Chitwan(RSS) : Sauraha, which has been deserted for a long time, is suddenly bustling. Tourist activity has increased due to the holiday and the holiday after the ban. The number of domestic tourists has increased in the pubs on the banks of the river Rapti and hotel bookings are being made.
More tourists are coming to Sauraha than expected by businessmen. According to Deepak Bhattarai, president of the Regional Hotel Association Sauraha, 30 to 35 percent hotels are being booked. The hotel operator is managing the holiday by calling the employees who are on leave after the sudden arrival of tourists.
According to him, all the tourists are indigenous. He informed that there are more tourists from outside the district. According to Bhattarai, youths from Kathmandu, Pokhara, Birgunj, Butwal, Nepalgunj and other areas have come here as family and group members.”It would have been better if it had continued. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow,” he said.
The hotels in Sauraha, which have been closed since March 26, have been open for some time but no tourists have come. There are 110 hotels in Sauraha out of which about 100 have started service.With the increase in tourist activity, restaurants have also opened. There is more business in restaurants than in hotels. There are some internal tourists of the district who return to the restaurant in the evening, while those from the outer districts stay in Sauraha in the evening.
According to Dipendra Khatiwada, president of Restaurant and Bar Association (Rewan) Sauraha, almost all of the 80 restaurants in Sauraha are open.He informed that the number of people enjoying in the pubs built on the banks of the Rapti River has increased from morning to evening.Daily jeep safari has started in Chitwan National Park and elephant safari has started in the local community forest.Tourist buses plying from Sauraha to Kathmandu have also come into operation. Suman Ghimire, manager of Jungle Safari Lodge, who is also the former president of the Regional Hotel Association Sauraha, said that they have been encouraged by the increase in the number of tourists.
Stating that the influx of domestic tourists has started, he informed that all the necessary security measures have been adopted to prevent the spread of covid infection.”We have met the criteria set by the government of Nepal for the health security of the guests,” he said. He said that all the entrepreneurs have taken precaution to prevent the spread of the infection.Due to the comfortable stay at home for the last seven months, domestic tourists have also preferred to visit. The park is famous for safaris.
Domestic and foreign tourists come here for jungle safaris. Tourists come to observe the rare one-horned rhino, tiger, crocodile, crocodile and other animals and birds.