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Kathmandu Monday November 12, 2001 Kartik 27, 2058.
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Chinese restaurants: Latest
fad of investors
By Satyendra Timilsina
KATHMANDU, Nov 11 – Republic of China has
joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) opening a new vista of opportunities for
countries around, but more importantly for Nepal, the soon-to-be signed agreement putting
Nepal as the ninth Chinese outbound destination has encouraged investors to try their luck
selling Chinese cuisine.
And it is in the anticipation of huge influx of
Chinese tourists after the signing of the agreement that many new Chinese restaurants in
the capital are now being opened. Within the past few months alone, ever some star hotels
here have either opened up new Chinese restaurants or converted their existing into
Chinese.
One of the latest upcoming ventures to serve
Chinese cuisine is Peking Duck, situated at New Baneshwor. The international chain Chinese
restaurant with outlets the United States, United Kingdom and Australia is said to have an
investment of Rs 40 million and is being constructed at the joint investment of Nepali and
Chinese business partners.
"The restaurant is being opened as per an
agreement reached between the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industries of the two
countries. This has been done in the anticipation of Chinese tourists’
arrivals," says Chandi Dhakal, a Nepali investor on Peking Duck.
And it is the latest statistics that speaks why
Chinese restaurants are the fad of investors. More than 10 million Chinese tourists visit
different countries each year. And tourism entrepreneurs are of the opinion that even one
per cent of that huge figure can have a significant positive impact in the Nepali tourism
industry.
"If our country can attract only one per
cent of the total Chinese tourists, it could play a vital role in reviving Nepali tourism
industry," says Narendra Bajracharya, President of Hotel Association-Nepal (HAN),
adding, "The transformation for the Nepali tourism industry would be drastic."
The same belief must also have also prompted the
Soaltee Group to convert their forner French restaurant into China Garden just a few weeks
back. Though the latest addition in the Soaltee Crowne Plaza is an oriental restaurant,
the atmosphere is no less than a Chinese one.
And it is not just Soaltee that seem to be
trying to capitalise on the Chinese tourists. Even the Everest Hotel has named its Chinese
restaurant as Mandarin – a Chinese name that is being operated with a Chinese chef.
"Presently, there are around twenty Chinese
restaurants in the capital city," says Dilendra Shrestha, General Secretary of
Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal (RABAN). Several hotels might have opened Chinese
restaurants with an aim to cater to the food demands of the Chinese tourists. "The
number of Chinese restaurants in the major Hotels can go further up," he said.
The much-awaited agreement that would enlist
Nepal as China’s ninth international outbound tourist destination, the first in South
Asia, is expected to be signed by the end of this November.
Tourism entrepreneurs had hailed the
understanding reached by the two governments over the issue last April. The Nepali tourism
industry, which is facing a crisis due to the series of turbulent incident in the past two
years, is expected to rebound once the agreement is signed and Chinese flow begin. China
is expected to stand next to India in terms of the number of tourist inflow.
Omkar Shrestha, former Minister for Culture,
Tourism and Civil Aviationm, and He Guangwel, Chairman of China National Tourism
Administration (CNTA), had signed a memorandum of understanding last April.
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