BHARATPUR: The number of tourists visiting Chitwan National Park increased in the last fiscal year. A total of 306,837 tourists visited the Chitwan National Park in FY 2023/24 AD while the number of visitors in FY 2022/23 AD was 299,412.

According to the Information Officer of the Chitwan National Park, Ganesh Prasad Tiwari, the number of visitors there increased by 7,425 last year compared to the previous year.

Of the total visitors, 176,316 were domestic visitors, which was 205,605 in the previous fiscal year.

The visitors from other countries than the SAARC nations increased impressively from 55,872 in the FY 2022/23 to over 94,000 in the last fiscal year.

With the increase in the number of tourists, the revenue collection of the Chitwan National Park has also increased.

Tiwari shared that the national park collected Rs 305.7 million in revenue from eco-tourism in the last fiscal year against Rs 229.3 million in the previous year.

The Bharatpur Metropolitan City is also marking the Bharatpur Visit Year 2024. Mayor of the Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Renu Dahal, said that massive publicity of the city is taking place at national and international stages to bring in more tourists.

The Chitwan National Park is the main tourist destination in Bharatpur and receives the highest number of tourists in the district. "The reason behind the increased number of tourists in the national park is due to Bharatpur Visit Year," Mayor Dahal said. -- RSS