40.000 Chinese tourists are expected to Nepal

The Chinese New Year 2-weeks long holiday will bring tens of thousands of Chinese visitors in Nepal this month.

 

The holiday beginning today and ending on March 2nd is known as the Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year.

To mark the occasion, Chinese people go on holiday this time of the year. One of the direct beneficiaries of this habit is Nepal, which expects 40.000 tourists from China to cross its borders and boost the country’s tourism sector considerably.

"This is an annual travel rush. Like other countries, Nepal receives a major chunk of Chinese outbound during Chinese New Year. We expect arrivals to jump 30 per cent to 40,000 this New Year," commented Bishwesh Shrestha, managing director of Shuang Qi Tours and C&K Nepal Treks, one of the major agencies handling Chinese tourists.

Overall, more than 6.5 million Chinese are expected to go on vacation, on average 6 per cent more when compared to 2017.

Despite the violent earthquake in Nepal in 2015, Chinese arrivals here are starting to build momentum again, with a total of 150.000 tourists expected for 2018. The growth is also attributed to the boosted air connectivity, as Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Sichuan Air and Tibet Airlines currently service the routes between the two sectors.

According to the existing data from Shuang Qi Tours and C&K Nepal Treks, Chinese tourists in Nepal prefer four- and five-star hotels, while the average spending rate raises to he said US$100 per day.

Moreover, if the project of developing a railway between Nepal and mainland China will be accomplished by 2020, the visitor numbers are expected to raise even higher.

 

Source: asiaone.com