New Delhi: With no headway being made in China’s bid to make Nepal sign up for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects, Beijing is now resorting to tourism diplomacy to woo the Himalayan nation.
During the 16th meeting of the Nepal-China Diplomatic Consultation Mechanism held in Kathmandu earlier this week, the Chinese delegation announced that Beijing will declare 2025 as ‘Visit Nepal Year’ in China. The announcement took Nepali officials participating in the meeting by surprise. One cannot recall when China last promoted one single country as a tourism destination among its citizens.
This came even as the two sides failed yet again to sign the much anticipated BRI implementation deal during the meeting. Nepal is yet to agree to China's terms and conditions for Beijing’s funding of BRI projects in the Himalayan nation. Kathmandu prefers grants and financial assistance from Beijing rather than repaying loans with high interest rates.
Nepal also understands India’s concerns over BRI projects in the immediate neighbourhood. India views some planned BRI infrastructure corridors through Nepal as impinging on disputed territory it claims. Nepal wants to avoid straining ties with its powerful neighbour India by appearing to take sides in India’s rivalry with China. New Delhi has historically exercised considerable influence over Nepali politics and policies.
Now, with China announcing that it will declare 2025 as ‘Visit Nepal Year’ in China, the question arises whether this will bring about a change in ties between the two countries. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, China was the second biggest tourist market for Nepal after India. After China reopened its land and air borders for travel on March 15 last year after the pandemic, Nepal’s tourism industry expected a surge in the number of Chinese tourists.
Citing figures provided by the Department of Immigration, the Kathmandu Post reported that in 2023, only 60,878 Chinese tourists visited Nepal, “a recovery by a third from the pre-pandemic level when Chinese tourists boomed in Nepal”.
In contrast, the number of Indian tourists visiting Nepal reached an all-time high of 319,936. In the first five months of this year, 148,861 Indian tourists visited Nepal. Only Indians who travel by air to Nepal are considered as tourists. However, China’s announcement has got stakeholders in the Nepal tourism industry upbeat.
“So far, I haven’t heard or seen Beijing promote any country’s tourism inside China, the Post report quoted Kishore Raj Pandey, chairman of Saathi Nepal Travel and Tours, as saying. “This is, in fact, a good gesture of neighbourliness. “If it has been announced, Beijing indeed has some policy to encourage Chinese citizens to travel to Nepal.”
According to some observers, China’s decision might just help in the operational profitability of Nepal’s two new international airports in tourism capital Pokhara and Buddha’s birthplace Lumbini. Both the airports were built with Chinese aid. The low number of international flights operating to these airports have hit their profitability and left Nepal in debt trap with China.
“China’s announcement of declaring 2025 as ‘Visit Nepal Year’ is a bid to boost people-to-people ties,” Nihar R Nayak, Research Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses and an expert on issues about Nepal, told ETV Bharat. “It synchronises with Nepal’s aim to become a top tourist destination in the world. Nepal had declared the year 2020 as a Visit Nepal 2020 as tourism promotional campaign. However, it did not achieve the desired results because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only Chinese, the flow of Western tourists has also slowed down even after the end of the pandemic.”
Tourism is the largest industry in Nepal and its largest source of foreign exchange and revenue. Home to eight of the 10 highest mountains in the world, Nepal is a destination for mountaineers, rock climbers and adventure seekers. The Hindu and Buddhist heritage of Nepal and its cool weather are also strong attractions. Tourism brings $471 million a year to Nepal.
However, the tourism industry of Nepal was affected after the destructive Himalayan earthquake in 2015, followed by a series of earthquakes. In 2020, the tourism sector in Nepal collapsed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After the end of the pandemic, it is Indian tourists who have helped the Nepal tourism industry to recover slowly. According to Nayak, despite China’s tourism diplomacy, it will be Indian tourists who will continue to dominate Nepal’s tourism market.
“Indian tourists can travel to Nepal visa-free across open land borders,” he explained. “There are many cultural similarities between the people of India and Nepal. There are similarities of food and language. Many Indian tourists go to Nepal for religious purposes. Nepal is home to many Hindu religious sites like Pashupatinath Temple, Janakpur and Muktinath. In that sense, Chinese tourists cannot really outnumber Indians in Nepal.”
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