According to a report by Nepalese media outlet Pardafas, Chinese tourists arriving in Nepal are not spending money in local businesses, causing concern for the tourism industry in the country. Nepali businessmen have said that Chinese tourists spend their money only at Chinese shops in the country, rather than prioritizing local businesses. Despite the arrival of 181 Chinese tourists to celebrate Nepali New Year in 2080 BS, the owner of a Pokhara tourism company said that the arrival of Chinese tourists is not advantageous because the money they spend on Nepal goes back to China, and Nepal does not benefit. The Nepalese tourism industry has been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the number of Chinese tourists has declined since 2019, when 165,000 Chinese visitors arrived in the country. In January 2022, 16,000,436 tourists from various countries visited Nepal, with only 16,000 coming from India and 55,074 tourists overall, a drop from before the pandemic when China and India were the two countries from which most people travelled to Nepal.