KATHMANDU, May 4: The number of tourists visiting Chitwan National Park (CNP) has significantly decreased. Compared to the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April) in the previous fiscal year 2023/24, there has been a 37 percent reduction in the number of tourists visiting the park during the same period of the current fiscal year 2024/25.
According to the CNP, by the end of Chaitra in the previous fiscal year, a total of 250,367 internal and foreign tourists had visited the park. By the end of Chaitra in the current fiscal year, 182,227 tourists visited the park. Similarly, of the total visitors, 92,890 were Nepali, 16,798 were from SAARC countries, and 72,539 were from third countries.
By the end of Chaitra, 6,783 jeep trips were made by tourists visiting the park. Among the visitors, 50,100 Nepali men and 42,790 Nepali women visited the park. In comparison, by the end of Chaitra in the previous fiscal year, 150,000 Nepali, 23,638 SAARC, and 75,944 third-country tourists had visited the park.
Chinese arrivals surpass Indian tourist numbers
The decrease in tourist numbers is attributed to several factors, including the delayed reopening of jeep safaris in the park last year and flooding incidents in late September. While 150,000 Nepali tourists visited the park by the end of Chaitra in the previous fiscal year, this number dropped to 92,000 by the end of Chaitra in the current fiscal year.
Tourists have only been able to visit the park via jeep inside the park, as the use of elephants has been prohibited. The park charges Rs 5,000 per jeep. For entry fees, Nepali tourists are charged Rs 150 per person, SAARC tourists pay Rs 1,000, and foreign tourists are charged Rs 2,000.
Due to the decline in the number of tourists visiting the park, the park has also lost revenue. By the end of Chaitra in the previous fiscal year, the park had collected Rs 282.6 million in revenue, but by the same period in the current fiscal year, it has only managed to collect Rs 236.5 million.
In the remaining three months of the current fiscal year, the park is struggling to meet its revenue target, which was achieved last year by Chaitra. The park had collected Rs 239 million in revenue from tourism alone by the end of Chaitra in the previous year.
By the end of Chaitra in this fiscal year, however, the park has collected only Rs 210.5 million in revenue under the tourism category. Additionally, Rs 2 million has been collected from timber sales, and Rs 21.6 million from non-timber forest products. There has also been a decrease in revenue collected from fines and penalties.
