KOLKATA, June 14: Tourism entrepreneurs from Nepal’s Gandaki Province have launched a promotional campaign in Kolkata aimed at attracting more Indian visitors to Pokhara, pitching the lake city as a top South Asian travel destination.
The business-to-business networking event, held under the “Pokhara Nepal Promotion Campaign 2026”, brought together tourism stakeholders from Nepal and India’s West Bengal, laying the groundwork for closer tourism cooperation between the two destinations.
Indian travel industry representatives attending the event described Pokhara as one of South Asia’s premier tourist destinations and pledged to send more Indian tourists to Nepal in the coming years.
Addressing the gathering, Nepali Consul General in Kolkata, Jhak Prasad Acharya, said tourism serves not only as a travel industry but also as a bridge connecting Nepal and India through friendship, culture and economic prosperity. He noted that geographical proximity, cultural similarities and long-standing historical ties between Nepal and West Bengal provide a strong foundation for expanding tourism.
NATTA Gandaki President Kishor Dahal said Indian tourism businesses had shown strong interest in Pokhara and other destinations across Gandaki Province. He expressed confidence that the campaign would help boost tourist arrivals from India.
Program coordinator Sangita Poudel described Kolkata and West Bengal as highly promising markets for Nepal’s tourism sector. Direct engagement and stronger networking with Indian travel operators, she said, could open the door to greater business collaboration.
Former Pokhara Tourism Council president and former NATTA chief Pomanarayan Shrestha said ties between Pokhara and Kolkata extend beyond tourism and are rooted in cultural and people-to-people connections. He argued that direct flights between the two cities could generate significant benefits for both sides.
Rajesh Pahari, second vice president of NATTA Gandaki and deputy coordinator of the event, highlighted improvements in Nepal-India road connectivity. Indian tourists can now travel to Pokhara more easily using rental vehicles or their own private cars, making the destination more accessible, he said.
Kaushik Banerjee, president of ETAA Eastern Chapter, called Pokhara an attractive destination for Indian travellers. He said cooperation between tourism businesses in West Bengal and Gandaki Province would help increase tourist exchanges. The open border, cultural closeness and short travel distance between Nepal and India create major opportunities for tourism growth, he added.
Representatives from several Indian tourism bodies, including the Tour Operators Welfare Association, Indian Association of Tour Operators, Travel Agents Association of Bengal, Association of Buddhist Tour Operators and Association of Tourism Service Providers of Bengal, attended the event.
Participants stressed that direct Pokhara-Kolkata flights could significantly increase tourist arrivals from West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and northeastern India. They also pledged to collaborate on joint tourism packages covering Pokhara, Muktinath, Lumbini, Chitwan and the Annapurna region.
According to NATTA General Secretary Chetan Karki, stakeholders agreed to work together on promoting these integrated travel products.
Tourism entrepreneurs concluded that the Kolkata event marked a new chapter in tourism cooperation between Pokhara and West Bengal. They expect direct engagement, package exchanges and business partnerships to draw more Indian tourists to Pokhara in the years ahead.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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