KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Balendra Shah has urged hotel entrepreneurs not to worry, saying the government is moving ahead rapidly with efforts to promote Nepal’s tourism sector.
During a meeting with office bearers of the Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers on Wednesday, Shah said the government has given high priority to the private sector and encouraged businesses to view the state as a strong development partner.
The prime minister called on hotel operators to comply with the law, fulfil their business responsibilities, register small and medium-sized hotels with the Department of Tourism, bring them into the tax net, and study areas for collaboration under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.
Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Khadga Raj Adhikari also attended the meeting.
During the discussion, HAN officials said Nepal’s hotel industry has the capacity to serve up to four million tourists annually, although the country is currently receiving only around 1.2 million visitors each year.
They said increasing tourist arrivals would create more domestic employment opportunities and help reduce the outflow of Nepali youth seeking foreign employment.
Highlighting Nepal’s potential as a wellness tourism destination, wedding destination, and cross-border tourism hub, the association presented several policy recommendations to the government.
Among their demands were electricity tariff concessions for the hotel industry similar to those provided to other productive sectors and raising the threshold for the requirement of an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) for small and medium-sized hotels from 25 beds to 50 beds.
The association also urged the government to fully operate the Pokhara and Bhairahawa international airports and improve the services of Nepal Airlines.
HAN further called for amendments to the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act, 2019 (2019 BS 2075), particularly provisions limiting trademark royalty payments, so that royalty rates can be determined through mutual agreement rather than being capped at five percent of total sales excluding applicable taxes.
The hoteliers also requested easier procedures for bringing jewellery into Nepal for destination weddings and called for the promotion of wellness tourism through comprehensive storytelling packages supported by tourism experts, rather than relying solely on promotional photos and videos.
The meeting was attended by HAN Acting President Dinesh Tuladhar, General Secretary Sajan Shakya, Treasurer Yubaraj Shrestha, Executive Committee members Jayadin Shrestha and Ashlesha Karki, and Secretariat Chief Tek Bahadur Mahat.
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