Chitwan, April 17 Tourism industry, which had received a huge blow after the earthquakes and blockade at various Nepal-India border points, is slowly getting back on its feet in Chitwan. According to Hotel Jungle Crown Sauraha chairperson Tilchandra Bhattarai, the Nepali New Year brought a new hope for tourism entrepreneurs. “At a time when the industry was ailing for long, the New Year has revived our hopes as we have been witnessing a sudden rise in the number of domestic as well as foreign tourists,” said Bhattarai, expressing hope for better times ahead for the tourism industry. Sauraha chairperson of Regional Hotel Association Gyanendra Kumar Bista, on his part, expressed happiness at the flow of large number of domestic visitors, who came to Chitwan from Kathmandu on the occasion of New Year. “We received many visitors from Pokhara and other places in western Nepal,” said Bista, adding that all rooms of 50 of the 100 best hotels in Sauraha were booked. He added that 60 per cent of the visitors were domestic tourists. He also noted that the number of Indian tourists arriving in Chitwan on the occasion of New Year had decreased compared to last year. “Though last year around 15 per cent of the total foreign tourists were Indians, the percentage has dropped to five this year,” he said, informing about increase in the number of Chinese tourists this year. Over Rs 5 billion has been invested in hotels in Sauraha. Chitwan National Park, which is home to tigers and one-horned rhino, is the third most popular tourist destination in the country.