KATHMANDU.

Federation of Hotel Entrepreneurs has demanded that hoteliers should be allowed to get back to business by taking safety measures. In a press statement Tuesday, the Federation said hotel business had been down with the nationwide lockdown imposed by the government owing to risk of COVID-19 infection and the business should be allowed to reopen by implementing safety measures in the present circumstances. It also accused the government of ignoring its call to use hotels as COVID-19 quarantines and turning to other organisations by paying higher prices. 

The Federation also expressed its concern that Nepali migrant returnees from Qatar, Malaysia, Dubai and Gulf countries were made to stay in expensive hotels for a quarantine stay on their own expenses. Stating that hotel entrepreneurs were hit hard by the lockdown, it has sought 50 per cent discount on house rent and special discount on electricity, water, telephone and internet tariffs for the lockdown period. Federation secretary Narayan Gurung stressed that they should be given exemption of one year’s business tax and waiving of all other revenue of one year as a relief to them. Besides, the Federation sought the extension of deadline for clearing off bank and financial institutions’ loan and installment by two years with a subsidy on interest rates. 

The Federation said that the State had not any relief and facilities for hotel business to date, seeking the guarantee of loan at the minimum interest rate and creations of jobs for those hotel workers rendered jobless due to the crisis. In absence of the state support, the hotel business could not be revived, it concluded. It has insisted on its representation during the formulation of polices and rules relating to tourism business from the government level. The Federation has around 80 thousand hotels as its members from across the country.