Kathmandu, April 9

Meghuali Serai — a luxury resort managed under the brand of Taj Safaris — has started offering their services to the tourists.

As travellers usually plan their trip months ahead, Taj Safari Lodge is hoping to attract more tourists in next season (September to December). The resort, located in Chitwan, has targeted to lure high-end tourists. Meghatuli Serai is the first resort outside India managed by Taj. In India, Taj Safari has four lodges and resorts.

Located at the bank of Rapti River, just opposite of the Chitwan National Park, Meghauli Serai sprawls over seven-and-a-half acres of land and serves as a perfect wildlife camp for tourists.

The resort has one presidential suite, 16 villas and three-storied hotel block with 12 rooms. “We have recently promoted Meghauli Serai in Europe,” said Rahul Chaudhary, managing director of CG Hotels and Resorts. “As Taj has very wide network, we are hoping the brand name will be supportive in bringing more tourists to the country.”

The affiliation with Meghauli Serai marks Taj’s comeback in Nepal after 12 years. Earlier, Taj had operated Hotel Annapurna, but had pulled out in 2004 because of unfavourable situation in the country due to insurgency.

Nepal can tap into the pool of increasing number of outbound travellers in neighbouring India and China, opined Chaudhary.

Meghauli Serai and Taj have recently signed management contract and in the initial phase or for this season (April to mid-June), Taj has offered around 50 per cent discount for both domestic and foreign tourists.

While majority of the hotels in the country are slowly recovering from last year’s devastating earthquakes and border blockade, Taj Safari boasts of around 90 per cent occupancy. Most of the guests are Nepalis and Indians, with a few from third countries.

The average hotel bookings in the country stands at around 50 per cent, and the numbers are steadily rising as the situation is normalising after the blockade was officially ended in the first week of February.

The resort was built at the total cost of Rs 700 million.