October 5: Chitwan’s Sauraha, the third-largest tourist destination in the country, is wearing a deserted look. Even though the tourism season has started, tourists are not coming, leaving business owners disappointed.  The tourism season has set in, but hotel bookings are not made, rendering tourism entrepreneurs disappointed.

Tourism entrepreneurs say that Sauraha has received less than 10% of the expected tourists. Suman Ghimire, the former president of the Regional Hotel Association in Sauraha, they are expecting the tourism business hit hard by COVID to revive and ready to welcome the tourists. However, tourists are not turning up, Ghimire said.

Ghimire attributes the lack of domestic tourists to the economic downturn in the country. "Firstly, the country is in an economic crisis, and secondly, air travel has become expensive, and the roads are in sorry state," he explains.

Ghimire also mentions that the tourists who have come to Nepal are more interested in trekking, and there is an expectation that they might come to Sauraha from the next month.

Sauraha is globally recognized. It has its own brand. But, the young generation of tourism entrepreneurs lack the zeal and creativity to introduce new products to attract the tourists to Sauraha. “We have not been able to introduce new products like our predecessors,” said Deepak Bhattarai, the erstwhile president of the association.

Sauraha is known for jungle safaris worldwide. However, most tourists coming here are not interested in jungle safaris these days. Safety challenges in the jungle, issue of animal rights, and other factors have caused a decrease in tourists interested in activities like elephant safaris and jungle walking.

The exodus of the youth from the country has dealt a severe blow to the production and consumption  in the country, causing setback to the tourism promotion in the country, said Bhattarai. Economic difficulties, high-interest rates, and increased operating costs have forced some major tourism entrepreneurs to leave the country.

"We did not experience such a crisis even during the time of COVID," says Ganga Giri, the president of the Regional Hotel Association, Sauraha. "Now, the tourist occupancy in Sauraha is less than 10%." 

When the occupancy is 100% in the hotels and bars, they just make 20% profit. The current scenario of tourist arrivals in Sauraha is pessimistic, forcing entrepreneurs to quit their businesses.

The policy of the federal government and negligence on the part of the local government are responsible for the sorry state of the tourists in Sauraha, say the local entrepreneurs.