Banking News – Preparations have been made to connect major tourist and religious destinations of Tanahun into a single tourism circuit. Targeting the increasing domestic tourism in the district recently, a plan has been put forward to connect the jeep safari currently being operated in Bandipur and Ambukhaireni with other tourist destinations.

According to Basanta Poudel, operator of Bandipur Village Safari, jeep safari is being operated in the Bandipur and Ambukhaireni areas. He stated that the jeep safari has been operated with the objective of taking tourists through roads to observe villages, hills, religious sites, and natural destinations. Poudel informed that preparations are being made to further expand the jeep safari and develop a religious and tourist circuit by including Damauli-Manungkot, Chhabdi, Chhimkeshwari, and Aandhimul.

“Jeep safari is being operated in Bandipur and Ambukhaireni. Now we have made preparations to develop it as a tourism circuit by connecting it with other tourist destinations,” Poudel said.

According to him, although Tanahun has ample potential for religious, natural, and rural tourism, attention has not yet been given to developing linkages between destinations and tourist packages. He says that if safari operations can be conducted in a way that allows visiting various destinations in a single trip, it will also help increase the duration of tourists’ stay. Manungkot has developed as a popular destination for sunrise and Himalayan range viewing. Along with that, Chhabdi is a site with religious and natural attractions. Chhimkeshwari is an important religious and tourist destination in the high hill area of Tanahun, while Aandhimul is also known as an important site from the perspective of religious tourism.

Poudel says that if jeep safari can be operated by connecting these destinations via roads, tourists can be given the experience of different types of destinations in a single package. Since jeep safari takes tourists from the main market area through villages and hill settlements to the destination, it is expected that tourism benefits will also reach rural areas. Businesspersons believe that if tourist movement increases, it will also help expand the market for local hotels, homestays, restaurants, agricultural produce, and local products. Bandipur has already been established as a major hill tourist destination of Nepal. It appears that if tourists coming here can be taken to surrounding rural and religious areas, tourism centered on Bandipur can be expanded to other areas of the district. Ambukhaireni is also an area with tourism potential due to its natural beauty, religious sites, and rural environment. He stated that connecting these areas through jeep safari will add a new option for tourists who want to travel easily by road.

Tourism entrepreneur Poudel stated that rather than showing tourists just one destination and returning them, it is now necessary to prepare packages by creating a cluster of destinations. For that, he says collaboration between local levels, tourism entrepreneurs, and the local community is necessary.

“If we can create an environment to go from one destination to another after reaching one, we can increase both the stay and expenditure of tourists,” Poudel said.

He says that along with creating a religious and tourist circuit, the plan to connect the local community with tourism will also be important. He emphasized the need to create an environment where locals in tourist-arriving areas can directly benefit from tourism by operating homestays, local food, handicrafts, agricultural produce, and cultural activities. Businesspersons believe that if transportation access, infrastructure development, and publicity between various tourist destinations in Tanahun can be integrated, the district can be developed as a long-distance tourism destination.