April 13: One hundred and eighty Chinese tourists have arrived in Kathmandu on a chartered flight of Himalayan Airlines.
The team of the Chinese tourists arrived in Kathmandu on the eve of the Nepali New Year on Thursday morning through Nepal Big Mountain Travel.
Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Sudan Kirati, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Chen Song, Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Dr Dhananjay Regmi, among others, welcomed the Chinese tourists.
Talking to media persons, Minister Kirati said they were very happy to welcome such a large number of Chinese tourists for the first time after coronavirus pandemic and on the eve of the Nepali New Year.
"Guests are Gods. We always welcome foreign guests as god," Kirati mentioned. Minister Kirati expressed the belief that such activities would help further strengthen Nepal-China relations.
Saying there was a great role of Chinese government in construction of Pokhara International Airport, Minister Kirati opined that Nepal has wanted to directly connect Pokhara International Airport with China by air.
Minister Kirati expressed hope that Chinese tourists would like Nepal as some of the cities of Nepal are similar to Chinese cities.
Similarly, Chinese Ambassador Song said China has permitted the Chinese tourists to go abroad after coronavirus came under control. Song shared he was very happy to get welcome the Chinese tourists in Nepal.
Likewise, CEO Regmi mentioned that the arrival of Chinese tourists will help energize Nepal's tourism industry hit hard since 2019. Nepal should involve tourism promotion targeting Chinese and Indian tourists, Regmi added.
Proprietor of Nepal Big Mountain Travel and tourism entrepreneur Sudarshan Nepal expressed happiness over arrivals of Chinese tourists after China on March 10 put Nepal as the list of tourism destination after coronavirus pandemic.
The Chinese tourists would visit various tourism sites of the Kathmandu Valley as well as Poon Hill during their one-week stay in Nepal. –RSS
