He urged the sector to move forward as a strong partner of the state and to increase investment.
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Prime Minister Balendra Shah and officials of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) have met. In a meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Singha Durbar on Wednesday, Prime Minister Shah urged the private sector to move forward as a strong partner of the state and increase investment. Prime Minister Shah urged the officials of the HAN to fulfill their professional responsibilities by abiding by the law, register small and medium hotels with the Department of Tourism and bring them under the tax net, and study the collaboration that can be done under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. In the discussion, which was also attended by Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Khadak Raj Poudel, the officials of the HAN informed that Nepal's hotel industry is fully capable of serving four million tourists annually. Noting that only 1.2 million tourists are currently entering the country annually, the businessmen said that with the increase in tourist arrivals, the hotel industry will increase domestic employment and will become a strong medium to prevent Nepali youth from going for foreign employment.
Pointing out that Nepal has a huge potential for health tourism, destination weddings and cross-border tourism, they presented some policy demands to the government. They demanded that the hotel industry be given concessions in electricity tariffs like other manufacturing industries and that the short environmental assessment study for small and medium hotels up to 25 beds be maintained at 50 beds as it is impractical.
Similarly, they requested that Pokhara and Bhairahawa airports be fully operational and Nepal Airlines services be improved. They urged that the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act, 2075 BS, under which the amount of royalty or fee for trademark use under technology transfer should not exceed 5 percent of the total sales price excluding prevailing taxes, be amended to make arrangements for setting prices through mutual understanding and that other laws related to the hotel business be amended and reviewed.
Similarly, they urged the government to facilitate the process of bringing jewelry for destination weddings and to promote health tourism, not just by limiting it to photos and videos, but also by providing packages with 'full story telling' and experts.
