अर्थ प्रणाली 
Kathmandu. International Balloon Festival will be organized for the first time in Nepal in the tourism capital of Pokhara. It was informed at the announcement meeting held in the capital today that the festival is going to be held from December 24th to January 1st on the occasion of Christmas and English New Year organized by Balloon Nepal Pvt Ltd. The festival will be held in an area of three kilometers from Lauruk to Changkhpur in Pokhara’s Pame area. Nepal Balloon Pvt. Ltd. President Bikram Bade informed that the necessary preparations for the festival are underway. According to him, the festival, which is being organized for the first time in Nepal, aims to have the participation of commercial balloon companies from around 30 countries including Nepal. He informed that the festival is going to be organized with the aim of promoting the tourism of the tourist city of Pokhara and Nepal as a whole and promoting it at the international level. “The festival is going to be organized in the tourism capital Pokhara for the development of adventure tourism, to increase the number of domestic and foreign tourists, it is expected that the tourism sector will become more active”, said President Bade.
He said that they expect that a new dimension will be added to Pokhara’s tourism through the festival and that it will increase tourism activities. He expressed confidence that the festival will be effective in making the country’s tourism, which has slowed down after the Corona epidemic, continue and attract more new domestic and foreign tourists to Pokhara. Speaking at the event, Dhanraj Acharya, head of Pokhara Metropolitan Municipality, expressed his happiness that a new program has been added to Pokhara’s tourism calendar and expressed his commitment to remain the protector and promoter of the metropolitan program.
Gyanendra Bhul, information officer of Nepal Civil Aviation Authority, expressed his happiness while mentioning that the festival is in the interest of the country’s tourism sector. “All air sports adventures have started from Pokhara. No matter what field we work in, they are all for the national interest. Therefore, the ‘International Balloon Festival’ which is going to be organized in Pokhara will also help the overall tourism promotion of Nepal.will come.” The director of the company, Vivi Dhakal, said that a new dimension will be added to Pokhara’s tourism through the festival. “Pokhara, which is rich in natural resources and facilities, is becoming a destination for adventure tourism recently. In this context, we believe that the balloon festival will be more helpful in making Pokhara an adventure tourist destination”, he said. Saying that the program will provide a new experience to domestic and foreign tourists coming to Pokhara, Sabin Maharjan, Managing Director of Balloon Nepal, expressed confidence that the program will promote economic development of the region, cultural exchange as well as expansion of diplomatic relations with different countries. “Through the festival, the aim is to revive Nepal’s tourism sector after the Covid epidemic, and we believe that it will help economically the businesses such as hotels and restaurants in Pokhara. In addition, the festival will promote the culture and tradition of Nepal at the international level”, said Deepak Kumar Shrestha of Balloon Nepal. In 1972, the Abu Dhabi International Balloon Fiesta was first held in America. About 500 hot air balloons fly in this festival held in New Mexico every year. More than 1 million tourists from all over the world attend the festival.
Apart from that, the Balloon Festival established in Bristol, England in 1979 is also famous all over the world. Apart from that, Saga International Balloon Fiesta in Japan, Mondial Air Balloons Event in France, Cappadocia International Balloon Festival in Turkey are among the major balloon festivals in the world. According to the organizers, professional pilots representing different countries will fly hot air balloons every day during the festival period in the morning, afternoon and evening. There will be around 500 commercial flights during the week-long festival. About three thousand people are expected to take the flight. There will be around 300 non-commercial flights during the festival. There will also be a mini balloon show in Pokhara on the occasion of the festival. During this period, there will be performances by various famous national and local artists. There will be many balloon flights at the same time in the festival, so the excitement will be different. On this occasion, traditional and original culture of Nepal and cultural exhibitions brought from different countries will also be held and apart from that, various delicious food dishes as well as entertaining tourist activities will also be available in the festival.
It is estimated by the organizers that 6 crore 82 lakh 30 thousand rupees will be spent to organize the festival. Hot air balloons usually have a long flight of: 40 minutes. During the flight, one can see a panoramic view of the Pokhara Valley with snow ranges including Annapurna, Machhapuchhre and Dhaulagiri. In addition to the breathtaking view of sunrise and sunset, night balloon glows, 20-minute fire works every day, balloon races, concerts, various games, food courts, cultural dances, DJ music and night camps will also be seen. Balloon Nepal Pvt Ltd, established in 2073, has been flying commercial hot air balloons in Pokhara since 2075. The company completed the ‘International Balloon Fiesta’ in Thailand last February.Participation in 2024′ has already been announced. On that occasion, the Chairman of Pokhara Tourism Council, Taranath Pahadi said that he is ready to make the entire Pokhareli tourism festival a success. On that occasion, Suman Pandey, Vice President of Pacific Asia Travel Association, Rajendra Sapkota, President of National Tourism Business Association, Bimala Bhandari, Press Registrar of Gandaki Province and others expressed their belief that the program will promote adventure tourism not only in Pokhara but also in Nepal as a whole in the international arena.
