Kathmandu, October 15
Chitwan National Park has launched an online ticketing service for visitors nearly three years after beginning preparations for the system.
The park has introduced the service on a trial basis at its Sauraha entry point from Thursday, said senior conservation officer Dil Bahadur Purja Pun.
The absence of online ticketing had long inconvenienced tourists, hotels and tourism operators visiting the park, one of Nepal’s most popular destinations for wildlife viewing. Visitors previously had to be physically present and carry cash to purchase entry tickets.
Of the park’s 12 entry points, Sauraha receives the highest number of visitors. Pun said the online payment system had been introduced there first because more than 80 per cent of domestic and foreign tourists enter the park through Sauraha.
“We have several components to manage, and preparations for online ticketing had already begun during my previous tenure, but the process was significantly delayed,” Pun said. “We have now started testing the system in Sauraha. Depending on how it performs, we will introduce online ticketing at other entry points as well.”
The park allows visitors to enter through Sauraha, Kasara, Ghatgain, Meghauli, Bankatta in Madi, Kujouli in Nawalparasi and Amaltari, among other access points.
Pun said the park would train tourism operators on how to use the online ticketing system and prepare instructional videos to help visitors understand the process.
Mahesh Khanal, operator of Park Safari Hotel, said online ticketing at the Sauraha entry point would make it much easier for tourists entering the park from the area.
Chitwan National Park is home to rare wildlife, including the greater one-horned rhinoceros, Bengal tiger and gharial crocodile, as well as numerous bird species and rich biodiversity.
The park charges an entry fee of Rs 150 per person per day for Nepali visitors, Rs 1,000 for visitors from SAARC countries and Rs 2,000 for other foreign tourists. Jeeps carrying visitors into the park must pay Rs 5,000 per entry.
The park permits up to 60 jeeps to take tourists on safaris each day, with 30 allowed in the morning and 30 in the afternoon.
A former conservation officer said online ticketing would help promote the park internationally, encourage tourists to extend their stays, improve publicity and provide records of every visitor. The system would also allow tickets to be purchased from anywhere, reduce congestion at entry points and make it easier to manage visit schedules.
Pun said the existing handwritten ticketing process required considerable manpower and caused inconvenience to visitors. Online ticketing would allow tourists and tourism operators to avoid the need to visit the entry point early in the morning carrying cash to purchase tickets.
According to the park, visitors can fill in the required details and pay the entry fee online. Once the process is completed, a QR code is generated, which visitors can present to enter the park. Each ticket is valid for one day only.
Chitwan is the second national park in Nepal to introduce electronic ticketing, after Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park. Nepal currently has 12 national parks, one wildlife reserve, one hunting reserve and six conservation areas.
According to park records, a total of 272,923 tourists visited Chitwan National Park in the last fiscal year 2082/83. Of them, 237,025 entered through the Sauraha gate.
The visitors included 161,375 Nepalis, 22,883 tourists from SAARC countries and 88,665 visitors from other countries, according to the park office.
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