Ecotourism Potentialities in Chitwan National Park with Reference to the Case Study in Sauraha, Chitwan, Nepal

Abstract

From the nature conservation standpoint in Bachhauli Village Development Committee of Chitwan National Park, Ecotourism is providing economic benefit for the people living there as this National Park has been a hub of wildlife tourism area since a long time. This VDC lies in the northern buffer zone of the national park. This study was carried out in Sauraha from December 2009 to January 2010 with available and possible standard methods. Various tourism infrastructures for the comfort and recreation of the visitors like hotels, forest roads and wooden bridges, guided tours, elephant safaris, boating/canoeing, jungle drive/walk, dance of indigenous people, and village walk were studied in such a way to analyze and to know their impacts on the indigenous flora and fauna of the area. The study revealed majority of tourists were satisfied from their trip to Chitwan National Park. No significant differences were noted between pre and post visit satisfaction at 5% level of confidence. As the F tab (2.87) calculated is greater than F cal (2.19) which showed that there was no significant differences between pre and post visit satisfactions. The research showed the area has a strong ecotourism potentiality with its natural and cultural resources that offers for all types of tourists. The potentiality of the area was recorded as 2.216 which showed that this national park have a high potential.