Waiting for Chinese tourists

BY A STAFF REPORTER

The wait for Chinese tourists is finally over with the signing of the tourism agreement between Nepal and China making Nepal one of the 20 out-bound destinations for Chinese tourists. This agreement will give Nepal tourism an opportunity to shore up from the current decline and a lot of hope for the future. The MoU of the agreement was signed on May 16 last year.

The importance of this agreement is that China is slowly become one of the major market as well as customer of world tourism. The economic growth of the last two decades has made the Chinese people both willing and able to visit abroad.

Every year more than 12 million Chinese visit other countries making them an envious market for world tourism. Also, China has been among the big five tourist destinations of the world with more than 25 million visiting the country annually.

The signing of the agreement means Chinese tourists can now visit Nepal and if Nepal can promote itself in China and if it is able to bet even a fraction of the Chinese out-bound tourists, it could be Nepal’s biggest tourist market.

The attractions Nepal offers to Chinese tourists are varied and many. The traditional ties dating back to centuries, the Buddhist culture and Lumbini - the birthplace of Lord Buddha and the traditional friendship between the people.

Apart from that Chinese may be interested to see that Buddhist shrines, stupas and the monasteries along with the Hindu shrines of religion and culture. More importantly, the direct flight linking Kathmandu with Shanghai and also Hone Kong will be a big advantage.

Additionally, the agreement also gives access to the third country tourists to the two countries meaning Nepal could be an transit point for those going to China.

With the agreement, Nepal lies between two big countries – India and China – both of which have big tourism potentials. India, which is currently the biggest market for Nepalese tourism, has shown some slackness due to various reasons. But this hopefully will not be a long-term affair. Thus, the future of Nepalese tourism should be bright.

The tourists are there and are even willing to come provided we are able to promote and
market our tourism potentials effectively.