KATHMANDU: Nepal Tourism Year 2011 is providing all necessary impetus to the country’s hotel industry. Hotels, which were closed, are being revived. Their standards are being revisited to satisfy the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) guidelines. New hotels’ registration is up in anticipation of a boom time. And, foreign investments in the hotel sector are standing out at a time when the economy has not seen much FDI flow in recent times.
“We are putting in Rs 10 million on renovations only,” said Harihar Lal Shrestha, managing director, Hotel Woodlands Pvt Ltd. Kathmandu-based Hotel Woodlands is in the process of revival after being out of operation for three years. The hotel was closed in 2007. The four-star hotel is undergoing renovations with quality enhancement being the most important consideration.
MoTCA data reveals that new hotel registration has increased to 1,122 in 2009-10. Most of the new hotels are outside the valley.
In Kathmandu, most of these new hotels are under-construction while some closed facilities are being revived. Intensification of activity in the hotel sector is palpable, said a market watcher.
Lumbini, which attracts Buddhists from China, Japan, Sri Lanka among other countries, has three new hotels with foreign equity in the pipeline. One of them is Lumbini Hotel Kasai which is having Chinese investments.
Another hotel going through infrastructure development is Lumbini Hokke Hotel. Hotel Devotee at Dhangadhi is another hotel in the process of finalising its standards. At Nepalgunj, one-star Hotel Sneha is
developing its infrastructure to upgrade itself to a three-star status.
Madhav Om Shrestha, executive chairman, Hotel Association of Nepal, said the private sector is excited about the tourism year and gearing up for it.
