A126 member Nepali delegation led by the Mayor of Pokhara Metropolitan City Dhana Raj Acharya arrived in Chengdu on March 18 on a chartered direct commercial flight of Sichuan Airlines, marking the beginning of a new chapter in connectivity between Pokhara and Chengdu.

Sichuan Airline has expressed its willingness to operate at least ten chartered flights-one flight per week in the Pokhara-Chengdu route before transiting into regular commercial flights. The delegation was welcomed at Tianfu International airport-Chengdu by the Sichuan Provincial Government representatives.

The delegation comprises of the Mayor, Chief Administrative Officer, local representatives, members of Nepal Tourism Board Gandaki Province, members of Pokhara Tourism Council, hoteliers, tour agents and other actors of tourism industry from Pokhara.

On commemorating the 70thanniversary of Nepal China bilateral relations, the visiting delegation will endeavor to publicize the Pokhara-Chengdu direct flights, calling to make the success of Pokhara Visit Year-as a part of broader initiatives taken by both Governments tomarkVisitNepalyear-2025 in China.

Similarly, a tourism promotion event entitled ‘Nepal Sales Mission -2025’was also jointly organized by the Nepal Tourism Board Gandaki Province, Consulate General of Nepal in Chengdu and Pokhara Tourism Council in Chengdu on 19 March,with over 250 enthusiastic participants from different facets of tourism industry of Nepal and China.

In the opening remarks of the event, the Chairperson of Pokhara Tourism Council reiterated their commitment to making Pokhara a world-class tourist destination. A presentation from the Director of Nepal Tourism Board Gandaki Province Maniraj Lamichhane highlighted the fascinating aspects for tourists in travelling to Pokhara.

During his remarks, the mayor emphasized building connectivity between Pokhara and Chengdu, as both were major tourist destinations of their country. The Deputy Director General of Foreign Affairs Office of Sichuan Province highlighted on the synergy between two world-class tourist destinations and cooperation for more immersive, multi-destination travel between Sichuan and Nepal. Delivering the vote of thanks, the Consul General of Nepal in Chengdu expressed thanks to all concerned authorities and expressed their Consulate to facilitate the trade and tourism efforts from both sides of the Himalayas especially contributing to the Nepal-Visit year-2025 in China. A similar tourism event is scheduled to be organized in Chongqing on 22nd March-2025.

The tourism delegation will explore the nearby cities of Leshan, Dujiangyan, Luzhou and Chongqing during their one-week tour. The mayor and his delegation held a meeting with officials from Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism on 19th March and are scheduled to hold a meeting with the Mayor of Luzhou City on 20th March, before his departure to Nepal on 21March