Myagdi, Nov. 28: Domestic and international tourists who visited Mustang last month spent a total of over Rs. 1 billion.

According to figures maintained by various authorities, 82,453 Nepali and foreign visitors came to this district beyond the mountains by air and land in the Nepali month of Kartik (October 18 to November 16). Of them, 73,879 Nepali citizens and 5,504 foreigners arrived in the district by road, according to the District Police Office, Mustang. 

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Bhojraj Pandey informed that 13,901 vehicles entered the district. Nearly half, 6,408, were motorcycles. “Most of the motorcycles that we registered were bullet bikes,” Pandey said.

Similarly, 3,070 people flew into the district on 254 flights in the same period, as per the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). As per the Hiron Sah of the Authority’s Mustang office, most of the air passengers were Indians. “Indian pilgrims come to pray at the Muktinath Temple,” he said.

Mohan Singh Lalchan, chairman of Gharapjhong Rural Municipality, said that the number of people visiting Muktinath, Jomsom, Kagbeni, Lo Manthang, Marpha, Thini, Dhumba Lake, Damodar Kunda Lake, Tukuche, Chhairo and other religious and natural destinations has increased.

Lalchan, who is also a tourism entrepreneur in Marpha, said that Mustang offered its visitors beautiful views of the mountains, spellbinding caves, welcoming weather, traditional lifestyle and spiritually enriching monasteries and temples.

He further revealed that each tourist spent Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 12,000 when in the district. “This means that the total tourist spending exceeded Rs. 1 billion last Nepali month.”

But Tanka Lal Shrestha, owner of Hotel Taj Mahal in Galeshwor, Beni Municipality-9, Myagdi, assumed that the amount could be greater if tourists’ spending on things like fuel, food and bus fare were taken into account. “Tour operators offer packages ranging from Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 19,000. Only taking an average of that shows that each tourist is spending more than Rs. 12,000,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Amrit Subedi, who is a tourism businessman in Muktinath, said that Mustang was welcoming over 2,000 national and international visitors every day.