Tourism in Chitwan National Park

Running Head: CHITWAN NATIONAL PARK 0 Chitwan National Park 12 Contemporary Hotel & Tourism Issues Student Details 2/10/2019 Contents Introduction 2 Tourism and Issues 2 Tourist Market Potential 2 Development of Transport 4 Development of Accommodation 5 Crisis and Risk Management 6 Social Media Influence 8 Development in Visitor Experiences 9 Conclusion 11 References 13 Introduction Chitwan National Park was established in the year 1973 and it is the first national park of the Nepal. This park is located in the foot of incredible Himalayas in the Southern Central Tera

Running Head: CHITWAN NATIONAL PARK 0
Contemporary Hotel & Tourism Issues
Student Details
2/10/2019

Chitwan National Park 1
Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Tourism and Issues.....................................................................................................................2
Tourist Market Potential........................................................................................................2
Development of Transport.....................................................................................................4
Development of Accommodation..........................................................................................5
Crisis and Risk Management.................................................................................................6
Social Media Influence..........................................................................................................8
Development in Visitor Experiences.....................................................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................................11
References................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
Chitwan National Park was established in the year 1973 and it is the first national park of the
Nepal. Chitwan was given the status of UNESCO’s World Heritage Destination in the year
1984. This park is located in the foot of incredible Himalayas in the Southern Central Terai of
Nepal, and consists of large It covers an area of around 93,200 Hectares and is extended in
four b districts naming Chitwan, Parsa, Nawalparasi, and Makwanpur (Lipton & Bhattarai,
2014). This park is the last place of Terai region which is the best example of natural
ecosystem and covers subtropical inner lowlands, located between east-west river valleys. Its
major portion of the area lies between Rapti and Narayani rivers to the north and India-Nepal
border and Reu River in the south.
Tourism in Chitwan National Park has increased in recent years which are causing several
challenges for the park regarding its preservation. The park authorities and government of
Nepal is concerned for its preservation. As increase of tourism in the park is creating revenue
for the country but at the same time it is creating environmental pressure on the park and on
its preservation (FITT, 2019). As tourism industry is one of the most important and largest
industries for any country as it contributes a huge amount in its economy. Therefore, there are
needs of developing sustainable facilities for the tourists that promote tourism in the area as
well as preserve the rich heritage culture of the park.
Tourism and Issues
Tourist Market Potential
It has been observed that one of the best ways of enhancing tourism in Chitwan is to promote
and develop niche market and products. There is need of developing strategies that promote

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markets which have the potential of attracting tourists in the park and its surrounding area. A
brand value has the most potential of attracting people towards it, hence first strategy should
be developing a brand value of the park and promote this brand through different advertising
portals. A village naming Sauraha is located in the park area and is known as the major
Gateway of Chitwan National Park. This village consists of around 64% of the area elements
and also known as the tourist village of Sauraha (Visit Himalayas Trek, 2019). It is said that
tourism industry of Chitwan National Park and the Sauraha is majorly depends on these
domestic and trained elephants. Hence, this can be one of the most potential tourism markets
if promoted and encouraged properly. Around 100 thousand tourists visit Sauraha every year
just to take rides of these elephants to see the beautiful landscape of the village and the park.
A master plan is needed to attract these tourists who visit the village to encourage them to
visit Chitwan also. More protection of elephants should be emphasized and along with
elephant rides, several other activities should be promoted here which include trekking,
rafting, cycling, and several other so that tourists experience and enjoy more and encourage
visiting the park (Great Wall Nepal, 2019).
Source: (Festival, 2018)

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To encourage tourists to take elephant rides and other activities, a high level of marketing and
promotion is required. It will attract visitors who are fun loving and enjoy adventurous
activities. Tourists who visit such places have some expectations from their trips, and they
want to experience the best moments. Tourists want to connect with the nature, enjoy the
peaceful environment of nature, learn to rich heritage culture of the place, and experience the
adventurous and thrilling activities (Trek, 2019). Therefore, along with such activities there is
need of developing other experiences for tourists that make provide them a complete
package. Elephant rides should be promoted as ‘must do’ activity in the area.
Source: (Resort, 2019)
Development of Transport
Transport facilities for tourists to access the park area are very poor and restricting tourists to
visit the park. Chitwan is World Heritage Destination and people from around the globe wan t
to visit this place but not availability of proper transport facilities in the area is one of the

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major problems in tourism enhancement in the park. Therefore, a proper transport
development plan is required to provide an ease of access to the tourists. First problem that is
identified regarding the transport facilities is not availability of adequate flights to the area.
Flights to the Nepal are very few and there are very few airports that can fulfill the demands
of the tourists. Also, airports are located very far from the park thus very time consuming for
tourists to reach to the park, because tourists from other continents especially from Europe
are restricted with time limits (Adventure, 2019). Therefore, after a long journey of flights, it
is very difficult for them to travel extra three to four hours of road travelling. This problem
has solution of providing improved internal access to the park through charter or flights.
Proper roads should be constructed to reach to the park. Also, efficient trails should be
developed for walking and cycling us which is also eco-friendly. Now, most of the tourists
use elephants to visit or to travel across the rivers. Proper boats should be provided to cross
the rivers and also makes tourists to enjoy boat rides. During the peak season, tourists are in
excess and thus should provide enough flights and resources that can handle such large
number of tourists (UNESCO, 2019). Also, tourism in the park is seasonal because of lack of
resources, therefore it is recommended to develop and enhance attractions and infrastructures
that promote all year round tourism. All year round tourism will also eliminate the burden of
peak season tourism from the environment and authorities.
Development of Accommodation
Nepal is one of the greenest countries in the world which promote natural resources and the
sustainable development. People of Nepal love to live nearby nature and believe in its
protection and conservation. Chitwan National park is located in the foot of Himalayas which
is known for its rich heritage culture from the times of ‘Satyug’ or ancient times. Living or
visiting this place is such a treat for mind, body, and soul. From the ancient times, people
come here to practice meditation because of the calmness and peace of the environment

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(Kafle, 2014). This peacefulness of the environment allows people to connect with their inner
self. This is the reason that once a visitor come here, he/she wants to visit this area again and
again. To meet the demands of the visitors, park authorities and government of Nepal has
constructed several accommodations facilities but still there is need of lot of improvements in
the accommodation facilities in the area. Tourists want luxury services inspired by nature and
therefore, projects should be developed which focus on sustainable development and also
facilitate luxury services (Great Wall Nepal, 2019). To support 100 thousand tourists every
year, there are around 65 resorts, hotels, and lodges. But, these numbers of hotels are not
enough to meet need of increasing number of tourists in the coming years. Lack of
accommodations or poor accommodations decreases the holiday value and overall experience
of tourists.
Construction of new hotels and infrastructures require a huge amount as the cost of
construction is very high in the area. Hence, to meet the accommodation demands of visitors,
it requires to include private investors to invest in the field of construction. Government of
Nepal should develop easy approaches for private investors to make investment in luxury
hotel construction. These approaches include accommodation development incentive
schemes and strategic land release programs (Trail, 2019). Also, programs that encourage
refurbishment of existing infrastructures should be promoted. Partnership with camp building
owners will provide tent setups for the dry season.
Crisis and Risk Management
Development of infrastructures in the Chitwan National park has created serious
environmental issues which needs the urgent attention of sustainable development authority
and government of Nepal. Risks due to the development in the area are divided into two
categories:

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Natural and Cultural Resource Management: In order to meet the demands of increasing
number of tourists, there has been need of developing more infrastructures which include
transport and accommodation development. These developments have created risks for
cultural and natural resources. Preserving the rich and vast culture of Chitwan National Park
has become a challenging factor for the authorities and the park mangers along with
development in tourism (Office, 2013). Risks which are associated with natural and cultural
resource management include: visitors safety, park inventory, park management and its
protection, weed control, human resource, protection of flora and fauna, native plants
protection, liaison and support from the traditional and board of management owners,
implementation of laws, managing changes in climate, traditional and cultural protection,
landscape management, wetlands and waterways management, capital infrastructure,
monitoring of scientific research, fire management, and park management training (Planet,
2019).
Tourism Services, Visitor, and Business Development: Preservation and conservation of
environment and rich heritage culture of Chitwan National Park is important but with this
promotion and enhancement of tourism industry in the region is equally important because
tourism industry has the highest potential of creating huge revenues for the development of
area and nation. But, managing and balancing these two elements is not an easy task for park
mangers. Business development and managing tourists has several challenges associated with
it such as tourist access and control, permits, visitor interpretation and services, business and
enterprise development, seasonal ranger training, contracts and leases for commercial use,
tourism industry liaison and communication, operator training, marketing and promotion, and
support from the traditional owners and board of management (Popali, 2017).

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Social Media Influence
UNESCO has declared Chitwan National Park as one of the greatest heritage destination
because of its rich and extraordinary culture. Chitwan Park has the potential of being
established as a brand. If a destination is promoted as a brand, it creates a huge market
potential for the destination because it is natural that people easily develop emotional
connection with a brand. A brand adds value to the destination and creates a unique image of
it. A brand value of a destination differentiates it from other destinations (Trek, 2019).
Today’s generation or advancement in technology has changed the way of interaction
between people and advertisement. There is no age group today which is not found on the
social media and social media has influenced the life of people to a great extent. It has
changed the relationship between a visitor and a brand. Social media has the power of making
or breaking a brand value (Park, 2019). This great platform provided by social media should
be used to promote and create a brand value of Chitwan National Park. Social media sites
including Facebook twitter, and Instagram connects billion of billion people and provide
knowledge about interests of people. Having knowledge about likes and dislikes of people,
helps in creating activities, experiences, and strategies according to interest of tourists.
Following is the list of promoting brand destination on social media:
1. Growth of Social Signal: Social signals help in enhancing the attempt of brands in
search engine optimization. Key strategy of getting more likes, followers, and
comments on social media is that more people should talk about the brand on social
media. It then increases the chances of that brand recommendation on other pages
also. The more the number of followers of a page enhances its chances of improving
its ranking in the search engine (Subedi, 2010).

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2. Destination Promotion and Marketing: Social media keeps the memories of an
experience alive in peoples’ mind. This is because social media enables people to
share their experiences or the page of a brand on their walls. Hence establishing
Chitwan as a brand and its promotion on social media helps in marketing, and
awareness about the Chitwan National Park. Chances of conversion of these social
media users into visitors are high (Stræde & Helles, 2010).
Development in Visitor Experiences
Tourism at Chitwan recently focuses on activities rather than experiences. Visitor experiences
can be enhanced by focusing on experiences rather than attraction. Chitwan is a must visit
destination for every nature lover. Various attractions and places of Chitwan are allowing
people to experience nature in the most entertaining ways and from very close (AllNepal,
2019). Following is the list of activities that are providing great experiences to visitors:
Experience of Wildlife: Chitwan is providing home to endangered and most exotic species.
This allows visitors to experience and witness diverse wildlife in short time duration within a
limited area. It provides paradise to biodiversity enthusiasts and nature lovers (Kafle, 2014).
Source: (Resort, 2019)

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Jungle Safari: Chitwan consists of most of the lodges and hotels in the middle of the jungle
to provide best natural experiences to the tourists. But increase value of these experiences,
jungle safari happens every day on the back of the elephant that gives the close, unique, and
natural view of the jungle (Adventure, 2019).
Source: (Trek, 2019)
Canoe Rides: Canoe rides provide the beautiful view of seeing crocodiles and water birds
from very close. It is an amazing and fun activity during the sunny days (Bhusal, 2009).
Source: (Planet, 2019)

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Bird Watching: There are various species of birds are found here in Chitwan park such as
geese, woodpecker, Florian, parakeets, hornbill, parakeets, and several others (Park, 2019).
Source: (FITT, 2019)
Conclusion
This report discusses about the rich heritage culture and nature diversity of Chitwan National
Park located in the foot of Himalayas, Nepal. This park was established in the year 1973 and
declared as the World Heritage Park in 1984 by UNESCO. Chitwan consist of large eco-
diversity and has huge potential of creating large tourism for the Nepal. Tourism is important
for every country as it is the major and most essential source of exchange of revenue and thus
helps in the development of a country. But, apart from the large eco culture and bio-diversity
of Chitwan, there is need of developing and providing basic facilities to the tourists. In this
report, there are several areas which need improvements and development which are
transport development, accommodation development, and enhancing and providing new

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visitor experiences. Social media also plays a vital role in promotion and marketing of a
destination and thus enhance tourism industry of Chitwan. As increase in tourism in an area
also creates several challenges related to it sustainable development. It is equally important to
protect the species that live in Chitwan and the heritage culture of Chitwan along with
tourism enhancement.

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References
Adventure, N. E. (2019). Chitwan – A must destination for a Nature Lover. Retrieved from
https://nepalecoadventure.com/blog/attractions-of-the-chitwan/
AllNepal. (2019). Wildlife Safari in Chitwan National Park. Retrieved from
https://www.allnepal.com/tours/wildlife-safari-chitwan-national-park/
Bhusal, N. P. (2009). Chitwan National Park: a prime destination of eco-tourism in Central
Tarai Region, Nepal. The Third Pole: Journal of Geography Education, 5, 70-75.
Festival, C. E. (2018). Chitwan Natioanl Park. Retrieved from
http://www.chitwanelephantfestival.org/home/chitwan-national-park/
FITT. (2019). Short Introduction on Chitwan National Park. Retrieved from
https://www.fittnepal.com/blog/short-introduction-on-chitwan-national-park.html
Great Wall Nepal. (2019). Chitwan National Park. Retrieved from
http://www.greatwallnepal.com/docs/Chitwan%20National%20Park.pdf
Jungle Safari Lodge. (2019). Chitwan National Park. Retrieved from
http://junglesafarilodge.com/chitwan-national-park/
Kafle, N. (2014). Nature Based Tourism and Visitor Experiences in Chitwan NAtional Park.
Lipton, J. K., & Bhattarai, U. (2014). Park establishment, tourism, and livelihood changes: A
case study of the establishment of Chitwan National Park and the Tharu people of
Nepal. American International Journal of Social Science, 3(1), 12-24.
Office, C. N. (2013). Management Plan for Chitwan National Park and It’s Buffer Zone.
Retrieved from https://www.chitwannationalpark.gov.np/index.php/document-

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repository/publications-chitwan-national-park/28-management-plan-printed/file
Park, C. N. (2019). Chitwan Natioanl PArk. Retrieved from
https://www.chitwannationalpark.gov.np/
Planet, L. (2019). Welcome to Chitwan National Park. Retrieved from
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/nepal/the-terai-and-mahabharat-range/royal-chitwan-
national-park
Popali, S. (2017). What is the Impact of Social Media on Your MArketing. Retrieved from
https://www.ronsela.com/impact-of-social-media-marketing/.
Resort, J. S. (2019). About Chitwan National Park. Retrieved from
http://www.junglesafariresort.com/chitwan-national-park.php
Stræde, S., & Helles, F. (2010). Park-people conflict resolution in Royal Chitwan National
Park, Nepal: buying time at high cost? Environmental Conservation, 27(4), 368-381.
Subedi, K. D. (2010). Tourism Industry in Nepal and Destination Chitwan: Current Issues
and Challenges.
Trail, T. (2019). Chitwan National Park Activities - No Elephant SafariRead more at:
https://www.trekkingtrail.com/chitwan-national-park-activities.html. Retrieved from
https://www.trekkingtrail.com/chitwan-national-park-activities.html
Trek, S. L. (2019). Chitwan NAtioanl Park Tour. Retrieved from
https://snowleopardtrek.com/en/package/chitwan-national-park-tour/
UNESCO. (2019). Chitwan National Park. Retrieved from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/284
Visit Himalayas Trek. (2019). Chitwan Natioanl Park Tour. Retrieved from
https://www.visithimalayastrek.com/chitwan-national-park-tour/

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