The trend of traveling with family during holidays has increased the number of tourists in the country's major tourist destinations. Due to the continuous public holidays, hotels in Chitwan, Palpa, Pokhara, Lumbini and Bardiya are receiving guests due to domestic as well as Indian tourists entering during the summer season. Compared to the tourist areas of the Terai, there is a lot of tourist activity in the hilly destinations. Pokhara has also become lively during the off-season due to Indian tourists.

It is difficult to get rooms in farm houses and resorts in the hills due to tourists climbing to 'hill stations' to beat the heat. Hotels in summer places are also offering various offers and entertainment programs to attract guests, so they do not have to keep hotel rooms empty during weekends and public holidays for several days.

Saroj Pant of Basundhara, Kathmandu, went on an elephant safari in Sauraha Baghmara, Chitwan on Thursday. He, who was traveling with his two children and wife, had planned to reach Pokhara on Friday and go to Jomsom on Saturday. He said that the four consecutive public holidays made the long trip a long one. ‘There is time, I wanted to experience the cold weather from summer,’ he said.

As the sun was setting, people visiting Sauraha were filling the banks of the Rapti embankment. The arrival of vehicles with Indian number plates was also increasing. Foreign tourists returning from visiting Chitwan National Park were relaxing at the hotel. Hotel operators seemed busy.

Tourists do not come to Sauraha much after Chaitra. But this year, the number of people visiting Chitwan National Park was good in Baisakh as well. There is also a lot of activity here in Jestha. Hoteliers have the experience that the desire to go to the forest during the summer and see rare wildlife such as tigers and rhinos has increased due to the holidays. Along with Saturday, Sunday has also been a holiday. This time, there are four consecutive holidays. The number of people visiting tourist areas like Chitwan and Bardiya during the four-day holiday from Thursday to Sunday has also increased.

Keshav Khanal, who has been in the tourism business in Sauraha for three decades, has been operating the Monalisa Hotel for 15 years. He said that many Nepalis come during Dashain-Tihar and winter and foreigners come during Falgun-Chait. ‘But this time it was good in Baisakh too. It is still good these days. It is not necessary to call it off-season.’ Khanal said. His hotel room can accommodate 100 people. ‘When Thursday was a holiday, our hotel was completely packed. It goes like this from Friday to Sunday,’ Khanal said.

70 percent of those who come to stay at his hotel are Nepalis. Then 20 percent are Chinese and the rest are Indians and other foreigners, he said. Nature guide Asmita Godar said that during this time, many Indians and Chinese people come, and due to the holidays, the number of Nepalis has also increased. ‘I have been walking with a group of 18 people in the morning. All are Chinese. In the afternoon, I will go on a jeep safari. There are many Chinese and Indians at this time. Nepalis also increase during the holidays,’ Godar said on Friday morning. She said that many people come to visit from Porkha and Kathmandu.

Chitwan National Park is the country’s first destination for wildlife viewing. Those who come to see rare tigers and rhinos go on a jungle walk, jeep safari or elephant safari in the community forest adjacent to the park with an experienced nature guide. They also go on boat safaris on the rivers and streams flowing through the park. Most people visit the park in Kartik. After that, visiting the park in Chait is the past custom.

This financial year too, many people have come in Kartik. After Kartik, for the first time, more people came to visit the park in Baishakh than in Chait. Park Information Officer Avinash Thapa Magar has informed that 29,740 people, including domestic, foreign and SAARC countries, visited the park in last Baishakh. Last Kartik, 32,252 people visited the park. After that, the number decreased and reached 27,405 in Falgun. It further decreased to 25,985 in Chait.

There are 10 different entrances to visit Chitwan National Park. Among them, most tourists visit the park through Sauraha. According to the park's description, 90 percent of tourists visit the forest through Sauraha. Meghauli, located in the western part of Chitwan, is another important destination. ‘There is a lot of activity here during the holidays. It is also crowded these days,’ said Vishal Kumal, chairman of the Chitwan Golaghat Tourism Entrepreneurs’ Committee. The Rapti and Narayani rivers meet at Golaghat in Meghauli. The sunset view from there is amazing.

He said that tourists have started to increase in Meghauli as rhinos and, if you get a chance, tigers can be seen in the forest of the park. ‘People from Butbal in the west, Biratnagar and Hetauda in the east also come to visit Golaghat Meghauli. The number increases during the holidays. The fact that many people come to visit this time in the summer of Baisakh and Jestha may be due to the holidays,’ he said. He said that people from employees to students come to visit.

In Bardiya too

There is also a rush of tourists in Bardiya National Park. Those who took a jeep safari inside the park and saw the problematic tigers and rhinos in the park headquarters were delighted. Tourism entrepreneur Ramji Babu Thapa said that despite the daytime temperature reaching 41 degrees, the arrival of tourists at most hotels around the park was satisfactory. He said that the crowd was good because government and non-government organizations were organizing programs at this time.

Domestic tourists coming to the park are charged Rs 100, SAARC tourists Rs 750 and foreign tourists Rs 1,500 to enter the park. Bardiya National Park, which is famous for its leopard tigers, has 125 tigers. From last July to April, 22,222 people have visited Bardiya Park. During this period, 15,140 Nepalese, 889 SAARC and 6,193 foreign tourists visited the park, said Senior Assistant Conservation Officer Sarojmani Poudel. 

Palpa's hotels and resorts are full. 

The number of tourists visiting the tourist area has increased after the government started giving two days off a week, Saturday and Sunday.  This time, there are four consecutive days off, including Bakr Eid and Republic Day, so the number of tourists visiting with family and friends has increased dramatically.  People come to Tansen in Palpa to escape the summer heat and to travel on long holidays. 

With the increase in arrivals from neighboring India, the 'occupancy' of most hotels in Tansen is close to 100 percent.  ‘After a long time, the faces of hoteliers in Tansen have been smiling,’ said Laxman Basyal, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Entrepreneurs Association, Palpa. ‘For the past few days, the occupancy rate in hotels in Tansen has exceeded 80 percent.’ According to him, some hotels are 100 percent. He also said that when he cannot keep them, he sends them to another hotel by recommending them.

Out of 40 rooms in Basyal’s Hotel Annapurna, 80 percent have been booked before check-out. He said that this situation is similar in almost all hotels. Last year, there was less crowding in the month of Jestha. There are 120 hotels and restaurants in Palpa, but only 15 are affiliated with the Palpa Hotel Association of Nepal. Almost all hotels are crowded with domestic and Indian tourists. ‘All the rooms were booked on Thursday but they were sent out,’ said Jayant Bhusal, Managing Director of Hotel Srinagar and Chairman of Palpa Han. ‘Maybe it is because of the long holiday that Nepalis have also come out to visit.’

Tansen in Palpa is also one of the tourist places worth visiting. The number of people visiting has increased due to the long holiday as those who have gone out to visit Tansen in Palpa do not want to leave. Hotels in Tansen Bazaar as well as nearby resorts are now full. Many people have come to visit Palpa from Jhapa, Morang, Surkhet, Kailali, Kanchanpur, and Dang for the four-day holiday.

Kishan Adhikari of Jhapa Damak said that since they have four days off, they have planned to return from Pokhara via Lumbini and Palpa with their families. ‘It was very hot in Lumbini, so I came to Tansen to stay,’ he said, ‘I couldn’t bear to stay in such a cool place for a night.’

Bishnu Adhikari, manager of Sirjana Farm in Khasyauli, Ribdikot Rural Municipality-3, said that although there are 14 cottages with rooms, two/three days have already been booked. Here, the peaceful environment and the old house have been converted into modern rooms. It has the capacity to accommodate at least 40 people. Since Indians like it, 50 percent of them book.

Indian tourists flock to Pokhara

Govinda Magar, who runs a boat on Fewa Lake, did not have a moment of free time on Friday. He was busy ferrying tourists going to Talbarahi. His face lit up when he saw the Indian tourists struggling to board the boat. ‘It is the season for Indian tourists to come, but this time they have come in large numbers,’ he said. He said that the four-day holiday has also increased the number of domestic tourists since Thursday.’

Rajesh Tripathi from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, India, has been in Pokhara with his family for two days. He came to Pokhara on his own vehicle on Thursday and this is his third visit to Pokhara. ‘First I came with friends, this time I brought my family to visit,’ he said, ‘It is hot there, coming here gives relief even for a few days.’ He said that his children also enjoyed it as it was raining after coming to Pokhara.’

Santosh Mishra from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, came to Pokhara with 5 of his friends on Friday. He reached Fewa Lake as soon as he arrived in Pokhara and said that he was delighted by the coolness here. ‘Pokhara is just like what I had seen on social media,’ he said, saying that he came to Pokhara after watching Instagram reels, ‘There is still more to visit.’ I want to experience the food and nightlife here.'

Due to the high influx of Indian and domestic tourists, Pokhara's hotels, from star to tourist-level hotels, are full. Pokhara's Temple Bell, Bar Peepal, Barahi, Atithi, Temple Tree and other hotels are full of Indian tourists. Fishtail, Pokhara Grand and others are also dominated by Indians. According to Laxman Subedi, president of the Hotel Association Pokhara, hotels in Pokhara currently have 90 percent occupancy. 'This is the season when Indians come, Nepalis have also increased due to the four-day holiday,' he said. 'Even if it rains, it is difficult to get a hotel room when foreign tourists who have come for trekking are also in Pokhara.'

He said that the recent increase in the number of Indians reaching Muktinath has also benefited Pokhara. ‘We have also launched campaigns at various times saying, “Let’s go to Pokhara,” and invited Indian tourists to Nepal,’ he said, ‘and the impact of that is also being seen now. After Narendra Modi’s visit, the number of Indians visiting Muktinath has increased.’ He refutes the argument that since Indian tourists come in their own vehicles and bring food from there, Nepali tourism entrepreneurs will not benefit. ‘There are not even 10 percent of Indian tourists who cook and eat on the way,’ he says, ‘Indian tourists are the ones who support everything from hotels, restaurants to casinos here.’

Pokhara Tourism Council Chairman Taranath Pahari says that a large number of Indian tourists have entered Nepal this time due to the extreme heat in India. ‘The two-day holiday also increased the number of Nepali tourists on Saturday and Sunday,’ he said, ‘Now, amid the West Asian tensions, when the number of tourists from third countries has decreased, the arrival of Indian tourists has brought relief.’

Hotel after hotel in Rupandehi offers
The temperature in Rupandehi is around 40 degrees Celsius. Therefore, the residents here are focusing on hill stations to beat the heat. Hotels in Rupandehi have brought various offers to keep tourists going to destinations such as Palpa and Pokhara in the district to beat the heat.

Quality hotels in the district have made public entertaining offers based on swimming pools to lure guests. The offers are targeted at domestic and Indian tourists coming to beat the heat. The five-star hotel Lumbini Heritage in Lumbini has brought cheap packages to attract domestic tourists to Lumbini.

The hotel has announced that the package has been implemented from Thursday targeting people traveling from different places during the four-day holiday. Apart from the offer, tourists will be able to avail the facilities they need for one or two days. General Manager of the hotel, Bijendra Bhakta Bhaju, said that a three-night, four-day package has been made public for 15,000 Nepali rupees effective from Thursday. Bhaju said that the person purchasing the package will get room, food, all events and entry to the swimming pool.

According to him, the package has been brought to target the festival as the Muslim community's festival Eid falls on Thursday. 'The package has been brought targeting domestic tourists from Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan and the surrounding areas,' he said, 'We have brought an affordable package to increase the arrival of Nepalis in Lumbini.' According to him, a pool party will be organized on Saturday. The final match of the IPL will be broadcast live along with food and drink facilities at the hotel on Sunday.

The five-star Hyatt Palace in Butwal has organized a bubble bash program on Saturday. This is the first such program in the country targeting swimming pools. According to Nisha Thapa, Associate Director of Sales of the hotel, bubble bash is a kind of pool party. Renowned artists from India will come to the said program. Food is also included in the program. ‘This is a pool party,’ she said, ‘it is targeted from young children to adults.’