Manang, November 2
Manang is seeing a large influx of tourists says the Annapurna Area Conservation Project.
According to ACAP, nearly 10,000 foreign tourists have visited the area in the past six months.
ACAP chief Dhak Bahadur Bhujel said that the incoming tourists explored both the Annapurna Circuit and the Manaslu Circuit.
Up until mid-October, a total of 4,357 foreign tourists have entered the area. According to Bhujel, 5,395 tourists visited the region between March and August. The number of incoming tourists significantly increased this year compared to last year, he said.
“The main income source here is the tourism sector. There is low revenue collection without the arrival of tourists. The tourist sector has helped the local people sustain,” he said. The local people here are involved in the agriculture alongside hotel and tourism business.
Binod Gurung, President of the Tourism Entrepreneur Association, mentioned that local people are warmly welcoming visiting tourists with locally made food items instead of imported goods.
“This season, the arrival of visiting tourists has been significant. This has encouraged businesspersons. Nowadays, the inflow of tourists has increased,” he said.
He noted a significant increase in the number of tourists, both domestic and foreign.
“Foreign tourists have already booked hotel rooms. So, the arrangement for their stay has been ensured. On-arrival hotel booking often creates problems. I want to urge aspiring tourists to inquire about the availability of hotel rooms as they are priorly booked online.”
