Nepal will offer free visas to visitors from neighbouring China in a bid to revive its tourism industry after last April’s devastating earthquake.
China is Nepal’s second biggest source market for tourists and following the earthquake issued a travel warning advising people to stay away.
It finally eased the travel advisory last week when the countries’ foreign ministers held talks in Beijing.
"This will help increase the number of Chinese tourists and boost our economy," said Sherdhan Rai, Nepal’s minister for information and communications.
China will join India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka with visa-free entry for its citizens.
Tourism Ministry data recorded 123,000 visits by Chinese travellers in 2014, a rise of more than 10% on the previous year.
Chinese carriers Air China, China Southern, China Eastern and Sichuan Airlines all currently operate scheduled services to Nepal
