By Our Correspondent
Nepalgunj, Sept. 23: Hotel business in Banke has suffered a loss worth Rs. 7 billion due to the lockdown and prohibitory order enforced to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Bhim Kandel, president of Hotel Entrepreneurs' Association Banke, the hoteliers of the district had incurred a loss of Rs. 7 billion due to the closure of around 4,000 small and big hotels during the lockdown.
“The hoteliers have faced huge economic losses while around 15,000 workers have been jobless due to the complete closure of all small and big hotels for the last six months,” Kandel said.
The lockdown not only caused huge economic losses to hotel entrepreneurs, the government has also lost huge revenue from hotel businesses during the lockdown, he added.
According to the association, investments worth Rs. 30 billion in hotels of the district – Rs. 20 billion from banking sector and Rs. 10 billion from entrepreneurs - are in peril due to the closure of hotel business for long.
Bhaskar Kafle, president of Federation of Hotel Entrepreneurs’ Association in State 5, said that hotel business had reached the stage of collapse at a time when additional star and non-star hotels had been established in Banke, the transit hub for Kailash Mansarobar pilgrimage, targeting the Visit Nepal Year 2020.
He said that tourism has been the most affected sector from the COVID-19 pandemic and urged the government to provide relief package to protect investment worth billions of rupees in the sector.
Ek Narayan Chapagain, president of Hotel Entrepreneurs’ Association Kohalpur, said that the government should bring relief package immediately to protect hotel business from collapsing.
Meanwhile, Hotel Entrepreneurs' Association Banke has suggested three stage revival stimulus for hotels which include exemption of house rent and tariff of electricity, telephone and other ulilities, exemption form taxes and providing subsidised credits in the first stage.
The government should promote the internal tourism and start international promotion by declaring 2022 as Visit Nepal Year in the second stage, it said.
In the third stage, the association has suggested recovering losses by inviting large number of international tourists thereafter.