KATHMANDU, Oct 2 : Nepal Balloon is organising the International Balloon Festival in Pokhara, featuring 30 countries from December 24 to January 1, coinciding with Christmas and New Year, media reports said.
The festival will cover a stretch of three kilometres, from Lauruk in Pokhara to Chankhapur in Pame, the Kathmandu Post reported.
Bikram Bade, president of Nepal Balloon, said that preparations are underway for the first-ever festival of its kind in Nepal.
According to Bade, the festival will feature 30 commercial balloon companies from around the world, including Nepal. “The festival aims to promote tourism in Pokhara and Nepal at the international level, while also advancing adventure tourism,” the Kathmandu Post quoted Bade.
The festival is anticipated to attract more tourists, thereby boosting Nepal’s tourism sector post-Covid, the reports said.
Bade expressed optimism that the festival would add a new dimension to Pokhara’s tourism and boost tourism activities in the region.
He emphasised that the event will be instrumental in reactivating the tourism sector, which has slowed down due to the pandemic, and in attracting a new wave of domestic and foreign visitors.
According to reports, Dhanraj Acharya, the mayor of Pokhara Metropolitan City, expressed enthusiasm for the festival and pledged his support as a protector and promoter of similar events in the city.
During the Pokhara festival, professional pilots representing different countries will fly hot air balloons daily, with around 500 commercial flights and 3,000 passengers expected, along with 300 non-commercial flights.
The festival, estimated to cost Rs 68.3 million, is expected to significantly boost Pokhara’s post-pandemic tourism recovery, the reports added.
(UNI)
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