The Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve in Assam registered a record footfall and revenue collection in the tourist season that ended on May 31.
KNP director Jatindra Sharma shared the park’s record-breaking feat in a statement on Wednesday.
The KNP received a tourist footfall of a little over 2.75 lakh generating a revenue of Rs 6 crore during 2021-2022, an all-time record on both fronts.
Altogether 2,75,835 tourists, including 2,74,116 domestic and 1,719 foreigners, visited the UNESCO World Heritage Park famous for the one-horned rhinos between October 2021 to May 2022 leading to revenue generation of Rs 6,39,23,389.
The numbers are quite encouraging because tourism and hospitality sector had taken a huge hit like other sectors because of the Covid pandemic and the restrictions imposed to tackle it.
The previous record revenue collection and footfall was registered in 2017-18 season, a little over Rs 5.60 crore and a footfall of around 1.88 lakh.
“These figures have been surpassed in terms of revenue and tourists arrival in KNP&TR in season that ended May 31,” an official said.
The tourist flow to the park was “affected” during the period 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 and partially during 2018-19 because of Covid.
In 2020-2021, the park received 1,67,644 tourists leading to revenue generation of Rs.3,60,00,611 and the year (2019-2020) before, 1,42,859 tourists and a collection of Rs 4,20,63,541.
The arrival of several eminent guests from India and abroad, including the president, the Lok Sabha speaker and members of parliamentary standing committee, all “contributed” to the rise in footfall and revenue collection.
“The number of tourist increased last season largely due to peaceful atmosphere prevailing in the state. People are feeling secure and want to see the beauty of the KNP with their families,” Sharma said.
He believes the numbers will rise next season too. “We are trying to ensure hassle-free bookings for the next season through online mode,” he said.
The KNP is the most sought after of the seven national parks in Assam. The other national parks are Manas, Nameri, Dibru-Saikhowa, Orang, Raimona and Dehing Patkai.
