Despite Chinese tourists arriving in Nepal, Nepali businessmen are unhappy with their presence as they only spend at Chinese shops, according to local media Pardafas. The owner of a Pokhara tourism company, Hari Bastakoti, said that Chinese tourists only stay in Chinese hotels and eat in Chinese restaurants, and any money they spend in Nepal goes back to China, benefiting their country of origin rather than Nepal. The Nepal Tourism Board reported that 165,000 Chinese visitors arrived in 2019 but the numbers have since declined due to the Covid-19 pandemic.