Han on the budget for the coming fiscal year recently unveiled by the government article as per the opinion by Mrs Shreejana Rana, President- Hotel Association Nepal.
HAN on the budget :
In the current situation, the 50 Arab budget allocated for the tourism industry by the Nepal Government does not help to address our needs adequately at all. One of our main requests to the Government was the provision of a job retention fund; instead, what has been provided is a loan at 5 percentage for payment of staff salaries. It is impossible for hotels to pay all their staff even with this loan. Additionally, there are other costs we have to take into account such as rental/leasing costs, operating costs and maintenance costs.
Besides this, the Government has also failed to define the working modality and mechanism of the budget. We have not even been informed about how to access the money or what our next steps should be! Everything that has been provided is very generalized. The industry is in a disastrous situation and despite our continuous efforts, the Nepal Government does not seem to hear our urgent cry for help.
HAN on the budget in a single word:
“Pessimistic ” – because, as mentioned earlier, the budget fails to help us in the situation that we currently face.
HAN’s plan to work with the government in the tough months to come
One substantial point we, as hoteliers, have come to realize is that even our own concerned ministries do not understand the gravity of the situation our industry is currently undergoing. The recent announcement of the budget has only further supported this assertion. For the tourism industry, returning to normalcy even in 2021 remains a big question mark. While other industries can reopen their businesses once the lockdown is lifted, the tourism industry does not share this privilege.
However, HAN will not lose hope. We will continue lobbying with the Government like we have been persistently doing for the past few months. If we are to have a chance at surviving, then the tourism industry must be declared a red zone; a tri-party agreement between the Government, employer and employees must be established.
As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said: “ We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope”. Likewise, we will continue to raise our voices and fight for our cause until our needs have been addressed by the Nepal Government adequately.
Opinion by
Mrs Shreejana Rana
President
Hotel Association Nepal (HAN)
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