12 Bisakh, Kthmandu: The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected tourism sector, one of the main revenue sources of the country. Hotel and air service industry are among the most affected amid the lockdown enforced to suppress COVID-19 outbreak. Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), the umbrella organization of hotel entrepreneurs, has projected that income of hotel industry might slash by 90 per cent in 2020.
The HAN requested the government to immediately adopt special policy measures to prevent the hotel and hospitality industry from sliding into further worse condition. Expressing solidarity for the government’s initiative for the prevention and control of COVID-19 pandemic, HAN said, “We urge the government to swiftly place special policy measure to protect hotel industry in this difficult situation”, reads the press release issued by HAN.
It called for the government to formulate necessary policy keeping into consideration the management of human resources, bank loan, house rent and power tariff until revitalization of the industry. The gross income of the hotel industry might go less than 10 per cent in 2020 as compared to the previous year, HAN sources said, adding the industry even would not be able to level up expenses this year. It also requested the government to immediately assess the pandemic’s possible effects in Nepali economy from different dimensions.
