Tourist oriented hotels being added in Mustang

As the highway to Mustang becomes more accessible, more hotels are being established to accommodate tourists. According to data provided by the District Police Office, Mustang, there are currently 325 hotels operating in Jomsom, including Shintamani Resort, one of the luxury and most expensive resorts in the district. Deputy Police Chief of the District Police Office, Mustang, Surya Bahadur Bogati, stated, “There are 325 hotels operating across five local levels in Mustang. Gharpajhong Rural Municipality, the headquarters of Mustang, has 163 hotels, Varagung Muktichhetra Rural Municipality has 63, Lo-Ghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality has 30, Lo Manthang Rural Municipality has 20, and Thasang Rural Municipality has 49.”

Police data shows that Gharpajhong has the most hotels, while Lo-Ghekar has the fewest. Bogati added that the hotels in Mustang can accommodate up to 7,000 tourists at once. Most of the hotels in the area are run by the owners themselves, though some operate out of rented houses.

Bogati also pointed out that some locals believe the hotel capacity cannot keep up with the growing number of tourists, especially during the year-round favorable weather. Those who own property along the road have established hotels, but opening new hotels is difficult due to the lack of land management in suitable locations.

The construction of new hotels in Mustang has been hindered by the lack of land surveys for one percent of the total land area and the absence of provisions allowing local governments to lease unsurveyed public land. In recent times, some locals have demolished apple orchards to build hotels, as the earnings from tourism-oriented businesses are higher than those from apple cultivation.

According to records from the District Police Office, nearly 500,000 domestic and international tourists visit Mustang annually. Last year, 354,927 domestic tourists and 99,399 foreign tourists from SAARC countries and beyond visited Mustang.

With the ongoing construction of the Beni-Jomsom-Korla road, a national project, tourist arrivals to Mustang have been increasing year by year. Approximately 90 percent of the road from Ghasa, the gateway to Myagdi and Mustang, to Muktinath has already been blacktopped. The road from Kagbeni to the northern Korla border is now graveled, and concrete bridges have been built at various locations along this national pride project.