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Himalaya begins direct flights to Chongqing
Himalaya Airlines, a Nepal-China joint venture offering international flight services, has entered the Chinese market with a maiden flight to its latest destination, Chongqing, a major tourist city of the People’s Republic of China.Himalaya Airlines, a Nepal-China joint venture offering international flight services, has entered the Chinese market with a maiden flight to its latest destination, Chongqing, a major tourist city of the People’s Republic of China.
The airline is operating the flight once a week. Himalaya is the only airline operating direct flights between the two cities.
The inaugural flight departed from Tribhuvan International Airport at 16:55 hours and touched down at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport at 23:05 hours on October 18. The return flight from Chongqing departed at 00:05 hours and landed in Kathmandu at 01:55 hours on October 19.
“China is one of our target markets. We are excited to expand our footprint there, allowing us to provide greater options for business and leisure travellers. We are proud to be the first and only airline to offer direct service from Chongqing, China to Kathmandu,” said Vijay Shrestha, vice president of administration at the airlines. “We are confident that this route will boost passenger traffic as we expect a good demand from Chongqing, which has a sizeable population of affluent out-bound travelers. Himalaya Airlines will be instrumental in bringing more Chinese tourists to Nepal and boosting the tourism economy of both countries.”
Chongqing, one of the centrally administered municipalities in China along with Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, offers remarkable attractions to visitors. Chongqing known for its rich history and cultural heritage, serves as an economic and manufacturing centre as well as the transportation hub for Southwest China.
China has placed Nepal as a new leisure destination, which is one of the major reasons for increased Chinese visitors into Nepal over the past two years. The number of Chinese travelling to Nepal has grown tremendously after the country suffered a severe earthquake in 2015 followed by the border blockade that kept tourists away. China is presently the second largest tourist arrival market for Nepal with 109,497 visitors for 2018 (Jan to Sept), showing a growth of 48.8 percent over the same period of 2017.
China now holds the second ranking after India, with its share of 14.17 percent in the total tourist arrivals till September. With this Chongqing-Kathmandu connectivity, Himalaya Airlines is expecting to contribute its own share to tourism of Nepal in a big way, according to the press statement issued by the company. Additionally the airline plans to extend its focus on China connectivity by adding up other cities like Beijing, Haikou, Nanchang and more in the next phase.