Excitement in Nepal after China lifts travel ban

Kathmandu. Nepalese tourism businessmen are excited as China has ended the ‘zero covid’ policy and eased travel restrictions and started keeping the border crossings open. Businessmen believe that after the English New Year 2023, the gradual arrival of Chinese tourists will help to revive the tourism sector.

Before the infection of Covid-19 in Nepal, in 2019, the highest number of 11 lakh 97 thousand 191 tourists came to Nepal. In that year, after Indians, Chinese tourists entered Nepal in the highest number. According to the Nepal Tourism Board, the number of Chinese tourists reached 169 thousand 543 in that year when 254 thousand 150 Indian tourists entered.

However, in the 11 months of 2022 (January-November), only 8,275 Chinese tourists have entered from China. However, now China has announced on Tuesday that it will remove various strict measures imposed on passengers entering their country from abroad.

Recently, China has decided to abolish quarantine for travelers from January 8, while quarantine was mandatory for all those entering China continuously since March 2020.

China has started opening the ports of other countries which were closed for almost three years. China’s immigration authority has announced that foreign travel will be easier for Chinese citizens on Tuesday. Although the PCR test is mandatory for the passengers entering the country, the daily quota for air flights in China is also being abolished.

Sagar Pandey, Managing Director of Himalayan Glacier Trekking, says that this will also bring excitement to Nepal’s tourism. Businessmen believe that now the travel of Chinese tourists will be easier and Chinese tourists who have not been able to leave the country for a long time will come to Nepal.

“It is good news for the citizens of Nepal that Chinese citizens are allowed to travel abroad,” he says.

According to businessmen, Chinese tourists come to Nepal in large groups. Vinod Sapkota, general secretary of Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAN) says, “If a Chinese group comes, many rooms in the hotel are filled, so when Chinese tourists come, the hustle and bustle increases.”