With the announcement to begin the chartered flights from Pokhara to different cities of China from June 23 has made tourism entrepreneurs excited in the city. Addressing the 24th national conference and annual general meeting of Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) on Thursday, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Sudan Kirati announced to begin the chartered flights to different cities of China from June.

The announcement is expected to materialize the dream of Pokhara folks to start international flights from Pokhara. The Pokhara Regional International Airport was inaugurated on January 1 this year but no international flight has taken place since then.

Chairman of Pokhara Tourism Council Pom Narayan Shrestha said, “We are excited from the announcement to commence chartered flights. This will mark the beginning of the international flights. This should be implemented at any cost.” Likewise, chairman of NATTA Gandaki Province Hari Ram Adhikari said that this will be good beginning for the tourism industry and will serve as a milestone for the entire country’s tourism sector’s development. It is said that around 80 per cent of the total Chinese tourists visiting Nepal arrive in Pokhara city.