Nepal, Tibet to improve tourism cooperation
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Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) of the People’s Republic of China will work together to promote bilateral tourism.
“In the beginning, we will jointly launch day tours along the China-Nepal border,” said Wang Songping, deputy chief of Tibet’s tourism administration, at a briefing on Nepal tourism in China entitled “Welcome to Nepal” on July 16, 2010.
Nepal also will explore a cross-Himalayan route passing Kathmandu, in Nepal, and Tibet’s Jilung and Zham.
“Travel services in China and Nepal are encouraged to work closely to draw more tourists to the Himalayan region and promote package tours in the two neighbours,” he said.
In order to attract more tourists from China, Nepal has simplified visa procedures. At present, Chinese passport holders who took the direct bus service to Nepal could get visas at land ports in Tibet, he said.
In recent times, Nepal and China have good air access. Three major Chinese airlines– China Eastern, China Southern and Air China - have been operating regular passenger flights to Nepal from different cities of the northern neighbour.
Thanks to the increased air access and the launching of the world’s highest railway services in Tibet, the number of tourists visiting Nepal from China has been increasing by about 20 per cent annually. In 2001, China designated Nepal as the first outbound tourist destination in South Asia for Chinese citizens.
In 2009, Nepal welcomed about 15,000 Chinese tourists. Thousands of foreign tourists visit Tibet via Nepal every year.
Naindra Prasad Upadhaya, Consul General of Nepal in Tibet, said Nepal is going to launch the Nepal Tourism Year in 2011, a national tourism campaign, with a target of bringing in one million international tourists. “We hope to receive about 100,000 Chinese tourists in 2011,” he said.
In 2003, tourism authorities in Nepal and Tibet signed a memorandum of understanding on tourism promotion and established a joint coordination committee. Until now, the committee has held three meetings. The fourth one is going to be held in Lhasa in September this year.
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