Kathmandu, Jan.25:Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai sa d today the government has adopted the policy of maximum involvement of private sector in tourism industry.
“Nepal Tourism Board, which has maximum representation from the private sector, is an example of the government’s catalytic role to promote this sector,” he said of the 11-member board, which comprises six representatives from the private sector.
“To help tourism industry, the government has set up independent organisations like Nepal Tourism Board and Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal,” Bhattarai said inaugurating the 33rd annual general meeting of Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) here today. “The government has empowered both these organisations to introduce Nepalese tourism abroad more effectively.”
Having noted that tourist arrival in the country is the best in South Asia, Bhattrai said that the figure, however, is not enough to meet the hotel capacity at present. “Therefore, it is high time we did some kind of innovative promotional activities abroad so that ample number of tourists come to Nepal.”
Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar, Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation, said Nepal has sufficient infrastructures to accommodate more than one million tourists a year, yet not even half a million tourists are arriving here annually.
“Therefore, to gear up the promotional action in order to generate more tourists, the government has initiated to formulate target oriented programmes designating the year 2002 as Destination Nepal Year.”
“I hope that private sector will extend its full co-operation to make this programme successful.”
Speaking during the programme, Gautam Das Shrestha, outgoing President of HAN, said that hotels all over Nepal can accommodate more than 1.2 million tourists though little over 500 thousand tourists visited Nepal in 1999.
He further added that hotel occupancy rate in the country has remained between 35 to 40 per cent leading to a big gap between demand and supply thereby triggering unhealthy competition.
“Therefore, license for new hotels should not be issued in over-saturated areas like Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitawan as long as the demand does not increase.”
Having claimed that foreign investment has increased significantly in different Asian countries, Gautam said that due to lack of sufficient facilities, both the domestic and foreign investors have not been attracted to open hotels and resorts in remote areas of tourists’ interests in the country.
Later in the evening today, HAN’s 33rd Annual General Body Meeting elected Narendra Bajracharya as the association’s president. He was the 1st Vice President of HAN before being elected to the present top position.
Hoteliers Prakash Shrestha and BK Shrestha have been elected as 1st and 2nd vice president, respectively. Ajaya Sthapit and Sagarman Shrestha have been elected as Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer respectively.
Other members who have been elected in the executive committee are Ribhu Chatterjee, Richard Launay, Samir Khanna, Prasidha Pandey, Binod Shankar Shrestha, Rajan Shakya, Rajesh Kazi Shrestha, Manjeshree Rana, Govinda P Thapaliya, Palsang Gurung, Shyam Kakshyapati, Attal Ram Kharel and Sundar Shrestha.
The newly elected President Bajracharya has nominated M Lari and Amar Man Shakya as the members of the new executive committee.
(RSS adds: Narendra Bajracharya has been unanimously elected the new president of Hotel Association of Nepal (han) by the 33rd annual general body meeting of the association here today.
Prakash Shrestha and bk Shrestha have been elected first and second vice-president respectively while Sagarman Shrestha the honorary treasurer.
The new executive members of the association are Ribhu Chatterjee, Richard Lalmay, Amir Khanna, Prasidha B. Pandey, Binod Shanker Shrestha, Rajan Sakya, Rajesh Kaji Shrestha, Manjesshree Rana, Govinda P. Thapathaliya, Palsang Gurung, Shyam Kakshapati, Atmaram Kharel and Sundar K. Shrestha.