The number of tourists visiting Chitwan National Park, the country's main tourist destination for wildlife viewing, has reached 119,576 in the first six months of the current fiscal year.

According to the park's information officer, Conservation Officer Avinash Thapa Magar, 72,508 domestic tourists, 39,793 foreigners and 7,275 from SAARC countries have visited the park during this period.

There has been an improvement in the total number of tourists visiting Chitwan National Park compared to the last fiscal year. But although the number of domestic tourists has increased during the first six months of this fiscal year, the number of tourists from foreign and SAARC countries has decreased. Last year, a total of 110,345 tourists visited the park from Shrawan to Poush. This is 9,231 more tourists than last year.

The increase in domestic tourists has led to a slight improvement in the number. Last year, 53,103 domestic tourists visited the park from Shrawan to Poush. This year, the number of domestic tourists has increased by 19,405 compared to last year. The number of foreign and SAARC tourists has decreased. Last year, 46,392 foreign tourists and 10,850 tourists from SAARC countries visited the park during this period.

Compared to this period last year, 6,599 foreign tourists and 3,575 fewer tourists from SAARC countries visited Chitwan National Park. The number of tourists, which was low in Shrawan and Bhadau, is improving after Asoj, as can be seen from the details of the park. During this period, the highest number of tourists visited Kartik. Seven thousand tourists visited Harahari in Shrawan and Bhadau.

The number of tourists in Asoj had exceeded 20,000. After that, the number of tourists started to decrease, reaching 32,252 in Kartik. There are reports that 25,585 tourists visited Chitwan National Park in Poush. Chitwan National Park is home to some of the world's rarest wildlife, including the one-horned rhinoceros and the leopard. Millions of tourists from home and abroad come to the forest to see such animals.

Earlier, the number of foreigners visiting the park was very high. But the earthquake and the Corona pandemic have reduced the number of foreigners. Before the earthquake, the number of foreign tourists visiting Chitwan National Park had exceeded 127,000. After that, the number of foreign tourists has not increased. After Corona, domestic tourists have started increasing. In the fiscal year 075/76, the total number of Nepalis visiting the park was only 44,623.

From Shrawan to Poush last year, the number of foreign tourists had increased slightly compared to the six months of the previous fiscal year. But this year, tourism has been affected as many foreign tourists have canceled their bookings due to the Genji movement on Bhadra 23 and 24, said Ganesh Poudel, treasurer of the Kasara Tourism Entrepreneurs Committee. He is a tourism entrepreneur in the Patihani-Jagatpur area.

More foreign tourists than domestic tourists visit hotel resorts in Patihani, Jagatpur and Meghauli areas. The park's statistics show that domestic tourists have visited this area more than foreign tourists in Poush. 'There are not many foreign tourists here during the English New Year and Christmas. Nepalis also come during this time,' said Poudel. He said that foreign tourists have started booking from the English months of February to May.