Government data shows that the number of Chinese tourists entering Nepal during 2011 shot up by 77.6 percent over the previous year, to around 50,000. [break]
However, tourism entrepreneurs are still not fully aware of this lucrative segment of tourists, who are emerging as some of the highest spending visitors.
Travel operators handling Chinese tourist groups said that the number of free independent travelers (FITs) was also on the rise. “Till last year the Chinese were only traveling in groups but these days we are getting a significant number of individual tourists through online booking,” Kishore Pandey, chief executive officer of Sathi Travels, said, adding that Chinese tourists had different behavior in terms of food habit and other activities.
Pandey, who is also former president of the Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal (REBAN), said that the major difference between Chinese and other tourists was eating habits.
“They don´t spend on liquor but stick with Chinese tea; however, they don´t hesitate to order many verities at one sitting as they enjoy eating smaller quantities,” he said, adding, they generally eat at Chinese restaurants and travel in booked packages.
The food-specific nature of the Chinese has also led to more Chinese restaurants opening to cater to them.
According to REBAN President Tejendra Nath Shrestha, more than a dozen new Chinese restaurants opened in the capital alone during the recently concluded Nepal Tourism Year 2011, and these targeted the rising number of tourists from the northern neighbor.
However, problems also cropped up along with opportunities in the soaring number of Chinese tourists.
The limited number of Chinese-speaking guides is one example.
Former president of Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) Ram Kaji Koney said it was very difficult to find Chinese speaking guides. “Tour guides for Chinese tourists are charging up to US$ 5 more per tourist over the normal charge,” said Koney, who runs Fewa Travels.
Since a majority of these visitors come in package tours, the only places they can hang out are shopping centers.
Travel agents said that the Chinese were spending 30 percent of their travel budget on shopping, which mainly includes buying souvenirs such as pashmina shawls, hand-knotted carpets and handicrafts.
Tour officials said the Chinese were spending the bulk of their budget on food and shopping. Laxman Chand, a tour manager, said that pashmina, thanka paintings and Buddhas were top of the shopping list for most Chinese. “High-end Chinese tourists are also buying wooden-framed souvenior clocks and other wooden objects,” Chand said.
Chinese tourists account for over 40 percent of the total pashmina sales to foreign tourists in Nepal, or around Rs 400 million. Pushpa Man Shrestha, president of Nepal Pashmina Industries Association, said that the figures suggest the high potential for the sale of these exportable items to the Chinese.
According to travel agents, their particular choice of food and accommodation at five star hotels has also made them some of the highest-spending visitors. “They are spending in the range of US $70 to 100 per day per person,” Pandey said.
Average daily spending per head by foreign visitors in Nepal was US $ 43 in 2010, according to a report from the central bank.
Amir K.Pradhananga, sales and marketing director at The Everest Hotel, said that Chinese visitors accounted for 20 percent of their total occupancy in the month of January.
“In the past, the number of Chinese tourists was limited mostly to months like January, May and October. In January, altogether 6,631 Chinese visited Nepal, up by over 107 percent compared to the same month last year. However, these days they have started coming round the year,” he added.
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