Number of tourists visiting Chitwan National Park on rise

Chitwan: The number of tourists visiting Chitwan National Park (CNP) has increased. The tourist arrivals increased by 21,028 in the first six months of the current fiscal year compared to the tourist arrivals in the corresponding period last fiscal year.
CNP’s Information Officer Gopal Ghimire said a total 88,151 tourists visited the national park until January 14 of the current fiscal year. Among them, 18 thousand 734 are Nepalis, 10 thousand 338 are from SAARC countries and 59,079 are from other countries.
The number of tourists visiting the national park until mid-January of the last fiscal year was 67,123.
According to Ghimire, CNP has collected revenue of Rs 150 million 115 thousand 783 from tourist entry fees in the first six months of the current fiscal year. The same was Rs 237 million 363 thousand 963 for the entire fiscal year last year. One hundred fifty-two thousand six hundred seventy-one tourists visited CNP last fiscal year.
CNP’s chief conservation officer Ved Kumar Dhakal said the revenue has increased along with the rise in the number of visitor. He said the target was to welcome 200 thousand tourists in the current fiscal year.
Food Festival at Sauraha on Feb 11
Meanwhile, the Restaurant and Bar Association (REBAN) Sauraha is going to organize the Sauraha Food Festival on February 11 on the occasion of St Valentine’s Day. The festival will be held at Sishwar play ground at Ratnanagar Municipality-7 and will last until February 15.
Various cuisines will be featured in the food festival. Cultural programmes will also be organized, REBAN’s president Gokarna Giri said. Volleyball competition, tourists’ race, waiters’ race and children’s games would also be organized as part of the event. There are 110 hotels, including 60 restaurants, in Sauraha.