A joint meeting of associations related to tourism held

KATHMANDU, August 16: A joint meeting of various associations related to tourism held under the chairmanship of Hotel Association Nepal President Binayak Shah has laid emphasis on the need to take steps by tourism stakeholders for the development and promotion of the tourism industry which has collapsed due to Covid. It was also decided to take necessary steps and make recommendations to include business and investment-friendly policies in Tourism Act which is being amended.

The attention of the joint meeting has been drawn to the fact that the tourism sector was classified as an industry for one year during the Covid period, and then the government did not prioritize the tourism sector. The representatives of the government of Nepal have indicated that the budget and monetary policy of the current financial year have increased the number of tourists and economic activity has also increased, but it is said that the tourism business including star hotels, which are constantly being added, are using less than one-third of the total operating capacity and there is also a loss in operation.

It was emphasized that the capacity of the tourism sector to handle 3.5 million tourists has been developed and have urged authorities to advance programs to welcome the announced 10 million tourists in 2023, special tourism year 2025, and tourist decade programs with the participation of the private sector. Although almost 8 months have passed since the beginning of the tourism decade, concern was expressed that the program, budget, and even the secretariat have not been designated.

Expressing concern over the lack of international flights from Bhairahaw and Pokhara regional international airports, the meeting emphasized that these airports should be operated at full capacity immediately.

Nepal being an expensive destination in terms of air transport, has made it even more expensive due to the increased airfare and 13% VAT and 2% luxury tax. The problem of not being able to pay the principal and interest to the banks from our tourism business, which is not even operating at one-third of its capacity, was also presented in the meeting.

In the meeting, it was emphasized that the foreign currency earned by the tourism sector for providing services to foreigners should also be given the same cash incentives as other export industries.

On that occasion, more than 20 tourism-related association presidents and officials including NATTA, TAAN, NMA, NARA, among other organizations and representatives of the tourism industry were present.