day street festival on 14th February, while the REBAN center has stated that it will hold a street festival at Durbar Marg in Kathmandu targeting the Nepali New Year.
According to REBAN Chairman Bista, the festival has also helped promote Nepali products in local tourism and reach the world market. The street festival has been held covering a three-kilometer area of Lakeside (from Lakeside’s Fishtail Gate to Khahare). REBAN Pokhara Chairman Bishwaraj Poudel mentioned that the festival is becoming successful in promoting tourism as well as art and culture through the street festival and marketing local products. It is said that 40 percent of foreign tourists visiting Nepal reach Pokhara. Pokhara Metropolitan City is celebrating 2025 as Pokhara Visit Year. It is said that the tourism fair and festival will also help in making the visit year a success.
Nepal-China friendly dragon boat race from December 29
The Nepal-China Friendly Dragon Boat Race Competition, which aims to promote Nepal’s tourism, is being organized on December 20 and 21. The second edition of the Dragon Boat Race to be held in Pokhara will see the participation of 20 teams, including 11 from Nepal, eight from China, and one from Singapore.
The Dragon Boat Race is being organized jointly by the Gandaki Province Government, Pokhara Metropolitan City, the Chinese Embassy in Nepal, and the Nepal Tourism Board, and co-organized by the Nepal Dragon Boat Association, Pokhara Tourism Council, and Pokhara Overseas Chinese Association.
Hard to find tourist destination
Nepal, which welcomed around 1.2 million foreign tourists before the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, has been struggling to meet its tourist arrival target in the last two years. The figures for the two years after the pandemic suggest that it will have to work harder to reach the pre-pandemic level.
According to the Nepal Tourism Board, 1 million 55 thousand 533 foreign tourists have arrived in the 11 months of 2024. Looking at the latest figures, it seems that it will be difficult to meet the target of welcoming 1.3 million 15 tourists in 2024. Now there is only one month left. The board estimates that about 70 thousand tourists will arrive in one month (December). Looking at this, it is said that only about 1.1 million 25 thousand tourists will arrive in the year 2024.
Maniraj Lamichhane, director of the board, said that analyzing the tourist arrivals so far, it seems that the number of tourists will increase by only about 10 percent compared to 2023. In 2023, 1,14,871 foreign tourists visited Nepal. The board had estimated that more tourists would come in 2024 than in 2019 before the Corona pandemic. In 2019, 1,197,191 foreign tourists came to Nepal.
However, Lamichhane, the director of the board, says that Nepal’s tourism recovery is higher than that of the Asia-Pacific region. According to the six-month data of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Nepal’s tourism has recovered by 96 percent globally. It is stated that 93 percent of global tourism has recovered during that period.
