Beijing has reopened several points on the Nepal-China border after three years, but also slapped so many restrictions making travel difficult.
Elation among pilgrims wishing to go on the holy Kailash Manasarovar tour has turned to despair because the stringent rules seem to be basically meant to keep visitors away, say insiders.“When we saw the long list of rules, it was filled with hassles for both Indians and Nepalis,” said Basu Adhikari, managing director of Touch Kailash Travel and Treks.
Nepali tour operators say the complex regulations are designed to control the entry of foreign pilgrims, particularly Indians, for Kailash Manasarovar Yatra, one of the most sacred journeys for devotees.
Three prominent travel and tour operators—Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents, Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal and Association of Kailash Tour Operators Nepal—have submitted a memorandum to Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song urging him to help simplify the movement of pilgrims.“The charges fixed by China for Indians are higher than those for tourists from third countries,” says the memorandum, a copy of which has been obtained by the Post.
Kailash Manasarovar Yatra is one of the lucrative tour packages for Nepali tour operators.
The annual pilgrimage season would be a boom time for the tourism industry, and the government too would see increased revenue from taxes. The religious travellers would fill the hotels and restaurants, and keep travel agents, airlines, guides and porters busy.
But pilgrims wanting to visit the world’s fastest-growing major economy have to face many hassles. Indian pilgrims have to make a trip to New Delhi to get their visa for Tibet.
“The pilgrims must be present physically to get the visa. There is no online application system,” said one unnamed travel agent.
Nepali tour operators say that biometric details are now compulsory to obtain a visa. Earlier, Chinese authorities used to collect the biometric details at the immigration office at the border points.
As per the new rules, Indian pilgrims should be in a group of at least five people to obtain visas, and at least four of them should be present physically.
Tour operators say they can’t figure out the wisdom behind these new rules which they say are impractical.
For Nepali operators, who were hoping that their northern neighbour’s softening policy would help their businesses to recover, there are numerous hassles.
China has increased the “grass damage charge” for Nepali workers entering Tibet to $300 per person from $100.
Nepali workers go to Tibet as guides, porters or kitchen staff assisting the pilgrims.
“As per the new rules, biometric details are also mandatory for Nepali workers and they should obtain them from the visa facilitation services (VSF) centre at Rising Mall,” said Adhikari. “Earlier, biometric details used to be taken at the immigration offices at the border.”
Another hassle for Nepali firms operating tours to Kailash Manasarovar is that they have to deposit $60,000 or Rs8 million each to send pilgrims to Tibet, as per the rule imposed by the Foreign Exchange Centre of Tibet.
Want to read more? Click here.
