In the last financial year, the number of tourists visiting Chitwan National Park exceeded three lakh. The situation in this financial year is not satisfactory. It has been found that the number of tourists visiting the park has decreased compared to last year when half of the financial year is over.
Tourism professionals say that due to the plight of the road to Chitwan and lack of attention to grass field management and publicity within the park, tourists have decreased.
A total of 148 thousand 391 tourists visited Chitwan Park in 6 months from July to December last year. At that time, 90,114 Nepalis visited the park. After that, the number of foreign tourists was 43 thousand 425. Apart from Nepalis and foreigners, a total of 14,822 people from SAARC countries visited the park at that time. But this time the number of natives visiting the park has decreased significantly.
According to Conservation Officer Avinash Thapa Magar, who is the information officer of Chitwan Park, a total of 100,345 tourists have visited the park during the 6 months of the current financial year. Compared to last year, the number of tourists seems to have decreased a lot. The park keeps separate details of domestic, foreign and SAARC tourists. There are 53 thousand 103 domestic tourists visiting the park this time.
Compared to last year, domestic tourists have decreased by 37 thousand this time. The number of tourists from SAARC countries has also decreased. This time, a total of 10,850 people from SAARC nations have visited Chitwan Park. But during this period, there has been an improvement in the number of foreign tourists. 46 thousand 392 foreign tourists have visited Chitwan Park in 6 months of the current financial year. This time, the number of foreign tourists has increased to around three thousand.
'The condition of the road is like this. Be it the Butwal-Narayangadh road or the road from Kathmandu to Chitwan, the condition of all has deteriorated. Tourists cannot increase because the main highways are not good," said Premshankar Mardaniya Tharu of Navalparasi (East of Bardghat Susta), Amaltari, who is the central president of the Nepal Homestay Federation. A community homestay has been operating in Amaltari since May 2070.
Amaltari village is across Chitwan Park. The people who come here are those who are interested in seeing the animals of the park, tigers and rhinos. Sometimes the number of tourists is good, sometimes it is reduced,' said Mardaniya. Most of the people who come to stay in the homestay are natives. He said that the decrease in the number of domestic tourists has also affected the homestays. He thinks that in addition to the poor state of the country, the propaganda is also less.
It seems as if there is no good publicity about our tourism potential at home and abroad. The road will be built slowly, but if the publicity is not good, how will people come to visit? Therefore, aggressively spread quality promotional materials from all social media or other areas of the Internet, he said. Chitwan Golaghat Tourism Development Committee Chairman Vishal Kumal says that it is necessary to find new possibilities.
There are many possibilities in the outdoor area as well as the safari in the park. Let's make good use of it," Kumal suggested. He said that if the water journey is started by connecting Triveni, Devghat and Sauraha from Gola Ghat of Bharatpur Metropolitan City-28, new activities will be available to those interested in wildlife viewing along with religious tourism. Golaghat is a perfect place to watch the sunset. There is a thick settlement of Kumal and Tharu tribals here.
"If water activities (water-based tourism activities) can be increased, the traditional houses of the tribal Tharu, Bote, Kumal, and Tamang tribal communities can be built and maintained as a model village, parks and community-based tourism can flourish," President Kumal said. He shared his experience that it is difficult for tourism professionals to undertake many activities under the guise of a park.
What are the possibilities? Research had to be done to carry out new activities without affecting the forest wildlife and the environment. For this, whether the municipality or the province and the association show priority, diversity will be added to tourism. Otherwise, it will be difficult for tourism to flourish with the same old style," says Vishal Kumal, who is also the president of Megh Lee's Rapati control intermediate community forest. He says that all three levels of government should take the initiative to make appropriate policies.
Patihani in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-22 is emerging as a good tourist area of Chitwan. Big tourist hotel resorts have opened here. But I have heard that tourists who go for a walk inside the park complained that they did not see the wildlife well. Businessmen have also spoken about this," said Bishnuraj Mahato, Ward President of Bharatpur Metropolitan City-22.
He said that he thought that good attention was not paid to the management of grasslands and improvement of ponds and ponds within the park. Wildlife is more abundant in the intermediate community forests than outside the park. The message did not go well even if tourists coming from abroad to visit the park were taken to the center as a park. Even if you don't see enough wildlife when you take it inside the park, it will not be good," said the Ward President Mahato.
Most of the tourists come to Sauraha to visit the park. Man Bahadur Syangbo, chairman of Lothar Intermediate Consumer Committee of Chitwan Park, said that Sunachuri and Parydhap crossings on the eastern border will also be opened and tourist activities and infrastructure around them will be increased to reach tourism in all areas. After 50 years of floods, the soil and grasslands here were damaged. Later, the hotel, machan, chitwan jungle lodge inside the park were also closed," he said. He said that there are five intermediate community forests, four towards Chitwan and one towards Makwanpur, on the eastern border of Chitwan Park under Lothar Consumer Committee. In these forests infrastructures have been built for jeep safaris. Tourist activity in the eastern border area of the park is almost zero. Even here, if tourism was expanded, tourists would be able to see new places. The number would increase, said Sangbo.
