Hotel & transport entrepreneurs in Ilam district incurred major loss

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

To the tourism sector, the pandemic has been the most massive compared to other sectors as majority of tourist activities are still in the process to restart after Nepal experienced a nationwide lockdown on March 24th in the early part of this year.

In the Ilam district in eastern Nepal, the hotel business and transportation sector have reported major loss as a result of the crushing halt in tourism activities for over seven months.

Ilam, an exotic hill station in the far-eastern Nepal, which is one of the preferred destinations, experienced an enormous loss in terms of tourist numbers who would explore the tea estates, relish the sunrise and pay a tour to the old religious sites. Previously, the hotels remained packed with tourists. Public transports remained busy carrying the visitors. The entrepreneurs were hopeful in the wake of the much-awaited Visit Nepal 2020 and made a huge investment in the sector. Regrettably, the whole positive story turned different during this phase. Now, hotels majorly wear an empty look and vehicles didn’t move for months.

According to the Hotel Association, Ilam, Rs. 30 million investments was made by keeping in mind the VNY 2020. On an average, the hospitality sector in the district went through a loss of Rs. 226.2 million in a month. Many of the hotels might not get restored.

About 2,370 had been employed earlier at 400 hotels and restaurants in Ilam district. Most of them have lost their jobs.

In the transportation sector, almost 15 million was lost during this period of eight months. “We have to pay for the regular expenses including bank instalments, insurance premiums and taxes but the income is almost zero,” said Grishma Subba, chairman of Purbeli Jeep and Taxi Entrepreneurs Private Limited.

Even though the Nepal government has permitted the public vehicles to restart their services by following the public health protocols, people are yet to use them like before, according to Subba.

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