- Written by Ambarasan Ethirajan
- bbc news
image source, Getty Images
The airport was completed in May 2022, but few tourists arrived.
The bright orange hotel sticks out as far as the eye can see, but unfortunately for owner Vishnu Sharma, few people see it.
His hotel offers breathtaking mountain views from the city of Lumbini in Nepal, the birthplace of Buddha.
But the expected surge in tourists has not materialized, in part due to tensions between Nepal’s large neighbors, India and China.
According to the Lumbini Development Trust, Lumbini had nearly 1 million visitors in 2022. And that’s the number the government was betting on when it spent $76m (£61m) building Gautam Buddha International Airport, which opened last May. .
Most of the visitors are domestic tourists, with less than a third coming from neighboring India.
Also known as Bhairahawa Airport, the terminal allows tourists to fly directly to Lumbini instead of traveling 250 km (155 miles) by land from the capital Kathmandu.
However, the expected travel boom never materialized, and travel industry experts attribute this to a lack of early promotions and incentives for international airlines.
“The government has asked us to expand our tourism infrastructure, saying there will be more international flights. But my hotel is two-thirds empty. I now have to pay off the loan. I am struggling with my finances,” Sharma told the BBC, adding that he owed millions of rupees.
image source, BBC/Ambarasan Ethirajan
Businesses in Lumbini, including Holiday Star Hotel, are expecting an influx of tourists.
Travel industry experts claim that the arrival of scheduled international flights from Bhairahawa Airport will increase the number of tourist arrivals, especially from abroad.
But Nepali officials say Delhi is refusing to allow large passenger planes to fly westward in its airspace, meaning planes cannot fly over India to reach Gautama Buddha Airport. Access to Indian airspace allows for shorter flight times and lower costs.
Some in Nepal believe that Delhi is wary of the fact that Gautama Buddha Airport was built by China’s Northwest Civil Aviation Airport.
In 2020, large-scale clashes between India and China left at least 20 soldiers dead. At the heart of their conflict is a poorly defined and poorly demarcated 3,440 km (2,100 mile) border known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The presence of rivers, lakes, and snow caps can cause lines to change. Soldiers from either side, representing his two largest armies in the world, face off at many points.
The situation at the border reflects heightened political tensions between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Officials say talks are the only way forward because both nuclear powers have much to lose. The two countries have fought war only once, in 1962, when India suffered a humiliating defeat.
Gautum Buddha Airport was supposed to be key to Nepal’s plan to increase traffic and ease the burden on Kathmandu, long the country’s only international gateway. Kathmandu Airport is extremely busy and was temporarily closed due to the 2015 earthquake.
The third international airport in Pokhara, a town with spectacular views of the Annapurna Mountains and known for its adventure sports, faces a familiar problem for Bhairahawa.
The airport, built with a $215 million loan from China, has not received any international flights since it opened in January last year, except for charter flights from Chengdu carrying Chinese officials and tourists.
Currently, Gautama Buddha and Pokhara have a combined 80-85 domestic flights per day. But experts say a significant amount of international traffic is needed to keep the terminal operating.
image source, Getty Images
Known as the birthplace of Buddha, Lumbini is a popular destination in Nepal
“I don’t think the two airports will be commercially viable with domestic flights alone,” said Tri Ratna Manandar, former director-general of Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority. “Without regular international flights, it may be difficult to repay the loan.” “No,” he says.
Pokhara International Airport Director Bikram Raj Gautam said Nepal needs “aggressive diplomacy” to persuade countries such as India to open their airspace to civil aircraft landing in Nepal.
Experts say that while Delhi’s restrictions will hinder traffic from the west, Nepal can also consider attracting tourists from the east, such as Thailand, Japan and Cambodia.
Nepal Airlines has just started weekly flights from Bhairahawa to Kuala Lumpur, which should send a positive message to other airlines, said Dipak Bajracharya, director of Gautama Buddha International Airport. told the BBC.
However, Gopal Kranti, Nepal’s Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, is optimistic that a solution can be reached with Delhi and that it will happen soon.
“We are in constant contact and dialogue with Indian officials and diplomats,” he told the BBC. “They’re very positive.”
Additional reporting by Surendra Puyal from Kathmandu