Hotels provide jobs to 60,000 people in Lumbini Province

RANJHA (BANKE), JULY 30 : The hotel sector in Lumbini Province has provided direct employment to 60,000 people. There are approximately 11,000 hotel entrepreneurs who have created jobs for these people, according to Bhaskar Kafle, the founding Chairman of the Hotel Entrepreneurs' Association in Lumbini Province. The province has 12 districts.

This sector boasts an investment of around Rs 200 billion. "The private sector has entirely invested some Rs 200 billion in hotels," Kafle said, adding that the state generates nearly Rs 400 million in annual revenue from this enterprise.

However, Kafle mentioned that entrepreneurs running small to mid-scale hotels, including star hotels, have been facing tough times due to the lack of dynamic tourism recently. The state can consider some relief packages for the hotel industry temporarily so that they can gradually recover.

Similarly, the Chairman of the Hotel Entrepreneurs Federation in Lumbini Province, Mahendra Shrestha, stated that promoting tourism helps boost the hotel business.

He informed that they were planning to name hotel rooms after heritage and culture. Shrestha also expressed that the state needs to provide a positive atmosphere for the hotel and hospitality industry.

"Once the government introduces policies favorable to the hotel and tourism business, it would help boost these areas, thereby generating more jobs," he said, adding that they were drawing the attention of all three tiers of government to this issue.