Thamel wears deserted look

Thamel -the major tourist hub in Kathmandu -has seen a drop in the number of tourists in recent days, causing worries to the entrepreneurs and business owners in the area.
Although the UCPNMaoist withdrew the sixday long general strike on May 7, the presence of tourists in Thamel had thinned out since last two weeks.

Shekhar Adhikari -proprietor of Kurathai Restaurant -a famous eatery in Thamel, expressed anxiety over the dwindling tourism business even during the peak season and blamed the political instability for hurting the sector. He said his restaurant used to have business worth Rs 50,000 on a normal day but it has now dropped to Rs 5,000 per day due to the deteriorating situation.

Shiva Marhattha who has been selling the traditional Thanka art at Thamel since the last few years lamented that his business has seen a sharp decline over the last three weeks. "Now it will be difficult for him to even make up for the heavy losses suf fered due to the protracted general strike," he added.
Tourism entrepreneurs here have expressed fears that the protracted general strike ahead of the tourism year will send out negative messages to the incoming tourists which might further hit the already sagging tourism industry.

Meanwhile, the number of tourists visiting Bhaktapur has increased this year compared with previous year, the Bhaktapur Municipality said.

Chief at the Bhaktapur Municipality tourism centre, Damodar Suwal said a total of 112,684 foreign tourists visited Bhaktapur during last Nepali year ending on April 13.

This number does not include tourists from the SAARC countries.

Suwal said altogether 44,443 tourists from SAARC countries visited the ancient town last year alone. Tourists come to Bhaktapur mainly for observing the local historical and cultural heritage. The main tourism destinations in Bhaktapur are the famous Nyatapola Temple, the Bhairab Temple, Durbar Square, the fifty-five Window Palace, the Golden Gate, the Dattatraya Square and many more.