Chitwan. All the rooms in the ‘Landmark’ hotel in Sauraha, which has 75 rooms, are empty. This situation has been as regular in recent days. The hotel, which is run by Om Prakash Pandey, president of the Regional Hotel Association of Chitwan, had 60 percent bookings. The hotel is deserted due to cancellations due to disruptions in the road network along with Bhotekoshi.

Chairman Pandey has said that the situation of other hotels like him is also the same. There is no impact of floods in other areas except for a limited area in Nepal. Although the Prithvi Highway has been blocked due to the landslide of Krishna Bhir, alternative roads are in operation. However, tourists are canceling their bookings. He says that all the bookings for this month have been canceled.

A total of 100 tourists from Gorakhpur of India have cancelled their bookings for Sauraha. Chairman Pandey said, “During the dialogue, the tourists said that they cannot enjoy Nepal when there is a disaster. At the international level, the message should be spread that there is no risk of floods and landslides in Nepal.” ’

Businessmen had expected that the tourism that had slowed down due to the Jenji agitation at this time last year would be very good this year. Ramesh Silwal, the owner of Hotel Vista in Sauraha, said that there is a problem due to the road during this time when there are more Indian tourists. He said that more bookings have been canceled due to road blockage than during floods. He said, “Although some were canceled due to floods in Bhotekoshi, all other bookings have been canceled due to the blockage of Prithvi Highway.” ’

It is said that the cancellation of bookings by Indian tourists coming to religious places like Muktinath, Pashupatinath, Janakpurdham has had a direct impact on Sauraha. He said, “We should be able to give a message that the impact of floods at the international level is not limited to other places than limited places.” ’

Suman Ghimire, a central member of Hotel Association Nepal, said that foreign tourists have cancelled their bookings as various countries have put Nepal in the unsafe list. He recalled that domestic and foreign tourists used to come to Sauraha in the days after the rainy season. He said that even during the rainy season, domestic tourists used to come on Saturday and Sunday during the holidays, but due to floods and subsequent road blockage, domestic tourists also did not come.

He said that most of the bookings made for the months of ‘September’ and ‘October’ have been canceled. He said that all the bookings for ‘September’ have been canceled and if the situation improves, some of the remaining bookings made in ‘October’ will not be canceled. Businessmen are hoping that tourists will return to the previous state in the following months.

It is estimated that Sauraha has an average of five percent tourists at this time. Last year, 25 to 30 percent of tourists used to be tourists at this time. Central member Ghimire said that the message should be spread in the international media that Nepal is safe to visit. He said that if the government can disseminate information about the current situation of Nepal in the concerned countries through the ambassadors of different countries of the world, it will have a positive impact on the tourism sector.

Naresh Giri, the owner of Casey’s Restaurant and Home in Sauraha, said that his restaurant and hotel in Chowkai are also deserted. He said that in the past, the restaurant was crowded and there were no tourists at this time. He said that the cancellation of bookings was negative till November.

Businessmen complain that the Bhotekoshi floods have sent a message to the international community that Nepal is unsafe due to the influx of Indian and foreign tourists. It is necessary to spread the message that although the floods are affected in a limited geography, other parts of Nepal are safe. It is said that the tourism sector has been negatively affected due to the failure to disseminate the message to the international community about this.

There are more than 120 hotels in Sauraha. It has the capacity to accommodate more than five thousand tourists in a single day. Tourist buses used to run daily from here to Kathmandu, but these buses have been stopped due to a landslide at Krishna Bhir on the Prithvi Highway. As the airfare is expensive and high-pressure, it is not easy for tourists to come here. Tourists who mainly visit Chitwan National Park used to stay here. Similarly, Nepalis from different parts of the country come here for seminars, meetings, meetings, and conferences.

Sauraha is considered as the third tourist destination in Nepal. It is the first destination in terms of safari tourism.