October 23: Himalaya Airlines has entered into to the Chinese market with its maiden flight to Chongqing, a major tourist city in China.

The airline company said in a recent statement that it has started operating direct chartered flights to Chongqing from Kathmandu every Thursday.

According to Himalaya Airlines, it is the only airline operating direct flights between the two cities.

The inaugural flight departed from Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) at 1655 hours (local time) and touched down at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport (CKG) at 2305 hours (local time) on October 18. The return flight from Chongqing landed at TIA at 0155 hrs the next day.

“China is one of our target markets. We are excited to expand our footprints 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. 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. H9 will be instrumental in bringing more Chinese tourists to Nepal and helping the tourism economy of both countries,” said Vijay Shrestha, vice president of the company.

Chongqing known for its rich history and cultural heritage, serves as an economic and manufacturing center apart from being the transportation hub for Southwest China, the statement said.

According to the company, China has placed Nepal as a new leisure destination, which is one of the driving reasons for increased Chinese visitors into Nepal over the past two years.

“China is presently the second largest tourist arrival market for Nepal with 109,497 visitors for 2018 (Jan to Sept) showing growth of 48.8 percent over the corresponding period of 2017. This is an exponential growth, as China now holds 2nd ranking after India with its share of 14.17 percent in the total tourist arrivals till September.” The statement added.