Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

    KATHMANDU, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) has deplored that Nepali tourism sector, especially hotels, has been severely suffering form abnormality.

    "Prolonged hours of power-cut, strikes, insecurity and labour unrest are seriously affecting the hotel business in Nepal this time", Prashiddha Bahadur Pandey, President of the HAN told Xinhua on Monday.

    Besides these domestic irregularities, the hotel industry is also suffering due to the cascading effects of the global economic meltdown," he added.

    At the time when the business communities in Nepal have asked the government to help to tackle the adverse business climate, the HAN has also articulated the hardship in the hotel industry.

    Stating that hotels are not in position to pay tax, bank interest, salary, electricity bill, as well as other incurring service related expenditure, the HAN has urged the government to bring out relief packages to insulate Nepali hotels from fall.

    On Sunday, a meeting of business communities had asked the government to allow entrepreneurs to enforce the "no work no pay" system if needed during closure of factories in abnormal circumstances.

    "At least 12 hours of electricity we need to run our business at working hour in the day time to run the business," said Pandey pointing out the 14 hours power-cut that Nepal is facing in a day.

    He even clarified that the hotel industry will not shut down like other manufacturing industries calling on "industrial crisis".

    "We will run our business as far as we can but if the situation remains same then the hotel industry will see no alternative rather than to close the business," Pandey said.

    The HAN also demanded uninterrupted power supply and implementing the decision to provide subsidy in diesel for hotels as well.