Trekker numbers in Annapurna region reach pre-covid levels

The number of trekkers visiting the Annapurna Conservation Area has bounced back and reached the pre-covid levels.

A total of 172,108 trekkers visited the area in the fiscal year 2022/23, according to Rabin Kadariya, the information officer of the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP). This figure comes close to the pre-covod record of 183,357 trekkers in 2018/19. This is the highest footfall the area has seen so far

After the outbreak, however, trekker numbers dropped to 104,165 trekkers in 2019/20 and a meager 4,916 in 2020/21 during the peak of the pandemic. However, there was a positive resurgence, with numbers picking up to 75,824 in 2021/22. In the fiscal year 2022/23, ACAP generated Rs 299.43m (including VAT) from permit fees.

As only the ACAP and Pokhara International Airport records the number of tourists visiting Pokhara, the exact number of foreign tourists visiting Gandaki Province is not precisely known. The provincial tourism ministry had initiated the registration of foreign tourists two years before the covid pandemic, but it has been discontinued now.

With the commencement of construction on Pokhara International Airport, tourism entrepreneurs have made substantial investments in various tourism infrastructures such as hotels, restaurants, and several adventure activities. The hotel industry alone received investments of over Rs 100bn in the past five years, according to Laxman Subedi, president of Pashchimanchal Hotel Song Pokhara, the industry lobby representing hotels operating in Pokhara and its surrounding areas.