Kathmandu, May 22: Foreign tourist arrivals to Chitwan National Park have declined. Until Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May) of the last fiscal year, 100,830 foreign tourists had visited the national park, but the number dropped to 89,630 during the same period of the current fiscal year.
According to the park’s Information Officer, Avinash Thapa Magar, 18,933 tourists from SAARC countries and 81,897 tourists from other countries visited the park last year. This year, the numbers declined to 13,992 visitors from SAARC nations and 75,638 visitors from third countries.
Although foreign tourist arrivals have decreased, domestic tourism has increased compared to last year. Until Baisakh of the previous fiscal year, 103,672 Nepali tourists had visited the park, while the number rose to 137,246 during the current fiscal year, according to Information Officer Thapa Magar. He stated that the decline in foreign tourists was caused by political developments following the Gen Z demonstrations in Nepal and conflicts in Middle Eastern countries.
Thapa Magar said that domestic tourist arrivals have increased as more Nepalis have recently started traveling. He added, “The government’s decision to provide two weekly holidays may also have contributed to the rise in domestic tourists.” He informed that while 34,202 domestic tourists visited the park during Falgun, Chaitra, and Baisakh last year, the figure increased to 47,661 during the same period this year.
Tourists mainly visit the national park and surrounding buffer-zone community forests for sightseeing tours. Visitors come to enjoy elephant safaris, jeep safaris, jungle walks, and boating in the park and buffer-zone areas. He said tourists are attracted by the opportunity to observe rare one-horned rhinoceroses, Royal Bengal tigers, bears, elephants, spotted deer, gharial crocodiles, birds, plants, and reptiles in the park.
Information Officer Thapa Magar said that the park collected revenue of Rs. 230.55 million from tourists this year. According to him, Rs. 71,350 was collected from the sale of timber and firewood, Rs. 19.53 million from the sale of non-timber forest products, Rs. 1.07 million from fines and penalties, and Rs. 1.52 million from other sources.
People’s News Monitoring Service.
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