With the arrival and administration of the vaccine against the coronavirus there is a glimmer of hope that Nepal’s economy could come out of the doldrums that it has been in since the first case of the virus was detected in the country and the government imposed a nationwide lockdown to stem the virus from spreading. In this context,  Pukar Bhandari, tourism journalist at nepalnews.com spoke to Shreejana Rana, President of Hotel Association Nepal on the challenges and plans of HAN with the arrival of the vaccine.

How positive are you about the tourism and hospitality sector with the arrival of the COVID vaccine? 

The government has received and started administering the vaccine against coronavirus which I believe is a very positive development. But then we cannot expect everything to get back to normal immediately. The vaccination drive that the government has started is encouraging but we need to be pragmatic… it is not a magic formula whereby the virus will disappear from tomorrow. The tourism industry is hopeful that the recent development will help boost economic activities in the country. 

Are there any plans that HAN has thought of working on now that the vaccine has arrived?

The World Health Organisation has mentioned that even after being vaccinated one cannot be sure that they are hundred percent COVID-free. People still have to follow the basic health guidelines like maintaining social distancing and wearing a face mask. The vaccine has arrived but the government needs to make sure that the distribution mechanism is proper. Our initial plan is to train all staffs involved in our sector to follow the standard operating procedure and take care of the health safety of tourists and workers. We are in touch with Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry to seek ways to improve the tourism industry. We are also planning to hold discussions with the Health Ministry regarding the safety measures that we need to adopt with the changing scenario.

What is the immediate challenge that we need to deal with?

The first challenge like I said earlier is regarding the distribution mechanism of the vaccine. What we all need to realise is that with only half the people being vaccinated will not solve our problem. Eventually, the government needs to make sure that everybody is vaccinated against the coronavirus. The government has said that the frontline workers will be administered with the vaccine in the first phase. So, everything has to be clearly outlined and the mechanism has to be very clear.

Has HAN made any arrangement or appealed to the government to provide vaccines to the hospitality workers? 

Our ethics do not allow us to do that. First and foremost, the frontline workers must get the vaccine. The priority arrangement made by the government is feasible. After the frontline workers the government needs to prioritise those who have to frequently travel out of their homes to work. 

What would you like to suggest to the government and industry stakeholders?

My suggestion to the government would be to implement the vaccine distribution drive smoothly and systematically. We always have good plans and polices but the perennial challenge lies in the implementation mechanism. So that has to be taken care of. To the stakeholders, I would like to suggest them to follow the necessary precautionary measures and safety protocols.