CHITWAN: Tourist arrivals at Chitwan National Park have increased this year compared to the previous fiscal year, with an additional 12,412 visitors recorded over the first 11 months.
A total of 168,695 tourists visited the park and its buffer zone community forests during the review period, up from 156,283 in the same period last year. According to Information Officer Abinash Thapa Magar, 14,096 Nepali tourists visited the park by the end of Falgun, compared to 81,246 last year.
Similarly, 9,544 visitors from SAARC countries and 55,055 from other countries toured the park this year, down from 14,207 and 60,830 respectively in the previous year.
Tourists are primarily drawn to the park to observe wildlife, including one-horned rhinoceroses, leopards, bears, elephants, crocodiles, and a variety of bird species.
The park has generated Rs 175.756 million in revenue so far this fiscal year. Of the total, Rs 166.324 million came from ecotourism, Rs 7.068 million from non-timber forest products, Rs 71,350 from firewood sales, Rs 759,704 from fines, and Rs 1.522 million from other sources.
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