POKHARA, Sept 17: After being recently hit by floods and having lost business in the past month, the tourism industry of Chitwan appears to have fully rebound now, with the hotels and resorts there welcoming visitors to their full capacity.
Entrepreneurs of Chitwan, one of Nepal's most popular tourist destinations, reached the lake city of Pokhara on Friday, to announce that they are now ready to welcome all kind of tourists.
Entrepreneurs of Sauraha have said that they have completed all the preparation to welcome tourists. Organizing a press meet in Pokhara on Friday, Regional Hotel Association Chitwan said that Sauraha is all set to welcome both domestic and foreign tourists. They also said that tourist activities have fully resumed in Sauraha.
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“We are ready to welcome both domestic and foreign tourists. Now tourists do not have to worry about flood,” said Suman Ghimire, president of the association.
“Along with Sauraha all other tourist destinations of Chitwan are ready to accommodate tourists,” he said, adding that Sauraha was totally safe for tourists.
Around 110 hotels were affected by the flood, according to Ghimire. The hotels have suffered losses of around Rs 150 million in the flood, while the losses of the restaurants stood at around Rs 50 million, he said.
Ghimire requested the domestic tourists to visit Sauraha to celebrate their Dashain vacation. “We also ask all to convey a positive message to the foreign tourists about the safety of the place."
Besides, he said that they were conducting promotional programs in Pokhara to invite tourists to Sauraha. “We are trying to boost our tourism sector that has been affected by the recent flood in tarai region,” he added.
According to the entrepreneurs, among the foreign tourists entering Nepal, 30 percent visit Sauraha and 45 percent visit Pokhara. The domestic tourists have 40 percent contribution to the tourism sector of Chitwan.
Tourism entrepreneur Keshav Pandey from Chitwan said that besides the flood, construction of Muglin-Narayangarh road section also has affected the Chitwan's tourism.
"Though the road construction has been creating trouble for the tourists, our services have never disappointed them,” Pandey said: “Despite the problem with the road, the number of tourists using air route has increased this year.”
According to the entrepreneurs, approximately a dozen flights have been operating in the Kathmandu-Bharatpur sector. Bhakta Bahadur Basnet, Bharatpur station manager of Buddha Air, said that they have increased the number of flights for the convenience of the tourists.
