The road leading to the Soaltee Hotel in Kalimati, which is usually crowded and crowded during Dashain-Tihar, is quiet this time. This five-star hotel, considered the pride of Nepal, with 285 rooms including suites and rooms, had at least 80 percent occupancy at this time last year. Dinners used to be held in the banquet hall and conferences were held in the courtyard. However, after the Gen-G movement, the Soaltee Hotel is running at about 50 to 60 percent occupancy.

The reason is the impact of the Gen-G movement and the subsequent monsoon-related natural disasters on Nepal's hospitality industry. According to the Hotel Association Nepal, five-star and tourist-level hotels in Nepal are currently operating at occupancy rates similar to Solti's. It is not only Solti that is dazzling with twinkling lights during Dashain-Tihar, but the lobbies of grand hotels in Kathmandu, including Yak & Yeti, Hyatt Hotel in Boudha, and Everest Hotel in New Baneshwor, look 'deserted' at this time.  

The Hilton Hotel in Naxal, Kathmandu, which is said to have invested about 8 billion, is closed after being set on fire during protests that broke out the day after the Gen-G movement. ‘There are preliminary figures of complete or partial damage to about 30 hotels across the country in the Gen-G movement,’ said Tek Mahat, CEO of the association, to Kantipur. ‘We have estimated a loss of Rs 25 billion in fire and looting.’

A survey by the National Statistics Office has revealed that the private sector has invested Rs 543.25 billion in the hotel and restaurant industry in Nepal. The hotel sector used to produce services worth around Rs 300 billion annually. However, businessmen say that the hotel industry has been directly affected by the natural disasters and movements that have occurred in Nepal in the years following the armed uprising.

Hotel Ambassador operator Yogendra Shakya said that the hotel sector is the first target of movements or strikes by both groups who want change and those who want prosperity in the country. According to him, the hotel sector became the target of protesters in this movement because people involved in politics also invested in the hotel sector. 

Before the Gen-G movement, the hotel situation was good in other places, including Kathmandu, except Bhairahawa. ‘30 to 40 percent of bookings were cancelled immediately after the Gen-G movement,’ said Sudarshan Chapagain, vice-chairman of Soaltee Hotels and member of the Hotel Association Nepal. ‘But since the Gen-G movement did not spread much, the hotel business picked up within 3-4 days. The cancellation rate also decreased.’ 

Hotels that were closed due to the deep wounds of the disaster and the movement are slowly opening. Bookings that were said to be cancelled have been returned. ‘There is a lack of confidence in foreigners coming to Nepal. But bookings seem to be trying to return to their old rhythm,’ said Vice-chairman Chapagain.

After Kathmandu, Chitwan is the destination for luxury and high-end tourists. ‘Last year, rooms were available in Meghauli and Jagatpur at this time,’ said Yogendra Bahadur Thapa, second vice-chairman of School International Nepal. ‘Chitwan is a destination of choice for luxury tourists. Americans, Canadians, and British did not come as much as they should have this time. It seems that about 35 percent of bookings have been canceled.’ Thapa, director of Barahi Hospitality Group, said that the number of Indian tourists in Chitwan this year has decreased compared to last year.

The most significant drop in the number of tourists is in Bhairahawa. CP Shrestha, president of Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), Bhairahawa, said that up to 90 percent of hotel bookings were canceled during the Gen-G agitation.

‘Bhairahawa is a hotbed of Indian tourists. Tourists used to come from the Beliya border crossing. But after the Gen-G agitation, as negative news about Nepal’s agitation spread in the Indian media, bookings were canceled in a hurry,’ said President Shrestha. According to him, the day after the Gen-G agitation, 8 hotels were looted and set on fire there. Where theft and looting were more common in hotels with political leaders’ names. He said that the booking rate in Bhairahawa has not improved yet.

After the hotel industry started reporting problems such as cancellation of bookings, the Nepal Tourism Board organized a discussion on Sunday as many workers could become unemployed and the environment for tourists to come to Nepal could be affected. According to Deepak Raj, CEO of the Tourism Board,

Joshi, the impact on ‘MICE tourism’ has been seen after the Gen-G movement. MICE tourism is tourism under the category of travel (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions) that is more for business, knowledge, networking, etc. than for entertainment of the common people.

 ‘MICE tourism has been seen very less. There is no need to cancel bookings. But the travel advisory issued by Canada, America and Australia to their citizens not to travel to Nepal is also having some effect. However, as the environment is improving, some countries including India have reviewed and removed their travel advisories,’ he said.

Buddha Air is the service that tourists coming to Nepal use most for flights. According to Buddha's director Rupesh Joshi, this year there has been a 15 to 20 percent decline in dollar fare tickets purchased by foreigners compared to last year. 'After the Gen-G movement, we had estimated that there would be a 50-60 percent impact on tickets purchased by foreigners, but the situation has not been that bad.' According to him, foreigners travel the most on Pokhara, Kathmandu, Chitwan and mountain flights. Out of the approximately 7,000 passengers flown by Buddha daily, 13 to 1,500 are foreigners. They travel on dollar fare tickets, which are almost twice as expensive as Nepalis.

Another sector in Nepal that has shown an increase in tourist activity is helicopters. There are 36 helicopters from 11 companies in Nepal. Bookings by foreign tourists on helicopters increase as soon as the monsoon ends. 'There seems to be a 15 percent decline in helicopter charter bookings compared to last year,' said Gyanendra Bhul, joint spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. 'But gradually, the number of foreigners visiting Nepal in groups has increased. On Friday alone, 85 American citizens arrived in Nepal on a charter flight. The number of foreigners is gradually increasing at the airport.'

The Hotel Association of Nepal has said that the number of tourists will increase if the environment remains stable for some time. This is because more climbers have arrived in Nepal this autumn than last year. According to Himal Gautam, Director of the Department of Tourism, as of Sunday, 1,020 foreigners, including 241 women and 761 men from 76 countries, are climbing various mountains in Nepal to climb 49 mountains. 

Kumarmani Thapaliya, President of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), says that the government should reschedule the schedule of bank loans and installment payments to keep the tourism sector running.

'The government should introduce some scheme for bank installments for entrepreneurs,' said Thapaliya, who is also a member of the board of directors of the Nepal Tourism Board. 'Another important decision taken by the Karki government Recently, in the name of austerity, government ministries have stopped events held in hotels. This should be opened up and supported by the private sector. Its message has not gone well. This decision will keep hotels running. This decision, which came at a time when most of the government ministries have been set on fire, was not friendly to the private sector.’

Nepal’s hotel industry directly employs about 100,000 people. A study by the National Statistics Office has shown that the hotel sector spends Rs 20.61 billion annually on salaries, wages and other benefits for employees and investors. Earlier, the hotel industry, which had faced shortages of fuel and raw materials due to load shedding and blockades, had also faced difficulties in the earthquake and the Corona pandemic.