Hotels In Lumbini Lose Rs 20 billion Due To COVID-19
June 23, 2020 | Investopaper
Hotels in the Lumbini area have incurred a total loss of Rs 20 billion as tourist traffic has been reduced to zero due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Each hotel has lost Rs 150 million to Rs 400 million in revenue due to the closure. Hotel entrepreneurs also said that the government should come up with a suitable plan for relief as the tourism sector has been devastated. The government should now announce relief for hoteliers, postpone the payment of bank installments and waive interest, said Mithun Man Shrestha, president of the Lumbini Hotel Association.
Especially the customers of hotels and resorts in Lumbini area are tourists. Due to the corona, the movement of domestic and foreign tourists has been disrupted and the hotel business has also been shut down, causing a total loss of Rs 20 billion to the businessmen, said Chairman Shrestha. According to the Lumbini Hotel Association, there are 85 hotels in Lumbini. In these hotels, investment of more than seven billion rupees has been made. All these hotels are closed now. Banks have also invested in hotels in Lumbini area.
Entrepreneurs have complained that the government has not brought any relief package for the hotel sector even though the occupancy rate of the hotel is zero. The crisis could affect for the next two to three years. Hotel workers have been directly affected by the Corona epidemic. Most of the hotels have sent their employees home on unpaid leave since the closure.
According to the Lumbini Hotel Association, each hotel employs at least five to 50 workers and their management has become challenging. The hotels that did not send their employees home on unpaid leave have deducted half of their salaries. About 5,000 employees are working directly and indirectly in 85 hotels in Lumbini, as per the Lumbini Hotel Association.
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