Domestic tourism in the festive season provides some succour for the industry

With no foreign tourists, only 25 percent of restaurants in Pokhara are operating while in Chitwan, footfalls are only a third compared to previous years, service providers say.

Hari Kharel, a businessman from Jhapa, decided to go on a tour immediately after the Dashain festival—eight months after the Covid-19 pandemic forced the world to remain indoors.