Editing Kathmandu (section)

=== Tourism ===
[[File:Shanker.jpg|thumb|[[Hotel Shanker]] is one of the city's popular heritage hotels]]

[[Tourism in Nepal]] is considered an important industry. In 1956, air transportation was established and the construction of [[Tribhuvan Highway]], between Kathmandu and [[Raxaul]], was started. Separate organizations were created in Kathmandu to promote the tourism industry, including the [[Nepal Tourism Board|Tourism Development Board]], the Department of Tourism, and the [[Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal|Civil Aviation Department]]. Furthermore, Nepal became a member of several international tourist associations. Establishing diplomatic relations with other nations further accentuated this activity. The hotel industry, travel agencies, the training of tourist guides, and targeted publicity campaigns are the chief reasons for the significant growth of this industry in Nepal and in Kathmandu in particular.<ref name="Shrestha p.86-89">Shrestha pp. 86–89</ref>

Tourism is a major source of income for most of the people in the city, with several hundred thousand visitors annually. Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world visit Kathmandu's religious sites such as [[Pashupatinath Temple]], [[Swayambhunath]], [[Boudhanath]], [[Changu Narayan Temple]], and [[Budhanilkantha Temple]]. From a mere 6,179 tourists in 1961/62, the number increased to 491,504 in 1999/2000. In economic terms, the foreign exchange registered 3.8 percent of the GDP in 1995/96 but then started declining. Following the end of [[Nepalese Civil War]], there was a significant rise in the number of tourist arrivals, with 509,956 tourists recorded in 2009. Since then, tourism has improved as the country transitioned into a republic. The high level of tourism is attributed to the natural grandeur of the Himalayas and the cultural heritage of the country which is continuously preserved and restored at great cost.<ref name="Shrestha p.86-89" />

[[File:Hyatt Regency Kathmandu Hotel.jpg|thumb|left|[[Hyatt Regency Kathmandu]]]]
The neighbourhood of [[Thamel]] is Kathmandu's primary go-to place for tourists and is widely regarded as the center of Kathmandu's nightlife, packed with guest houses, restaurants, shops, and bookstores, catering to tourists. Another neighbourhood of growing popularity is Jhamel, a name for Jhamsikhel that was coined to rhyme with Thamel.<ref>{{cite news |title=Thamel |newspaper=Nepali Times |url=http://www.nepalitimes.com/issue/2010/01/22/LifeTimes/16741 |access-date=12 March 2012 |archive-date=10 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110135408/http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16741 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Old Freak Street|Jhochhen Tol]], also known as ''Freak Street'' remains a traveler haunt. This original meeting place for international guests in Kathmandu became known in the 1960s and 1970s through [[folklore]] told by [[hippie]]s in Europe and North America.<ref>{{cite news |title=Nepal |publisher=Institute for Global Studies |url=https://gointern.com/nepal/ |access-date=7 November 2024 }}</ref>

[[File:Agni Bhawan (Hotel Shanker, Kathmandu after 1964).jpg|thumb|right|Official photo of Agni Bhawan from the 1920s, now part of Hotel Shanker Kathmandu]]
With the opening of the tourist industry after the change in the political scenario of Nepal in 1950, the hotel industry drastically improved.<ref name="Shrestha p.86-87">Shrestha pp. 86–87</ref> Now Kathmandu boasts several luxury hotels with some including casinos. [[Asan, Kathmandu|Ason]] is a bazaar and ceremonial square on the old trade route to Tibet.<ref>{{cite news |title=Nepal |publisher=Institute for Global Studies |url=https://gointern.com/nepal/ |access-date=7 November 2024 }}</ref>