Beijing uses tourism diplomacy as a method of soft power

On March 15 of last year, China ended its three-year closure due to Covid-19 and reopened its borders for travel. This included opening land and air routes and inaugurating the China-funded international airport in Pokhara, Nepal. However, despite optimism and predictions of a surge in Chinese tourists, the actual numbers didn’t meet expectations. Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists were the second-largest group visiting Nepal, just behind India. Yet, in 2023 Nepal only received 60,878 Chinese tourists, which is only a third of the pre-pandemic numbers. From January to May the following year, Nepal saw 46,671 Chinese tourists, with the most arrivals (12,093) occurring in March.

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