KATHMANDU, Dec 23: With an aim to promote domestic tourism in lean season and to retain foreign tourists, who normally return to their country for Christmas and New Year, tourism entrepreneurs of Pokhara and Sauraha have been organizing various programs in the last week of December for the past many years.


This year also they are organizing 11th Chitwan Elephant Festival in Sauraha from December 26 to 30 and 16th Pokhara Street Festival in Lakeside, Pokhara, from December 28 to January 1.

To attract tourists, hotels and restaurants in Sauraha are offering attractive packages and discount offers for the festival period. "Hotels associated with Regional Hotel Association Nepal (RHAN) Chitwan are providing 30 percent discount on room tariff and restaurants associated with Restaurant and Bar Association Nepal (REBAN) Regional Chapter are offering 20 percent discount,” Suman Ghimire, coordinator of the festival, said.

During the Elephant Festival, local entrepreneurs are organizing International Elephant Race. The event is being organized for the past many years to save Asian elephants, promote elephant-based safari and cultural tourism in Chitwan. They also make sure that there is no room for animal abuse.

"The major attraction at the festival this year will be elephant picnic. On this day, elephants will be given a day off and they will enjoy picnic," said Ghimire.

The organize aims to attract 150,000 tourists during the festival.

Similarly, tourism service providers in Pokhara are providing attractive discounts during the street festival. "We have been organizing the street festival every year to promote Pokhara as a New Year destination for Nepalis," Chok Bahadur Gurung, coordinator of the festival, said.




The festival is organized in three-kilometer stretch of Lakeside -- from Khahare to Shahid Chowk.

"Restaurants will prepare a special menu for the festival including various traditional dishes. They will be offering 10 percent discount on food," Gurung said, adding, "We have also requested hotels, paragliding companies and even the tourist buses to provide discounts. Their discount offers will be announced soon."

During the festival, a special musical program will be organized at Basundhara Park. “We will be charging Rs 50 as an entrance fee during the day, Rs 100 in evening and Rs 200 on the eve day,” said Gurung. "The proceeds from entrance fee will be used to purchase a machine to remove water hyacinth from Fewa Lake."

As many as 500,000 visitors, including foreign tourists, are expected to participate in the event, according to the organizers.