CNP reports drop in number of tourists

Chitwan: The number of foreign tourists visiting Chitwan National Park (CNP) declined by around 10 percent during the first ten months of the current fiscal year compared to the figures of the same period last year.

Tikaram Paudel, assistant warden of the CNP, told Republica that a total of 147,429 tourists visited CNP during the review period. The figure was 163,398 in the same period of fiscal year.

Similarly, the number of Nepalis visiting the park during the period dropped to 30,597 from 38,948 of last year.
Suman Ghimire, general secretary of Regional Hotel Association, Sauraha, said lack of new tourism products and services is the major reason behind drop in the number of visitors.

Tikaram Paudel, assistant warden of CNP, said the government should promote other destinations as well in the district to give more options to the tourists. “Though CNP has nine entrance points, only Sauraha has developed into a tourist hub. We need to develop other areas as well,” added Paudel.

source: republica,26 June 2013