Dear Readers,

last week we declared that COTRI WEEKLY will go into hibernation for the rest of the year. However, some exciting news, which cannot wait until January, made us change our minds.

The PATA Nepal Chapter in cooperation with the Nepal Tourism Board and the Visit Nepal 2020 Year will organize the first Tri-nation Nepal, India, China Tourism Expo NICE. From February 22-26, 2020, Kathmandu will provide a platform for private and public stakeholders to bring together the tourism powerhouses of China and India and Nepal, the country rightly placed to bridging the tourism divide of these countries. The event is meant to help to consolidate the relationship between the three countries, mainly in the field of tourism and hospitality.

The Expo will mark the National Celebration of the Visit Nepal Year 2020 including an international conference on Feb. 23rd. As part of the Strategic Partnership between PATA Nepal Chapter and COTRI, which was signed on December 6th during the PATA India Tourism PowerHouse 2019 event in New Delhi, COTRI will support the NICE and especially the conference.

Your humble author is happy to be able to report accordingly, that in February next year two conferences will bring an opportunity to our readers to enter new elements of the Chinese outbound travel market in innovative ways: The GITF conference on Feb. 21st in Guangzhou, pushing open the door to the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Macau and Hong Kong, as well as the NICE conference on Feb. 23rd in Kathmandu. NICE will provide new opportunities to participate in the starting development of stronger tourism relations between China and India and between Nepal and both countries.

The Tourism PowerHouse 2019 event documented the commitment of the Indian government as well as the Indian tourism industry to engage with more energy than in the past into the tourism relationship between the two most populous countries in the world, which see until now not more than one million traveling in both directions per year. As a tangible symbol of the new policy of the Indian government, a few weeks ago the visa regulations were simplified. Chinese citizens can get for a fee of 80 USD now a multiple-entry electronic visa valid for five years. For a single entry of up to 30 days, the visa fee has been reduced to 25 USD.

There are just ten weeks left before GITF and NICE, so readers interested in participating in one of both events should contact COTRI a.s.a.p. for further information.

So, for the second time, all best wishes to our readers, their families, colleagues, and customers for a wonderful 2020! See you soon in Guangzhou and Kathmandu!

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt FRGS FRAS and the COTRI WEEKLY team

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