Chitwan, December 3

The number of foreign visitors at Chitwan National Park has gone down on the eve of Visit Nepal Year-2020 despite massive spending for tourism promotion by governmental and non-governmental agencies.

Chitwan National Park Assistant Conservation officer and Information Officer Gopal Ghimire said that compared to the first quarter of the last fiscal, the number of foreign tourists visiting CNP in the corresponding quarter this fiscal had dropped. A total of 39,436 foreign tourists had visited the park in the first four months of the last fiscal while the number came down to 38,330 in the same period this fiscal. The number of visitors plummeted by 1,107.

However, visitors from Nepal and SAARC countries have increased. In totality, the number of tourists has increased by 26.85 per cent. Data at the CNP showed that as many as 54,623 tourists had visited the park in the first four months of the last fiscal, while 69,292 tourists visited the park in the same period this fiscal.

Last fiscal, a total of 9,855 Nepali nationals had visited the park in the first four months. The number rose to 24,435 in the same period this fiscal. The number of SAARC tourists increased by 1,196.

Earlier, the number of tourist had fallen sharply due to the 2015 earthquakes followed by economic blockade imposed by India. Visitors tour the park to see rare wild life such as tigers and rhinos, row boats and enjoy Tharu cultural dance.

Chitwan’s Sauraha, Meghauli, Patihani, Madi and Devghat, among other places, attract domestic and foreign visitors every year.