Chitwan.

The entrepreneurs in Chitwan who have been severely affected by the lockdown since March, are now planning to revive their business and get it back on track by 2022. During an event organized on the occasion of World Tourism Day on Sunday, the president of Regional Hotel Association Nepal Chitwan, Deepak Bhattarai declared that all tourism-related companies would receive packages with a 20 to 30 per cent discount. These packages will be made public within a week.

According to Bhattarai, it is essential to sustain domestic tourism for the next two years. For this, the District Coordinating Committee, Ratnanagar Municipality, Tourism Board and other similar organizations are planning to take the Chitwan or Sauraha evening programs to other cities. The Deputy Chief of Ratnanagar Municipality, Vimala Duwadi asked the entrepreneurs to continue the daily runnings of their companies by implementing the appropriate security measures. She assured them that the municipality was with them.

The key spot for the tourists to visit were the Chitwan National Park and Intermediate community forest in Sauraha. Sauraha houses over 120 hotels, with a capacity to accommodate about 5,500 people. Although the park is open for tourists to visit, the hotels are hesitating to reopen, afraid that the ban will be imposed again. Dipendra Khatiwada, president of the Restaurant and Bar Association, commented that the decision to take two days off a week might help the businesses.