The Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), the umbrella organization of star and tourist-level hoteliers in Nepal, has demanded from the Prime Minister to improve policy arrangements related to airport expansion, road infrastructure, environmental standards, 'destination weddings', wellness tourism, and international hotel brands to increase tourist arrivals.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah, who has been holding continuous discussions with the private sector in recent days, had called hoteliers on Wednesday. In the discussion that lasted about an hour at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Han's team proposed various policy reforms related to the hotel industry. Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Khadak Raj Poudel also participated in the discussion.

Han said that the Prime Minister responded positively to most of the demands of the businessmen during the meeting and pledged to move forward in coordination with the relevant bodies. Han's General Secretary Sajan Shakya said that the meeting with the Prime Minister was fruitful. 'We had asked for half an hour. But the Prime Minister gave us about an hour. He listened to each of our issues carefully and responded positively to most of the demands,' he said.

According to Shakya, Han first raised the issue of the number of tourists not increasing according to the capacity of the hotel industry. 'Nepal's hotel industry can serve about four million tourists annually.' But now only about 1.2 million tourists are coming,' said General Secretary Shakya, 'That is why we have urged the government to accelerate the construction of the second terminal of Tribhuvan International Airport, expand road connectivity with India and China, and prioritize infrastructure development.'

Han has also urged to amend the provision related to the brief environmental study implemented for small and medium hotels. According to Shakya, before the COVID-19 pandemic, such a study was not mandatory for hotels with up to 50 beds. But after the amendment, it was made mandatory for hotels with more than 25 beds, and small and medium investors have been affected. 'Making an environmental study mandatory for hotels with 25 beds has placed an unnecessary burden on investors. We have urged to restore it to 50 beds,' he said. According to Shakya, the Prime Minister has committed to finding a quick solution to this issue by coordinating between the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Environment.

Han has also urged the government to ease the customs process for bringing jewelry for tourists from India and other countries to Nepal to organize weddings and conferences. According to Shakya, foreign wedding groups coming to Nepal for wedding programs are currently facing inconvenience due to the customs process. ‘A large wedding ceremony alone generates economic activity of Rs 8 million to Rs 10 million.’ Therefore, we have demanded that the process of bringing jewelry based on hotel bookings be made easier,’ he said.

Han has urged that health tourism be prioritized along with trekking and adventure tourism. ‘There is great potential for yoga, meditation and natural healing in Nepal. If these can be promoted systematically, high-spending tourists can be attracted,’ said Shakya.

Han has also demanded a review of the provision in the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act that allows foreign hotel brands to charge a management fee or royalty of only 5 percent of total sales. According to Shakya, businessmen have been saying that it is difficult to bring big brands in when the government sets a limit of 5 percent in agreements with international hotel chains. 'The business model of each brand is different. Therefore, our demand is that the government should allow the fees to be determined according to the agreement between the parties concerned, rather than setting a limit,' he said.