Kathmandu: On June 28, the press conference for the full launch of the “China-Nepal Exploration Tour” premium cultural-tourism project was successfully held in Kathmandu. The event was organized by the Xizang Tourism Culture Industry Group, Iris Tourism Culture Industry Group, Nepal Panda International Travel, and co-organized by South Asia Network TV.
More than 120 distinguished guests attended the event, including Suresh Shrestha, Minister of Culture and Tourism of Bagmati Province; Ram Krishna Lamichhane, Chief Executive Officer of the Nepal Tourism Board; Jeevan Ram Shrestha, President of the Nepal Olympic Committee and former Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation of Nepal; Liu Zhanping, Deputy Director of China Tourism Office in Kathmandu; as well as representatives from cultural-tourism enterprises and government agencies, aviation executives, industry associations, and mainstream media from both China and Nepal. Together, they inaugurated a new chapter in cross-border premium cultural-tourism cooperation between the two countries.
Under the theme “Aviation Empowers Stable Tourist Sources, Premium Cultural-Tourism Embarks on a New Journey,” and is guided by the long-term development philosophy of mutual benefit, industrial welfare, and sustainable growth, the press conference announced two major cooperation outcomes: the regular premium charter flights from Shenzhen to Kathmandu
through Himalayan Airlines and the expansion plan for charter flights from multiple Chinese cities, aiming to address the shortcomings in cross-border cultural-tourism transport capacity and resolve industry pain points such as fragmented tourist sources, seasonal imbalances, and uneven service quality.
According to official data released at the event, the exclusive Shenzhen Kathmandu charter flight completed its first flight on June 5, 2026. It operates every Thursday and Saturday throughout the year, totalling 104 flights annually, with a single-flight capacity of 177 passengers, delivering over 18,000 high-end Chinese tourists annually.
Leveraging long-term fixed seat allocations from three major airlines, China Southern Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, and China Eastern Airlines, combined with future charter flight layouts in key source cities such as Nantong, Hangzhou, and Qingdao, the project is expected to achieve 6,000 monthly cross-border seats in the long run, and facilitate the two-way exchange of 250,000 to 400,000 cultural-tourism visitors within 3 to 5 years, establishing a year-round uninterrupted China-Nepal air cultural-tourism corridor.
As a data-driven and fully implemented benchmark project of a non-governmental Cultural-tourism cooperation between China and Nepal, the “China Nepal Exploration Tour” features four themed cultural-tourism products, complemented by a premium 7-day, 6-night exclusive itinerary covering diverse offerings such as snow mountain trekking, cultural heritage exploration, mountain-lake wellness retreats, and cross-border study tours.
Distinguished from traditional low-cost sightseeing tours, it adopts an integrated high-end service model that includes bilingual tour guides, closed-loop reception, and compliant consumption. With in-depth development across core cultural-tourism areas, Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan, the project redefines the standards of Nepal’s high-end
cultural-tourism market.
Following its implementation and operation, the project will comprehensively empower the development of Nepal’s entire cultural-tourism industry chain. Regular operations are expected to create 500 to 1,000 direct and indirect local jobs, provide long-term stimulus to hotel accommodation, scenic area revenues, catering and transport, and intangible cultural heritage creative industries, activate the off-season tourism market, and drive the standardization and upgrading of local cultural-tourism services, continuously optimize the foreign investment environment, and enhance Nepal’s national image as a premium mountain tourism destination
destination.
The event was live-streamed by South Asia Network TV, with comprehensive multi-channel dissemination through official China-Nepal cultural-tourism media. Going forward, all parties will leverage regular aviation capacity, deeply cultivate premium cultural-tourism offerings, implement government-enterprise co-construction initiatives, and deepen cultural exchange, tourist flow, and industrial win-win cooperation between China and Nepal, striving to build a benchmark project of people-to-people connectivity and cultural-tourism co-development in the new era.
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