Tourists visiting Sauraha, one of the popular tourist destinations located in the Central Development Region of the country, have said that they found Nepal much more peaceful than what the international media portrayed. They even said that the news flashed in the foreign media and travel advisories that Nepal is not safe travel destination and should be stayed out of was false and baseless. Adam Flospe, a British tourist, who reached Sauraha after enjoying paragliding in the western city of the country - Pokhara - said that his government's notice, which advised British citizens not to travel to Nepal, was incorrect. "I have found Nepal far different than what I was told. I was suggested that traveling to Nepal was impossible due to fragile security condition and the Maoist insurgency. But, as soon as I started my trip in Nepal I realized it was mere a propaganda," he said talking to the Post. Another tourist, who hailed from Israel and identified himself as Dror also shared the similar experience with the Post. "I had heard of numerous stories of the Maoist insurgency in Nepal in Israel. But on arriving here, found situation entirely different from what was described there," he said. He, along with his friends, said that they had no problem in traveling Nepal. The Israeli group even said that the media has also been portraying similar picture of Israel. "But, we feel it is unjustifiable to label whole of the country as unsafe because of dispersed incidents of violence," they said.

Along with other visitors, the Israeli and the British group said that Nepal is not only a beautiful destination for tourists but also a safe destination. "We will not only advise our friends to visit Nepal, but also insist them to travel through the country," they said. With the tourist season picking up, the number of tourists visiting the area has increased significantly in recent weeks. The current scenario of tourist flocking around the area is quite different from what was seen during the previous years, when news of insurgency and biased news of security situation from foreign media landed heavy on the industry. "The flow of tourists has increased significantly in the last two weeks," said Shiva Raj Bhatta, chief conservation manager of the Royal Chitawan National Park (RCNP). During this season last year, the number of tourists visiting Sauraha was just about 75 per day. But, this year, the number has climbed up to over 200 every day, according to a statistics of the RCNP. The statistics reveals that 1,526 tourists visited Sauraha during the last week. And during the span of just over three months, the national park has mobilized revenue of Rs 3.53 million from the visitors.

OTHER NEWS

• Tourism picks up in Solukhumbu: After witnessing a dwindling business over the couple of years, tourism entrepreneurs in the district are finally feeling a sigh of relief. Their business is improving this season with the number of tourists visiting the district going up. Despite recent riot and Maoist-imposed blockade that severely hampered the tourism profession, the hotels are running in an almost full occupancy. Interestingly, the increase in the numbers of tourist has come at a time when the country has witnessed a decline in the tourist arrivals due to the negative publicity of the country's security condition in the recent months. Meanwhile, the local tourism entrepreneurs have expressed happiness over the increasing tourism activities. "We had to spend the days waiting for tourists, while the occupancy rate was pretty low. But fortunately, the hotel is full of tourists this season," said Dava Sherpa, proprietor of Kala Patthar Hotel. "I have never seen such a substantial numbers of tourist arriving here."
  
  
• Hand-made carpet export up: Export of the hand-knotted carpet, the second largest foreign currency spinner of the country, recorded a double-digit growth during the first quarter of the current fiscal year. The rise in export is about 14 percent in quantitative terms and over 28 percent in value terms, according to statistics of Carpet and Wool Development Board (CWDB). According to the statistics, export of the carpet, during the review period, stood at 431,522 square meters and valued at US $ 21.95 million during the period while it was 379,237 square meters with US $ 17.13 million during the same period in the last fiscal year.
  
  
• 'Air China promoting Nepali tourism': Minister for Culture, Civil Aviation and Tourism Deep Kumar Upadhaya has said that Air China has been playing crucial role in promoting tourism in Nepal. Speaking at a program organized on Monday by Air China to thank its two clients for supporting its 2004 promotional scheme in Nepal, Minister Upadhaya also spoke in length about the forthcoming 2nd World Buddhist Summit.
  
  
• Cosmic Air begins Dhaka flight: As part of its expansion plan, Cosmic Air has launched its service to Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital from recently. Cosmic is the first private airline of the country to operate flights on the international routes apart from India. Earlier, Necon Air had commenced operation to India, but it could not continue its service.
  
  
• Amorous elephant's escapades excite humans: A male elephant's behavior has become the talk of the village. No, he's not on an alarmingly rampage mood; rather, it's his love affair with two female elephants of local hotels in Sauraha, with whom he has been rendezvousing almost every night for the past one month that is attracting the attention of locals and tourists alike. The 25-year-old mammoth, inhabitant of Chitwan National Park, crosses the Rapti River to spend the night with the two female elephants of Rhino Residency and Hotel Unique in Sauraha. "The female elephants must have cast a spell on the wild elephant. He normally arrives in the evening and leaves for the jungle at the break of dawn," says restaurant owner Santa Bahadur Kumal, who has been closely watching the elephant's movements. When the elephant comes out of the jungle and crosses the river to enter the village in the evening, there is a hullabaloo among locals, while tourists jostle with each other to take snapshots. Veterinary doctors say it is pure sexual urge rather than platonic love that drives a male elephant to wander into the village in search of partners.
  
  
  

By Hari Shrestha, Resident Representative in Kathmandu