Hotels and lodges in the district have re-opened following nil cases of Covid-19 in the mountainous district. There is an increasing inflow of domestic tourists to the touristic areas, Dhunche, Langtang, Gosainkunda, Tamang Heritage Path, Rasuwagadhi, Helambu and Dandepati, where approximately 200 hotels and lodges have been re-opened, said Ram Sharan Gajurel, President of the Hotel and Tourism Entrepreneur Association, Rasuwa.
The revival of tourism activities in the areas has encouraged hotel entrepreneurs here as hotel business had incurred over Rs 60 million monthly due to the infection, he said, adding that as a result, over 70 tourist guides and 400 employees associated with tourism have lost their job.
Small investors have been marred the most by the infection. They have taken out loans from banks and financial institutions to operate the hotel business. However, they are now finding it difficult to repay loans and interests with their hotels remaining closed for over nine months due to the virus. Moreover, they complained that they had to pay from Rs 50,000 to Rs 150,000 each in house rent for operating their business.
They have demanded the promotion of domestic tourism so as to cover their house rents. They also demanded that the government uplifts the tourism sector affected by the infection crisis by providing reliefs or providing loans free of interest to resolve the economic crisis caused by the infection.
Meanwhile, a luxury hotel has been opened at Palungtar Municipality in Gorkha district. The project with an investment of approximately Rs 70 million targets tourists visiting Ligligkot, the epicenter of the unification drive of modern Nepal launched by former King Prithvi Narayan Shah, said the hotel owner Man Bahadur Poudel. Spanning 10 ropanis of land, the hotel named 'Hotel Liglig Manaslu View' has 20 modern and luxurious rooms, a meeting hall, a party palace, and a restaurant.
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