PM Shah urges hotel entrepreneurs not to worry as government steps up tourism push

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Balendra Shah urged hotel entrepreneurs not to worry as the government stepped up efforts to promote tourism.

Speaking at a meeting with office‑bearers of Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Prime Minister said the state should be regarded as a strong partner because the government has given high priority to the private sector.

He urged entrepreneurs to meet their business responsibilities while complying with the law, to register small and medium hotels with the Department of Tourism so they entered the tax net, and to explore potential collaborations under the public‑private partnership (PPP) model.

On the occasion, HAN office‑bearers told the meeting that the country’s hotel industry was capable of serving 4 million tourists annually but was receiving only 1.2 million. They said an increase in arrivals would boost domestic employment and reduce the number of Nepali youth seeking work abroad.

The association highlighted opportunities to develop Nepal as a wellness tourism destination, a wedding destination and a cross‑border tourism hub, and put forward several policy requests to the government. They asked for electricity tariff concessions for the hotel industry on par with other manufacturing sectors and for the brief environmental assessment threshold for small and medium hotels to be extended from up to 25 beds to up to 50 beds. They also called for full operation of Pokhara and Gautam Buddha international airports and improvements to services at Nepal Airlines Corporation.

HAN requested a review and amendment of laws affecting the hotel business and proposed that trademark royalty fees be set by mutual agreement by amending the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act, 2075 (2018), which at present capped royalty at 5% of total sales value excluding taxes. They also urged the government to simplify procedures for bringing jewellery into the country to support wedding tourism and to develop wellness tourism packages with "full storytelling" and experts rather than relying on "photos and videos".

HAN Acting President Dinesh Tuladhar, Secretary General Sajan Shakya, Treasurer Youb Raj Shrestha, executive committee members Jayadin Shrestha and Ashlesha Karki, and HAN chief operating officer Tek Bahadur Mahat attended the meeting.

(With inputs from RSS)