Tourism service fee charged to tourists visiting Bhaktapur district has increased by double in the fiscal year 2016/17 as compared to fiscal year 2015/16.

Tourism officer of Bhaktapur Municipality, Gautam Prasad Lasiwa, said that the Municipality has earned Rs 199 million in tourism fee during the period. It had earned Rs 109 million in the fiscal year 2015/16. A total of 189,350 tourists visited Bhaktapur in the fiscal year 2016/17.

The Municipality has been charging entry fee from around 14 entry points from the tourists visiting Bhaktapur city. It has been charging Rs 500 each from tourists of South Asian countries including China.

The number of tourists visiting Bhaktapur has also increased, which is a rise by 90.78 per cent in compared to the previous years. Tourist arrival had been severely affected following the April 2015 earthquake.

Tourism service fee is the major source of domestic income for Bhaktapur municipality, which is also being used to run 6 colleges along with the preservation work. RSS