China listed Nepal in top tourist destinations for Chinese tourists

Beijing, March 10, 2023.

China has also included Nepal as the target tourist destination for Chinese citizens after Covid-19. Earlier, around the second week of last January, Nepali agencies related to tourism requested China to include Nepal in the first phase.

Effective March 15, a notice has been published on the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism's Weipo that Chinese tourists can travel to foreign countries for the second phase. On Friday, the Nepali Embassy in Beijing also confirmed that 20 countries including Nepal are included in the top tourist destinations list.

It is mentioned in the microblog Weipo that information has been released that tourism agencies can manage hotels, air tickets, etc., along with measures to control and prevent the Covid pandemic. Previously published 20 destinations included only Maldives and Sri Lanka in South Asia, but this time only Nepal is included in the list. Ambassador Bishnupukar Shrestha said that after Nepal was not included in the previous list, the Nepali Embassy in Beijing contacted various agencies including the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Tourism, and finally China accepted Nepal's request. 

Nepal had expected to bring in Chinese tourists after China opened the land and air links that had been blocked since 2020 due to Covid-19. But Nepali tourism businessmen were disappointed after Nepal was not included in the ADS (Approve Destination Status) list for the first time.