Oct. 18: The Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) has requested the government to extend the deadline for the repayment of principal and interest from banks taken by hotel owners. It has demanded to do so by at least two years and provide the facility of rescheduling and refinancing.
Issuing a press statement , HAN has mentioned that the hotel and tourism industry is still facing difficulties due to the lack of tourist flow into the country. “The effects of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine just as the COVID-19 cases were dropping and the rapidly spreading dengue outbreak in Nepal has impacted tourism. In addition, the upcoming election is sure to indirectly reduce tourism arrivals and activities. The most complicated problem is the increasing interest rates of the bank and the urgent need to pay them within the set deadline. At present, even though we are responsible for paying the instalments of the loan and the interest, we are in no position to pay the interest under any circumstances”.
The association has also demanded to decrease the interest rates to single digit and that investment be encouraged in the sector. If the above issues are not addressed by the state immediately, the hotels will be forced to close down gradually due to their inability to clear their credit with the banks.
