Pokhara/kathmandu, March 20 -- Tourism entrepreneurs in Pokhara are proving to be rather enterprising. With the government failing to attract international flights to the new airport in Nepal's tourism capital, they have taken it upon themselves to bring the facility into use, starting with charter flights.

The Pokhara Tourism Council, an umbrella organisation of tourism entrepreneurs, has partnered with China's Sichuan Airlines to launch charter flights between Chengdu, China, and Pokhara, Nepal. The first flight arrived on Tuesday, bringing 128 passengers from Sichuan Province.

The aircraft returned to Chengdu with 126 Nepali passengers the same day.

Entrepreneurs see this as just the beginning.

Baburam Pandey, acting president of t...