In Nepal, the five-day long 18th Elephant and Tourism Festival is ongoing in Sauraha, Chitwan with domestic and international tourists flocking Chitwan National Park. The Elephant and Tourism Festival is organised to celebrate the English New Year and Christmas and promote regional tourism. 

 

 

The popular Elephant Festival of Chitwan will continue till December 30 and is being held on the Baghmara Intermediate Community Forest ground. The festival witnessed an elephant walk, elephant bath, elephant football, beauty contest , elephant picnic, elephant-friendly football penalty competitions, elephant-friendly musical walks, elephant health check-up camps,  tableau performances including local costumes and art and culture, and cultural performances by national and local troupes. The Elephant Festival featured more than 80 elephants, both private and government-owned. Due to animal rights activism, elephant polo was scrapped from the festival.

 

 

 

Tourists attending the elephant festival enjoy seeing elephants from a close distance and can feed them with their hands.

 

To increase tourists flow during the festival, hotels in the area offer discounts on food and lodging to entice tourists, and the occupancy rate of hotels in Sauraha has increased from 40% to 65% during the festival.