The Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) has urged the government to create an environment for operating airports at full capacity. On Tuesday, a delegation led by HAN President Binayak Shah met with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel, requesting the full operation of airports to increase tourist arrivals.
During the meeting, Finance Minister Paudel expressed the government’s commitment to increasing international flights at Bhairahawa and Pokhara Regional International Airports to utilize the growing number and capacity of hotels. He also assured that the government is dedicated to completing the expansion and upgrading of highways connecting key tourist destinations such as Pokhara, Chitwan, and Lumbini within a specified timeframe.
Minister Paudel stated that the upcoming monetary policy will focus on the stability and promotion of the tourism and hotel sector. He acknowledged the long-standing demand of the business community to recognize the hotel sector as an industry and indicated that the government is positive about implementing policy reforms.
Furthermore, he addressed issues raised by HAN, including the spending limits and arrangements for Indian tourists visiting Nepal, as well as measures to boost domestic tourism. The ministry is taking a favorable stance on these matters.
HAN President Shah highlighted that while Nepal has the capacity to serve 30 to 35 million tourists, only 1 million tourists currently visit the country. He pointed out that the existing monetary policy is insufficient to support the spontaneous operation of tourism businesses and presented a memorandum requesting government intervention to revise the policy.
The meeting underscored the need for government action to fully operationalize airports and enhance infrastructure to support Nepal’s growing tourism sector.
