Following a three-year lockdown due to the Covid epidemic, China reopened its borders for travel on March 15 of last year.Optimism was high as soon as the air and land borders opened and the Pokhara international airport, which was funded by China, was officially opened. Market insiders had projected a sharp increase in Chinese visitors prior to the epidemic; prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, China was Nepal’s second-largest source market, after India.
Nepal received 60,878 Chinese tourists in 2023, a recovery by a third from the pre-pandemic level when Chinese tourists boomed in Nepal.In the first five months (January–May) of this year, Nepal received 46,671 Chinese, with the highest arrival of 12,093 recorded in March. While Chinese arrivals slowed, Indian tourists boomed in Nepal, reaching an all-time high of 319,936 individuals, according to the Department of Immigration. Among Indians, only those who come by air are counted as tourists in Nepal. In the first five months, Nepal has received 148,861 Indian tourists, the highest number of 38,288 recorded in May.
Before the pandemic, India and China were competing neck-to-neck. Now, there is a huge imbalance between the south and north. Will it change?On Monday, during the 16th round of the Nepal-China diplomatic consultation mechanism meeting held in Kathmandu, Beijing made a surprise announcement. It announced plans to promote Nepali tourism in China as part of celebrating 2025 as ‘Visit Nepal Year in China’, which Nepal’s top travel trade entrepreneurs say is a “big statement.” They say they had never before heard China favour any country with such soft power diplomacy.
Will 2025 be the year for the potential great return of Chinese tourists then?“So far, I haven’t heard or seen Beijing promote any country’s tourism inside China. This is, in fact, a good gesture of neighbourliness,” said Kishore Raj Pandey, chairman of Saathi Nepal Travel and Tours, who was the first person to bring Chinese tourists to Nepal in 2001.
“If it has been announced, Beijing indeed has some policy to encourage Chinese citizens to travel to Nepal.”
Tourism is vital for Nepal’s economy. According to the recently released annual World Travel and Tourism Council research report, Nepal’s tourism sector generated Rs327.9 billion ($2.5 billion) in revenue and supported 1.19 million jobs directly and indirectly last year. The report forecasts that Nepal will generate 1.22 million jobs in 2024. Last year, the country received 1 million tourists. Some critics say it’s a lofty promise.
Before Monday’s meeting, during the third Nepal Investment Summit held in Kathmandu on April 28, Luo Zhaohui, chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency, announced the waiver of visa fees for Nepalis.It was implemented on May 1. There was another announcement, too. “The Chinese government is making arrangements to start new flights from China to Nepal’s two new international airports—Pokhara and Lumbini,” Luo said while addressing the summit.
Nepal’s $216 million international airport in Pokhara, the country’s tourism capital, opened in January last year. Beijing financed it.Similarly, Nepal’s second international airport in Bhairahawa, built by Chinese contractors, started operating in May 2022 after four years of construction delays. The objectives of both projects are to decentralise economic activities in the new federal setup, attract more tourists, and prevent Nepalis from going abroad.
But only some international flights are operating in the two new shiny airports.“Under Beijing’s renewed diplomacy, there is a possibility of the operation of these two new international airports,” said Basant Raj Mishra, a senior tourism entrepreneur. “Once flights from China come, it will create competition.” He said Beijing’s announcement represents a great opportunity for Nepal. “We should be prepared for joint marketing and promotional activities. With a proper policy, we can attract 1 million tourists from China alone in 2025. And for this, we need enhanced flight connectivity.”
China is facing many economic obstacles, but Beijing remains optimistic about growth.Reports show that Chinese tourists hit the road in significant numbers during the recent five-day Labor holidays in May but kept a tight grip on their wallets, reflecting still-weak sentiment in the world’s second-largest economy.According to a statement from China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, travellers made 28.2 percent more trips, but spending only rose 13.5 percent from the 2019 break.
“Of all the countries, China has the largest number of airlines connecting Nepal but brings the lowest number of tourists,” said Vijay Shrestha, vice president (Administration) at Himalaya Airlines, the Nepal-Tibet joint venture.There are five airlines currently connecting China. “The traffic is low,” said Shrestha. “It may be due to low consumer confidence.” Himalaya Airlines has suspended Kathmandu-Beijing flights, and Kathmandu-Shanghai flights are also irregular due to low passenger traffic. Besides, in the other three sectors, the average occupancy is 40 percent,” said Shrestha. “The announcement from Beijing to promote Nepal in China could change that.”
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