Employment of 25 thousand workers in hotel sector in Gandaki

POKHARA, May 05:The Hotel Professional Federation Gandaki Province has over 8,000 members who own hotels and restaurants. Arjun Chokhal, president of Federation Gandaki Province, stated that almost 25,000 people have been engaged in the hotels, which have received billions of dollars in investments. According to him, the majority of medium and small hotels are part of the federation. Apart from Pokhara's lakeside, tourist level hotels from other places are also affiliated with the federation, he added, and the organization has roughly two thousand hoteliers, the most of them are based in Nawalpur.

President Chokhal stated that a district-by-district assessment undertaken during the Covid-19 pandemic revealed that Gandaki province has over 8,000 hotels in operation. "We estimate that there are approximately 25,000 manpower working in the hospitality service," he went on to say. The federation also includes the Prithvi Hotel Businessmen's Committee and the Pokhara City Restaurant and Bar Association, all of which are located in Pokhara, the tourist capital.

According to the federation's president, General Secretary of Gandaki Province Devendra Lamsal, about 1,400 Pokhara hotel and restaurant owners are involved with it. He claims that at least 130 hotels operate in Baglung. "Even though some old businessmen have been displaced, the attraction of investment in hospitality services is increasing, this has contributed to the creation of jobs within the country," Lamsal said in a statement. He stated that, in addition to promoting hotel investment, the federation has begun working on a plan to increase employee skills and professional safety.

According to General Secretary Lamsal, capacity building training is being provided to hoteliers and employees throughout the province so that they can deliver clean and tourist-friendly services. According to reports, training has been completed in Nawalpur and Myagdi for districts along the Kaligandaki Corridor as part of a cooperative endeavor between the Federation and the Nepal Tourism Board Gandaki Province Office.

According to the federation, capacity-building training will be held in Tanahun, located in the Marsyandi corridor, in the last week of this month, and in Manang, a district in the Himalayas, in the second week of June. "Training is being conducted with the aim of enhancing the timely skills and efficiency of the human resources working in the hotel," the president stated. "It is expected that the service of the hotel will be more quality and dignified with the training." In the context of Pokhara, Gandaki Province's capital city, being designated as the tourism capital, he stated that hotels operating here should provide tourist-friendly services.

He stated that Gandaki Province is also important in terms of religious tourism, and that hotels should strengthen their internal capacity and service quality to accommodate the increased tourist traffic. Lamsal, the federation's general secretary, stated that the experts will provide training on food hygiene, cleanliness, dress, tourist-friendly behavior and conduct, the use of technology in business, relationships between businessmen and employees, business promotion, and the commercialization of local products.