Chitwan, Dec. 26 -- The 19th edition of the Elephant and Tourism Festival officially began in Sauraha on Friday, a major tourist destination in Chitwan, with organisers hoping the event will help revive tourism and promote elephant conservation.

The festival, being held at the Baghmara Buffer Zone Community Forest in Sauraha, will run until Monday. The inauguration ceremony was officiated by Bagmati Province Chief Minister Indra Bahadur Baniya.

Stakeholders from the tourism, forest and environment sectors, local business owners, tourism entrepreneurs, media persons and members of the general public attended the opening ceremony.

According to the organisers, the primary objective of the festival is to increase both domestic and internat...