Nepal aims to attract more Chinese tourists

Nepalese students from two Chinese universities presented a cultural show in Beijing on Friday to promote their nation's tourism.

The show was organized by the Nepalese embassy and featured students from Beijing Normal University and Beijing Language and Culture University. It was attended by diplomats and China's tourism officials.

Leela Mani Paudyal, the Nepalese ambassador, said China has the world's largest number of outbound tourists, and that Nepal welcomes them to travel there, which would help develop its tourism industry and strengthen the countries' relations.

Wang Xiaofeng, deputy director of the China National Tourism Administration, said promoting tourism in Nepal would encourage more Chinese to learn about and visit the South Asian country.

"It will also help facilitate more exchanges between travel agencies of both sides and bring more Nepalese tourists to China," Wang said.

Sunil Sharma, officiating director of the Nepal Tourism Board, said tourism is a pillar industry of his country, which was devastated by a magnitude-8.1 earthquake in April 2015.

Fortunately, Nepal has started to recover, with its rich natural and cultural resources attracting large numbers of tourists from all over the world, including China, Sharma said.

Statistics from the China National Tourism Administration show China is the second-largest source of tourists for Nepal, with more than 100,000 Chinese tourists visiting last year — a 55 percent year-on-year increase. Nepal's largest source of tourists is India.

Sharma said Kathmandu, the capital, is easily accessible via direct flights from major cities on the Chinese mainland, such as Chengdu, Kunming, Lhasa and Guangzhou, so it is convenient for tourists to visit.

In addition, Nepal has streamlined its visa process by adopting a visa-on-arrival policy at the international airport in Kathmandu, as well as in some border cities, to attract more tourists, he added.