Most Pokhara hotels booked for New Year BY KULCHANDRA NEUPANE POKHARA, April 13 - Hotels in Pokhara are jam-packed lately, following tourist influx in the city on the eve of Nepali New Year that falls on Saturday. Most of the better known hotels are already taken away with large inflow of tourists for the last one week, and the trend continues to grow. According to hoteliers, some 1,000 tourists are arriving in Pokhara every day by road, flights, including those returning from trekking. Hoteliers say the number of foreign tourists has nearly doubled in the last one week. Foreigners have booked over 100 rooms in Pokhara's only 5-star hotel, Fulbari Resort in the last two days. According to Krishna Acharya, front desk officer at the resort, all rooms in the hotel are "fully packed" for new year eve which falls on Friday. "We are unable to offer accommodation to tourists even if they pledge handsome payments," said Biplav Poudel, vice-chairman of Regional Hotel Association. According to tourism entrepreneurs, Pokhara is receiving huge turnout of tourists also because hotels in Kathmandu and its neighboring outskirts are already packed. As many tourists have chosen to come to Pokhara, even the airlines have declared their Pokhara-bound tickets sold out. To address the shortage, Yeti Airlines (YA) flew its 30-seater aircraft, which made 10 flights on Thursday alone. "Nearly 300 passengers are coming to Pokhara daily by air," said Amrit Singh, station manager at YA Pokhara office. Similarly, Buddha Airlines increased its regular flights from six to eight on Thursday. Equal number of tourists are entering Pokhara by road. According to Hari Sharma, Pokhara chapter chairman of Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), some 8-9 tourist buses carry over 300 foreign tourists to the resort town every day. However, he said the number could have been more if highway transportation entrepreneurs had not prohibited tourist buses from carrying domestic tourists. Likewise, the number of tourists returning from the popular Annapurna trekking route are also increasing as Pokhara gears up for New Year celebrations. However, tourism entrepreneurs in Pokhara do not have records of Nepali tourists visiting the city. "Some 400 motorcyclists from Kathmandu will be arriving in Pokhara on Friday for the new year eve," said Bacchuram Tiwari, chairman of Pokhara Hotel Entrepreneurs' Association. The association has been organizing attractive packages, street festivals and cultural programs to make Pokhara the most sought-after destination, during the New Year. Tourists’ per day influx 1. 300 by road 2. 300 by flight 3. 250 through Annapurna trekking route 4. 100 arriving through private means and tour operators Source: Kantipur