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Studies on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic show that the tourism industry has faced a significant economic downturn. As it has nearly been two years since the pandemic began, businesses are showing some signs of recovery. However, tourism in Pokhara is still struggling to recover. Despite the efforts of tourism organizations, stakeholders, and professionals to revive their businesses, they currently find themselves in circumstances worse than before the covid outbreak. Businesspeople, who reported significant losses during the pandemic, feel they have been ignored by government authorities despite being one of the major taxpayers in Pokhara. Closure of many hotels, unfavorable monetary policies, and the loss of skilled employees to other professions have emerged as some of the major challenges in tourism revival in Pokhara. The city is known as the starting point for renowned trekking destinations in the Annapurna Region. Before the pandemic, nearly 1,600 guides and porters were employed by 165 trekking agencies to serve tourists. However, about 50 percent of them have left their jobs due to low pay during the pandemic. About a quarter of trekking agencies have also shut down due to the pandemic. Many have gone abroad for jobs, while some have shifted to agricultural works or started private businesses. Krishna Acharya, vice-president of the Trekking Agents Association of Nepal (TAAN), Gandaki Province, said it would be challenging to operate groups in trekking areas once tourists start coming. To recover from this problem, TAAN has initiated efforts to produce more trekking guides by providing training to newcomers. But these efforts have not been successful due to policy difficulties in technical education and vocational training, he added. As umbrella organizations of businesses, associations like TAAN are unable to manage resources for post-pandemic recovery programs. The reason is that they are already suffering from financial losses and dealing with their own private loans. Almost all tourism stakeholders in Pokhara are similarly unable to take action to recover from the pandemic on their own. The hotel industry is another key indicator of the post-pandemic tourism status of Pokhara. There were almost 1,500 hotels in the Pokhara valley, including the Lakeside area, about half of them registered. Approximately 20 percent of these hotels did not renew after the pandemic and were displaced from the business due to the pandemic-caused financial turmoil. Laxman Subedi, president of Western Regional Hotel Association, says more than half of the hotels in Pokhara are run using bank loans. “However, the monetary policy for loans has remained unchanged since the pandemic and interest rates have doubled. This is causing even established hotels to close.” About 60 percent of hotel employees have lost their jobs, while 30 percent have left the country for employment, stakeholders say. The hotel association too is planning to produce more skilled employees. “But there is a need to lobby hard for lowering bank rates first,” Subedi said. Hotel professionals have not been heard by the government despite frequent demands to make (issuance of) bank loans more convenient for tourism entrepreneurs, according to Subedi. Similarly, records at Nepal Association for Tours and Travel Agencies (NATTA) Gandaki Province show about 25 percent of travel agencies in the Pokhara valley have shut down due to the pandemic. The organization is currently seeking collaboration with government or non-government partners to develop innovative packages for domestic tourists. "The covid pandemic has taught us not to rely solely on the arrival of foreign tourists. That is why we are focusing on domestic tourists while preparing travel packages," Hari Ram Adhikari, president of NATTA Gandaki Province, said. On the other hand, the future of paragliding—one of the major pull factors in Pokhara—is becoming uncertain as operators struggle to find suitable ‘take-off’ points after the Pokhara International Airport started operation. The government has told paragliding operators to move to new locations for safety reasons. Madhav Tiwari, an established paragliding pilot and former secretary of Nepal Air Sports Association, said: "We have been asked to relocate take-off points to facilitate smooth operation of the airport. But they are asking us to do that using our own resources.”

A large number of young people gathered on the streets around Begnas Lake, the second largest lake in Pokhara, last month. They carried posters and chanted slogans, urging authorities to prioritize the development of the Begnas Lake area. Over 300 youths from the Lekhnath Municipality participated in the rally which ended with a picnic at the dam side. Every year, the local youths organize ‘Hamro Begnas, Ramro Begnas’ (Our Begnas, Beautiful Begnas) campaign to raise awareness and draw the authorities concerned for the development of the Begnas lake area. The campaign was started three years ago by young people from diverse backgrounds and has since become a prominent movement among local youths. During the event, the participants shared their grievances with the local government, stating that it has not shown enough concern for improving the livelihoods of local people by utilizing Begnas Lake. Nawaraj Ojha, the coordinator of the campaign, stated that they have come together not only to support the government but also to hold it accountable. Every year, when the new year starts, local youths gather to discuss ways for tourism promotion in the area. They regularly organize a picnic as a major platform for exploring the interests and priorities of local youth. During the picnic, participants share ideas on ways to utilize the lake and surrounding natural scenery for overall development. The youths collect the ideas shared during the picnic and make plans for tourism development. Despite facing procedural challenges as a non-registered organization, they aim to implement these plans not only in the Begnas Lake area but also in other lakes in Pokhara. Coordinator Ojha stated that they plan to complete the registration process by the end of the quarter, in order to move forward with implementing the planned programs. 'We have organized many programs in the past three years, but due to being a non-registered organization, we have encountered difficulties,' he said. “Despite these efforts, stakeholders have not taken any action,” Surendra Babu Tiwari, one of the initiators of the campaign and an assistant professor at Pokhara University. Tiwari stated that after collecting views and studying the potential for tourism development around Begnas Lake, the campaign has made presentations to local bodies and stakeholders. The members of the campaign want their region to become a highly popular tourist destination in Kaski. That is why they are advocating for quick action from local authorities to harness the beauty of Begnas Lake and its surrounding biodiversity. Among others, they want a ring road around the lake, preservation of indigenous species and plant life, and the development of income-generating agricultural activities in the villages surrounding the lake. Additionally, they are pushing for better infrastructure, including footpaths and smooth roads. To achieve these goals, over 200 young people have joined forces with the initiators of the campaign to form a formal organization to advocate for tourism promotion. The ‘Hamro Begnas, Ramro Begnas’ campaign has been a successful effort by local youths to raise awareness about the development and preservation of the Begnas Lake and its surrounding area. With the increased participation of local youths, the campaign is hopeful of bringing positive changes to the existing way of doing development work in the area.

Pokhara International Airport was recently inaugurated with fanfare.  There was a large turnout of locals and stakeholders. The event included a morning rally participated in by over 100 schools, community groups, women's groups, and other social organizations. Approximately 10,000 local people took part in the inauguration. The inauguration of the international airport was a significant event for the local community, as many residents shared pictures of the ceremony on social media. The event led to an increase in discussions and conversations in public places, as people hoped for new opportunities in tourism and overall development. People were optimistic that an inflow of more tourism will improve Pokhara’s economy. However, the joy was short-lived as a tragic plane crash near the airport caused a significant loss of lives. This incident raised many questions about the safety and utilization of air travel in Pokhara, turning the celebration into mourning. Earlier this week, an ATR 72-500 of Yeti Airlines crashed at Seti Gorge in Pokhara-15 while attempting to land. While the cause of the crash is still under investigation, it has led to local residents expressing their concerns about the safety and sustainability of the airport. Grief and sorrow have spread among the community as they come to terms with the tragic event. Geographically, Pokhara is a place with many gorges carved by the Seti River and it has been identified as a risk area for the cryosphere due to the effects of climate change. Additionally, recent years have seen an increase in business and urbanization in the area. Pokhara is also known for its high-income residents, such as the Sherpa, Thakali, and Lahure communities. Furthermore, Nepal Tourism Board reports that nearly 40% of all tourists in Nepal visit Pokhara every year, making air travel a popular choice among locals. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), Pokhara airport is the second busiest in the country after Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. The crash site is a place of mourning, as relatives of the victims search for the remains of their loved ones. The hospital where post-mortem examinations are being conducted is also a place of sorrow, as families from faraway districts wait for days to see and claim the bodies of their loved ones. The community is also in mourning as locals express their condolences on social media and take part in condolence rallies. About a quarter of the victims have been identified so far. DNA testing is underway at the hospital and relatives are waiting anxiously for news, keeping watch at the entry gate of the hospital ignoring their own needs for food and shelter. Many stakeholders have taken various decisions in response to the tragedy. Social organizations in Pokhara have published formal and informal condolences. Rupa Rural Municipality of Kaski, which is the hometown of the late Captain Kamal KC, has decided to construct a memorial park with a statue of the pilot. The municipality has also lit up its wards in memory of the victims and to express their condolences. "Maybe I will not travel by air until complete security is ensured," said Santosh Poudel, a resident of Pokhara-11, Fulbari, as he sat with friends discussing the recent plane crash. His sentiment was echoed by his friends, who also expressed doubts about the suitability of the aircraft for Pokhara.  Similarly, Shree Ram Kandel, a resident of Pokhara-31, shared that he had decided to choose to travel by tourist bus, even in case of emergencies. Laxmi Dhakal of Pokhara-10, Budhha Chowk shared that she never expected the joy of the airport's inauguration to turn into such a tragic event so quickly. Jamuna Sharma of Pokhara-6, Lakeside, expressed her worries about how she will manage her busy schedule as a social worker who frequently travels to different districts. She said that people have no other options but to travel by air as people are getting increasingly busy. "I am just praying that such accidents do not happen again," she said. Similarly, Sushil Bastola of Pokhara-30, Sishuwa, shared that he had abandoned his plans to go abroad after feeling excited about the international airport as a major path to development in Pokhara. He expressed his concerns about how the airport will handle such problems in the future. Local residents also speculate that the accident may have been caused by birds flying on the runway. Hemanta Dhakal, a resident of Pokhara-14, Chauthe, said that if the problem of the birds' habitat and the garbage dump near the airport is resolved completely, it could prevent such accidents from happening in the future. Tourism stakeholders in the lake city underline the need to change the public perception and make flying safe but are still unsure about what mechanisms need to be put in place. However, they are hopeful that people will soon forget this tragic crash. "Accidents happen not only in air travel, so it should not be an issue. Instead, collective efforts to solve the problems are needed," Pom Narayan Shrestha, Chairperson of the Pokhara Tourism Council, said.

In its attempt to make the Lake City cleaner, Pokhara Metropolitan Office plans to set up public toilets in a number of places within the city. As part of efforts to implement the declaration of an open defecation-free area, the city authority is immediately constructing a large-scopes public toilet at Mahendrapool, a central market, with the main aim of catering to tourists. Business houses and a few social organizations in the city have been allowing tourists to use their restrooms, in accordance with a decision reached at a meeting of the metropolis’ executive committee last June. Some years back, Kaski was declared open defecation-free, becoming Nepal’s first district to earn the badge. Since then, the city has felt the need to set up public restrooms. “Now we are going to implement the declaration,” Mayor of Pokhara, Dhana Raj Aacharya, said. Till now, there are only 60 small restrooms available for use. This has been made possible in collaboration with private business organizations. “But these facilities are not enough for the tourist hub.” Non-Resident Nepali Association ( NRNA ) is making 60 percent of the Rs 10m investment required to build a well-facilitated public restroom that can cater to a large number of visitors, while the metropolis will foot the rest of the cost. The metropolitan authorities plan to start construction work immediately and complete it within three months. An agreement to build a well-facilitated public restroom has already been signed. Ward-9 office of the metropolis plans to develop an international flag park and a public coffee house close to the restroom at Mahendrapool. The flag park will sport flags of United Nations member-states. The coffee house will offer a taste of local agricultural produce. Ward-9 Chair Dipendra Marsani expressed hope that the new infrastructure will bring in more tourists and contribute positively to the livelihoods of local people. The metropolis is moving ahead with the aim of developing Pokhara as the national tourism capital by further sanitizing the local environment, Marsani said, describing the public restroom as a major need. Pokhara ward-9 office has just destroyed existing structures spread on almost a ropani of land at Mahendrapool by ignoring some local disputes. Pokhara is an area full of wetlands, lakes, rivers and forests teeming with indigenous plants and animals. “So, to protect the ecosystem, we need to keep it sanitized,”  Ward Chair Marsani said.

The people of Pokhara have been waiting for their city to be formally declared as the tourism capital of the country for nearly half a decade. Both the government and the people's representatives here desire rapid development in Pokhara through tourism, while tourism professionals hope to grow their businesses with the implementation of tourism-related projects in the area. Four years have passed since the Gandaki Province Government sent a request to the federal government, but there has been no response yet. It seems that these aspirations may remain just an imagination for a few more months or years. A study of facts upon which the provincial government and local bodies based their plan to make Pokhara a tourism hub shows no research has been conducted on this front yet. This raises concerns about the feasibility and sustainability of the plan. The talks of making Pokhara the tourism capital of the country have become a tool for people's representatives to convince the public of rapid development. People's representatives frequently mention it during formal ceremonies as a way to demonstrate their commitment to the community. However, the lack of study on the feasibility and sustainability of the plan raises questions about whether it is truly achievable. "We are preparing to declare Pokhara as the tourism capital of the country very soon, which will add significant value to your business as well," Mayor of Pokhara Metropolitan City, Dhana Raj Aacharya, said during a program organized by hotel professionals at Begnas Lake a few days ago. In response to the curiosity of locals about how people's representatives plan to utilize the natural resources available in Pokhara, Mayor Acharya said that if Pokhara becomes a formal tourism hub, it will open the way for many more fast-tracked projects. However, in the absence of authentic research on the feasibility and sustainability of such a plan, it is unclear whether these projects will truly benefit the community. Other people's representatives also make similar statements when addressing tourism-related programs. The Chief Minister and other members of the province cabinet have also been saying the same. However, it is uncertain whether these statements are grounded in reality or simply empty promises. In 2019, the Office of the Chief Minister submitted a formal request to the federal cabinet for the declaration of Pokhara as the tourism capital of the country. However, the federal cabinet has not yet responded to this request. It is unclear when a decision might be made. At the end of 2021, the newly formed coalition government also passed a letter with the same purpose to the federal government. "The second request to declare Pokhara as the tourism capital of the country also remains unanswered," said Chief Minister of Gandaki Province Krishna Chandra Nepali. According to him, the declaration would greatly benefit the people of the area, not only by increasing the value of their property, but also by creating additional employment opportunities. Stakeholders argue that the natural heritage, trekking routes, and high mountain peaks found in Pokhara make it an ideal location for a tourism hub. "That is why the idea of making Pokhara a tourism capital was developed," said former minister for the Gandaki Province Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment Bikash Lamsal. According to Lamsal, the provincial government decided to make Pokhara the tourism capital of the country in 2019 after studying proposals from tourism-related organizations and listening to the experiences of tourism professionals. However, the plan was delayed due to the covid pandemic and the subsequent change in government. According to the Status Paper of Gandaki Province Policy and Planning Commission published in 2019, almost 40% of the total tourists visiting Nepal come to Pokhara. The average stay of tourists in Pokhara is typically three days, which the provincial government hopes to increase to at least one week. The data in the Status Paper was reportedly based on reports from tourism-related organizations and the experiences of tourism entrepreneurs. There is no authentic data on the number of tourists visiting Pokhara. This lack of local data raises concerns about the accuracy and reliability of the information used to support the plan to make Pokhara the tourism capital of the country. Lack of Data It is important to identify the volume of tourists as well as their interests in order to provide appropriate facilities and calculate the economic value of their visit. However, Pokhara's tourism has not yet been formally counted, as the city is still in the process of developing hotel standards and promoting local culture and cuisines. Both the province and local governments are relying on secondary sources for data on the potential of Pokhara as the country’s tourism capital. However, there is no staff or research dedicated to collecting data on the opportunities and facilities available to tourists in Pokhara. Until now, tourist data has been collected from three entry points and police checkpoints in Muglin, Galyang, and Pokhara Airport. The collection of data began in 2019 at the initiative of the provincial tourism ministry when the nation was preparing for the Visit Nepal Year 2020 tourism promotional campaign. However, the data collection relies on the oral inquiries of police personnel at the checkpoints and lacks authenticity, as there is no standardized method for identifying tourists. Tourists are only recorded if they are foreign and this information is obtained orally from bus drivers and conductors. Additionally, data on the number of tourists visiting Pokhara is also obtained from the counters of Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP). However, this data does not provide a complete picture as it only accounts for those coming for trekking purposes.

Pokhara Regional International Airport is set to celebrate its formal opening with the start of the year 2023. On Jan 1, an international flight is set to make its first touchdown on the airport’s runway. Binish Munakarmi, chief of the airport project, says aside from a few technical and logistical bumps that need smoothing, they are ready to launch the airport by the set deadline. The airport has been a long time coming. Its genesis goes back to the early 1970s when the government acquired land for the project. But the actual work would not start until 2016 due to decades-long political, bureaucratic and financial hurdles. Pokhara, the city of lakes, is one of the most visited tourist destinations of Nepal. It is the gateway to the Annapurna mountain region that draws tens of thousands of foreign trekkers every year.  So, naturally, opening an international airport in the city is only a matter of common sense. More tourists equals more revenue, but there is a catch. The $300m Pokhara airport project was built with a $209m soft loan from China’s Export-Import Bank (Exim). As per agreement, 25 percent of this loan is interest free and the remaining lending is pegged at an interest rate of 2 percent, which is higher than that of other multinational financial institutions. Besides Exim, Asian Development Bank and OPEC Fund for International Development have also supported the airport project in the forms of loans and grants. Understandably, there is the excitement that Pokhara is finally opening its own international airport, but there is also the anxiety of financial sustainability. Nepal will have to start paying back Exim from March 2023. To date, there is no clarity as to how the loan will be repaid. The main sources of income are landing charge and rentals. But the expected revenue will be insufficient to repay the loan. Anup Raj Joshi, the airport spokesperson, says they plan to raise flight numbers—both international and domestic—and include night flights to generate revenue. Officials expect to earn Rs 250m from domestic flights alone. But this is just a projection and it remains to be translated into reality. And even if the airport did make the projected turnover, it will be only enough to cover the maintenance and operation costs. There will be other additional expenses as well. Sabin Phuyal, senior accounts officer of the airport, says the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) would cover those expenses. So far, Himalaya Airlines of China and Jazeera Airways of Kuwait are the only international carriers that have agreed to launch flights to and from Pokhara. No other international airlines have signed formal agreements to connect their flights with Pokhara Regional International Airport. Jagannath Niraula, CAAN spokesperson, says they are hopeful more international airlines will sign agreements once the airport is up and running. He believes that Pokhara airport is more viable than two other international airports of Nepal. Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport is the oldest and the busiest airport in Nepal. The second, Bhairahawa’s Gautam Buddha International Airport, which launched its international flight services in May, is struggling to attract both flights and passengers. There is a clear lack of inter-agency coordination and communication on how to increase the number of flights in the new airport. The city’s tourism potential is the key to the success of the airport but throughout the airport development project, the local tourism council has largely stood on the margins. Pom Narayan Shrestha, chairman of Pokhara Tourism Council, says they have more recently participated in interactions with CAAN, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and other concerned bodies in regards to the launch ceremony of the airport. If the airport and CAAN officials are willing, he says they are ready to make contributions from their side. Krishna Acharya, a local tour operator, says they have not received any call for support from concerned authorities. Annapurna Conservation Area attracts a great number of foreign trekkers every year. Pokhara is the main starting point for travelers visiting the area, but the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), which looks after the overall aspects of this protected area, does not know what is going on with the airport. Raj Kumar Gurung, who heads the Pokhara office of ACAP, says they are rarely invited to the meetings concerning the airport development. Kashi Raj Bhandari, director of NTB Gandaki Province Office, admits they could not promote the airport from the tourism development aspect as well as they would have liked. Still, he is optimistic about more international airlines connecting their flights to Pokhara in the near future.  In order to promote international flights and bring in more tourists, he says NTB Gandaki Province Office and CAAN are already in talks with almost a dozen international airlines. Not everyone shares Bhandari’s optimism of Pokhara international airport becoming a success, at least not in the short term. It is going to be a long haul journey to success.