HAN Urges Government to 'Rethink Hospitality Industry'

KATHMANDU, Oct 17:Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) has requested Nepal Rastra Bank to extend the time limit for the payment of principal and interest of the bank. In the current situation, the hotel is unable to pay the bank's interest and installments as there is no business as it used to be in previous years.
 

The hoteliers of Pokhara and Siddharthnagar have publicly announced that they are unable to pay the bank principal and interest at the set timeline. HAN President Mrs Shreejana Rana informed that hotels couldn't run well and government must consider the sensitive industry like hospitality which has been devastated by the covid-19 and further aggravated with the spread of dengue, Russia–Ukrain War and being affected with country's poll activities among others.

 

She further highlights: 'In the year 2019, the number of inbound tourists was close to 1.2 lakhs and is projected to reach 5 lakhs this year, which itself reflects the reality of no possibility of sufficient business in this sector.'

The press release has it that the most complicated problem today is the excessively high interest which should be lowered to 'single digit' to encourage investment in this sector.  

HAN has urged the authorities to reconsider on their policies as hotels cannot settle up credit on time and it needs to be extended until later time. For that, rescheduling and re-financing should also be provided to the sector marred by Covid–19 and still not on proper track of normalcy.