India stand atop the list of highest number of tourists visiting Nepal, China follows back

The number of tourists arriving Nepal has increased tremendously. The number of tourists that 2016 saw is witnessed by 2017 in its first ten months.

According to the official figures from the Department of Immigration, a total of 1 Lakh 57 Thousand 4 Hundred and 48 tourists have toured Nepal in first 10 months of 2017.

In 2016 the total number of tourists arriving Nepal stood at 7 Lakhs 53 Thousand and 2 and it is toppled by increment of 4 thousand by the data of 2017.

With the pace of increment it is expected that the number of tourists visiting Nepal this year could reach upto One Million. As per the official records of Nepal in 2012 a total of 8 Lakh 3 Thousand tourists toured Nepal which stands the highest number till date.

Amongst the first 10 months the highest number of tourist arrival was seen in the month of October when 1 Lakh 12 Thousand 4 Hundred and 92 tourists came to Nepal and India remained atop the list throughout the months.

As per the data the number of Indian tourists arriving Nepal stood at 1 Lakh 33 Thousand and 29 which is higher than In comparison to the Chinese by 49 Thousand 6 Hundred and 87. The total number of tourists arriving Nepal on the first ten months of 2017 stands at 83 Thousand 3 Hundred and 42 followed by USA.

A total number of 65 Thousand 2 Hundred and 4 American tourists have had arrived Nepal followed by 41 Thousand 1 Hundred and 26 from Sri Lanka and 40 Thousand 3 Hundred and 44 Britons.

Source: Tourismmail

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Nepalese tourism stakeholders want competitive air fare between Nepal and China

Nepalese tourism stakeholders want competitive air fare between Nepal and China
Nepal Airlines

Nepal Airlines

Nepalese tourism stakeholders on Wednesday stressed on making air travel between Nepal and China cheaper to promote bilateral tourism, arguing that air transport between the two neighbors is one of the most expensive in the world.

They said at an interaction on the theme of Silk Road Tourism between Nepal and China, organized by China National Tourist Office and Nepal China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCCI) that potential growth of Chinese tourists to Nepal has been hindered by higher air fare and relatively low air connectivity.

China is the Nepal’s second largest source market for tourists after India since 2010. Nepal welcomed 104,005 Chinese tourists in 2016 as arrivals surged by 55.26 percent on year-on-year basis after disastrous 2015 due to deadly earthquake and subsequent blockade in southern border points of Nepal, according to the data of Department of Immigration of Nepal.

NCCCI President Rajesh Kaji Shrestha said that air ticket for Kathmandu-Guangzhou is more expensive than travelling through the Kathmandu-Bangkok-Guangzhou. “Travelling Kathmandu to Kunming is costlier than India’s Kolkata’s to Kunming. Price must be competitive to attract more Chinese tourists to Nepal,” he said.

Currently, four Chinese airlines — China Southern, China Eastern, Sichuan Airline and Air China are serving Kathmandu to Guangzhou, Kunming, Chengdu and Lhasa respectively.

China Air

China Air

Shrestha said that there should be direct air connectivity between Kathmandu and Beijing, Shanghai to attract more Chinese tourists. Nepal’s national flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation is also serving Kathmandu-Hong Kong route currently and also has plan to reach Chinese mainland.

Sunil Sharma, officiating director of Nepal Tourism Board, the main tourism promotion body of Nepal, said that the board has been consistently promoting Nepal’s tourism in China but travel cost has been hindering the potential of Chinese tourist arrivals to Nepal.

Nepalese stakeholders also asked China to ease travel for tourist through land route too, particularly through bordering Geelong port which is currently only international trade route between the two countries.

Chinese ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong said that China was promoting Nepal’s tourism under the Year of Tourism for Nepal 2017 in line with the joint statement signed in 2016.

Source: Travel News Nepal

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Nepal, Tibet ( PRC) sign MoU to promote tourism, 10th JTCC meeting in TAR

Nepal, Tibet ( PRC) sign MoU to promote tourism, 10th JTCC meeting in TAR
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Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China have signed a 16-point memorandum of understanding along with a commitment of collaboration for bilateral tourism.

The agreement was reached at the end of the 9th meeting of the Joint Tourism Coordination Committee between Tibet and Nepal that concluded here on June 28.

In the four-day meeting, both sides reviewed the progress achieved on the understandings made in previous meetings, and emphasized for further cooperation in implementing them while resolving the issues, if any, through mutual cooperation. The two sides also underscored the need of further promoting tourism cooperation by seizing opportunities available in both sides.

As part of the understanding, both sides have agreed to expedite the construction of Rasuwagadhi-Kerung border point and to open it up for tourist mobility gradually after the conditions meet required standard. Likewise, it was agreed to develop trans-boundary tourism co-operation between Humla District of Nepal and Pulan County (TAR of China) with regards to the Mt Kailash Sacred Landscape Programme (KSLP).

On resuming Kathmandu-Lhasa-Kathmandu direct bus services, both sides agreed to resolve issues such as carrier company, stopping and starting stations, safety, selling tickets, etc, so as to promote Nepal-China direct bus service. The Consulate General of Nepal in Lhasa will coordinate with China side in this regard.

Nepal ,Tibet ( PRC) sign MoU to promote tourism

Nepal, Tibet ( PRC) sign MoU to promote tourism

After agreeing to initiate dialogue to make uniform rules and regulations regarding age limit, disabilities etc in climbing border mountains, both sides agreed on helicopter rescue and evacuations in emergencies during mountaineering and trekking periods after securing required approval of the related authorities of their respective governments.

The Chinese side agreed to assist in promoting Nepal tourism among Chinese people through Chinese Tourism Authority. It also agreed that processing multiple entry visa and permit for mountaineers and support staff and issuing visa for pilgrims from Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu will be reported to the higher authorities in China.

Both sides agreed to explore the possibilities of increasing frequency of scheduled flights in Kathmandu-Lhasa-Kathmandu sector with reasonable fair, and to enhance cooperation among their travel-trade associations through their tourism authorities.

The two sides also agreed to report the unresolved issues to their higher authorities and make further coordination through the diplomatic channels.

The Nepali delegation to the JTCC was led by Director General at the Department of Tourism Sudarshan Prasad Dhakal and the Chinese delegation from Tibet was led by Vice Director General of the Tibet Tourism Development Committee Ga Ma Ze Deng.

The 10th meeting of the Joint Tourism Coordination Committee will be held in TAR of China in 2017.

Source: Travelbiznnews

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TICC established

Department of Tourism, under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has started an initiative to gather information about tourists who have gone missing, are dead or injured in the devastating earthquake and the avalanche in the Himalayan region due to the quake. ntb

A meeting held today at the department decided to set up a Tourist Information Coordination Centre (TICC), where people from anywhere in the country can provide information on tourists who are missing, dead or injured at the toll free number ‘1144’. People can inform Tourist Police through that toll free number.

For better coordination, Rukesh Tandukar, in-charge of Tourist Police Unit and Sarad Pradhan (contact number 9851077385) of Nepal Tourism Board will be available at all times to gather information.

The centre will work directly under Director General of the department, Tulasi Prasad Gautam. It will gather information in coordination with Tourist Police, Department of Immigration, Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal, Nepal Mountaineering Association, Nepal Association of Tour and Trekking Agents, and Hotel Association Nepal. TICC will promptly convey the message to the rescue and relief team of the government.

This initiative is expected to address queries of foreign missions in Nepal whose citizens were visiting the country at the time of the devastating earthquake. Thousands of tourists are still unaccounted for, as per various foreign missions.

The European Union (EU) said at least 1,000 EU citizens so far are unaccounted for after the quake. Talking to The Himalayan Times, EU Ambassador to Nepal, Rensje Teerink said they did not know where their citizens are in the country. “Many could have left the country unharmed, however, it hasn’t been brought to our notice.”

source:the himalayan times

China raises Nepal aid 5-fold to compete with India

China raises Nepal aid 5-fold to compete with India

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In what appears to be a straight competition for influence with India, China has increased its official aid to Nepal by more than five times. China has also promised to build electricity infrastructure in Nepal worth $1.6 billion to counter an Indian offer of soft loan for the power sector.

Chinese aid to the Himalayan nation will rise from the present level of $24 million to $128 million in 2015-16. The announcement came after talks between Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and his Nepali counterpart Mahendra Bahadur Pandey in Kathmandu on Friday.

Besides, Beijing is building a police academy for Nepal as a special gift. This is probably because Nepalese police help control the flow of Tibetan refugees trying to enter India through Nepal.

READ ALSO: China picking major infrastructure deals in Nepal

“As neighbors China and Nepal have common security needs … we need to work together to crack down on illegal border crossings and transnational crimes,” Wang said.

Nepali elite have for sometime complained that India has taken its relationship with the country for granted, and has not done enough to meet its development aspirations. China appears to be filling in the gap besides competing with Indian companies in Nepal’s power sector.
samratnepal1
The Langtang Mountain range towers over the Kathmandu Valley, hidden under a blanket of cloud, as seen from Bhanjyang on the outskirts of Kathmandu on December 10, 2014. Nepal is located between India to the south and China to the north. Agriculture is the mainstay of the country’s economy (AFP photo)

India has announced a $1 billion soft loan to built the country’s infrastructure including power projects. Nepal’s hydropower sector has a potential to generate up to 42,000MW of electricity.

READ ALSO: Modi woos Saarc nations, pledges slew of investments to counter China
China has responding with a $1.6 billion power project, which will be built by the government-owned Three Gorges International Corp over the Seti River in western Nepal. It is expected to generate 750MW of electricity.

“Nepal has power shortages and electricity is essential for Nepal’s efforts to industrialize, to create more jobs, to build its capacity in independent development and to raise quality of lives of its people,” Wang told reporters in Katmandu, Nepal’s capital.
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The Seti river in Nepal on which China is helping the country to build a hydroelectric power plant. (Getty Images file photo)

Relationship between the two neighbors is expected to further intensify as Chinese president Xi Jinping is due to visit the Himalayan nation next year.

READ ALSO: China schools in Nepal a threat, SSB says
Direct train connection from Nepal to Tibet in China is expected to become a reality in a year or so. China has begun extending the Tibet rail line in the 167km stretch from Lahsa and Xigaze, which brings it closer to the Nepal border.