CHITWAN: Chitwan National Park (CNP) welcomed 272,942 visitors by the close of the current fiscal year.

Notably, over 9,000 more tourists visited CNP this year compared to the previous year, as per CNP records.

Last year witnessed the highest footfall in the CNP over the last decade.

Despite a general uptick in tourist numbers this year, revenue collection has seen a significant rise, according to CNP.

Ganesh Prasad Tiwari, the CNP’s information officer, disclosed that revenue collection stood at Rs 315,713,171 by fiscal year-end, a marked increase from Rs 244,946,860 during the corresponding period last year.

In the fiscal year 2075/76 BS, the CNP hosted only 187,109 tourists, yielding a revenue of Rs 294,446,639.

Revenue sources include the sale of firewood, non-timber forest products, tourism, fines, and other charges.

The current fiscal year saw a record Rs 267,153,050 in tourism revenue and Rs 34,082,395 from non-timber forest products.

This year, there’s been a decrease in Nepali and SAARC tourists, while those from other countries have surged.