Why only about 1% Chinese outbound tourists visit Nepal
According to the China Tourism Academy, a Beijing-based think tank, the number of Chinese tourists abroad notched up 83 million “person times” in 2012, dwarfing about one hundred thousand Chinese visiting Nepal the same year. The question puzzling Nepal’s tourism industry is: Why has Nepal failed to attract a bigger fraction of Chinese customers? Don’t forget, they spend more in total on tourism than any other nationality.
Misunderstanding and bias
When I was preparing for my new post in Nepal at the end of 2011, one of my colleagues working in Beijing asked me, “Why do you choose to go to work in Africa?” Apparently she mistook Nepal as Nigeria or Niger in Africa, because the first character of the three national names carries the same pronunciation in Chinese.
Many Chinese also consider Nepal as some other South Asian countries like Bhutan and India. Few friends think that Nepal is the same as Sikkim.
More seriously, there is bias against Nepal. I once invited my elder sister’s husband, who does business in Dongguan, a manufacturing centre near Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, to travel to Nepal. But he said it is too dangerous to travel in a mountainous country with frequent traffic accidents and many crashes. I tried to convince him that the roads and air are safer than what he imagined, however, he didn’t believe me. Furthermore, he consulted with me about the possibility of opening the first five-star hotel in Nepal, without realizing that there are already many such hotels in the capital. Unfortunately, Nepal is still labeled as a very poor and backward country with dangers and uncertainties by a considerable number of Chinese people.
Expensive journey
Traveling to and in Nepal is an expensive journey for many Chinese citizens living in Northern China. There are only five cities Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Kunming, Chengdu and Lasha –which have direct flights with the capital Kathmandu. In addition, these flights are not daily, which means that transfer passengers have to spend more time and money during their visit to Nepal.
For foreign resident crew working here like me, to visit some undeveloped tourist resorts is risky because of poor domestic air service, which constraints tourism industry for a long time.
After spending two days in Nepal’s biggest lake – the Rara Lake in Mugu District adjacent to Tibet in April 2012 my friends and I walked for about three hours to Talcha Airport where we waited for three days for a 30-minute air-hop to Nepalgunj bordering India! With a complete gaff into my travel plan, I was charged extra 600 US dollars besides the ticket fee. Somebody informed me that we had to continue to wait for the flight there for more days without the extra payment. Suffering so much painful boomeranging, I never dare to recommend other Chinese persons to visit Rara Lake, although the lake is just like poetry with marvelous beauty.
Sightseeing resources eroding
It seems to me that Nepal’s tourism industry is just interested in making the best use of the valued tourism resources, without care of both natural and cultural heritages.
After nearly one year I visited Pokhara this August for the third time. More high buildings have sprung up and the city has become more beautiful. Phewa Lake, the jewel of Pokhara, however, is fading away. Boat ride still beckons on the lake and the water is too green to be normal. There are too many luxuriant water hyacinths indicative of a polluted water body. In fact, the pollution is so serious that finding a place on the lakeside street to enjoy the natural beauty of lake and mountains is not easy because of the household garbage everywhere on the slope of the lake.
Compared with a year ago, the road around the lake is rougher. Driving on the ring road full of bumps and hollows is a real test for the vehicle and its controller. Apparently, the local authorities let down the creator, who is very generous, gifting Pokhara with such a special artifact.
Of course, there are many other factors like unstable political situation that close Nepal’s door on more tourists from China. What worries me most is that Nepal has not prepared well to face the challenge from the changing Chinese tourism market. Firstly, Chinese holidaymakers are becoming more middle class. Generally speaking, the high consumption group is picky, demanding high-quality services. Secondly, an everincreasing number of tourists are willing to travel independently, rather than in an organized tour group. Personalized service is in dire need. Can the extensive growth pattern of Nepal’s tourism industry meet these challenges?
