Nepal, China sign tourism accord

November 26, 2001
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Nepal and China signed an accord Monday permitting Chinese tourists to travel to Nepal. The agreement was signed by Minister for Tourism Bal Bahadur K.C. and
visiting Chairman of China’s National Tourism Administration He Guanfwei.

He arrived here Sunday night as head of a 20-member Chinese delegation. Group tours of five travelers each can now visit Nepal, under terms of the accord. Nepal and China have permitted 67 travel agencies each to undertake group tours.

He also inaugurated the office of the Chinese National Tourists Office in the capital Monday. The initial signing of the accord was delayed earlier this year because of internal political stability in the kingdom.

The signature will help diversify points of tourist arrivals for a nation whose tourism industry has suffered successive blows beginning with the 1999 December eve hijacking of an Indian Airlines Airbus by suspected Kashmiri militants of a routine flight to New Delhi from Kathmandu.

Indian arrivals never recovered from this first punch and the backlash from the bloody Hrithik Roshan riots despite efforts by the Nepal Tourism Board this year to market the kingdom as a safe and pleasant destination for Indians.

Just as the industry was recovering, the June 1 Narayanhiti royal palace carnage and the September 11 terror attacks against targets in New York and Washington and subsequent retaliatory strikes by a U.S.-led international coalition against Afghanistan have sent the industry into another spin.

Nepal will be the 9th tourist destination officially approved by China for overseas visits by its nationals; China and India are currently negotiating to sign a similar deal. Nepal and China agreed in April last year to begin moves to expand tourism ties.

The central banks of the two countries are to sign an agreement on the convertibility of the Chinese yuan to facilitate arrivals from China.