The Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal (REBAN) Pokhara Chapter is organising the 24th Pokhara Street Festival from December 28.

The street festival is also the biggest cultural show in the country. The five-day-long street festival will be inaugurated by the prime minister.

The street festival will have cultural activities, local food, and a musical performance along a 3-kilometre stretch. Other activities include boat races and paragliding.

Arniko Rajbhandari, president of REBAN, said that Pokhara Street Festival has remained one of the most successful tourist programmes. He said that in this year’s edition, the association have invested Rs8 million.

“Despite a slowdown in the economy, we are organising the event expecting that it will increase economic activities,” said Rajbhandari.

REBAN is expecting around 400,000 visitors during the festival.

“The events are popular among domestic tourists. We are expecting more international tourists to celebrate the New Year,” he said.

Hotel occupancy is expected to be full during the street festival period.

Pokhara’s tourism industry depends on trekking. But during the winter, the city’s tourism takes a backseat as the hilly regions around Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and Manaslu – the major tourist destinations – get colder.

The festival was started two decades ago to tap into the possibility of attracting tourists coming downhill from their treks. Previously, foreign tourists would visit India, Thailand or their own native country to celebrate the New Year, but the festival has given them the option to stay in Pokhara.