HAN urges govt to renew agreement
Kathmandu : Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) has urged the government to renew its agreement with the seven hotels and resorts inside the Chitwan National Park to protect the brand ‘Wildlife Tourism in Nepal’.
‘Wildlife Tourism in Nepal’ is a brand established some 45 years back, and hotel entrepreneurs are worried that the closure of the hotels and resorts will directly affect the brand and tourist arrivals.
“We have marketed and have been selling the brand ‘Wildlife Tourism in Nepal’ for about 45 years in the international market but if government rejects our proposal then the country will have to bear huge financial losses,” said executive chairman of Temple Tiger Group of Companies Basant Mishra.
According to Mishra, Nepal was the first country in Asia to have established the concept of wildlife tourism. “Wildlife tourism has become a prime product of our tourism industry,” he said and informed that of the total tourist arrivals, about 85,000 – 100,000 arrive for wildlife tourism.
“We also have a quality number of tourists from the domestic market,” he said. The seven hotels and resorts within Chitwan National Park are Temple Tiger Hotel, Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge, Machan Wildlife Camp, Chitwan Jungle Lodge, Island Jungle Resort, Gaida Wildlife Camp and Hotel Narayani Safari.
The government had leased land to the seven hotels and resorts till 2009. It further extended the lease for three more years, that is, till mid-July 2012. Citing the need to renew the contract, HAN once again urged the government to withdraw its decision to close the hotels and resorts and sign a new agreement.
“We submitted a memorandum to prime minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai , informing him about the renewal of contracts,” said president of HAN Shyam Sundar Lal Kakshapati. Natural Resources and Means Committee had recommended the government to permanently close the hotels and resorts in the national park to protect wildlife and trees,Himalayan Times reports.
