Tourism should be established as foundation of prosperity-President

Kathmandu, Jan 16: President Ramchandra Paudel has suggested advancing the concept of ‘farm to plate’ by directly supplying the agro and organic food products of the farmers to hotels.

At a programme ‘First Hospitality Day, 2080’ organized here today by the Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) on the occasion of its establishment day, President Paudel stressed the need for promoting Nepal’s indigenous food and culture across the globe.

The President suggested, “The hotels itself should place programme to take agriculture products to the hotels by either operating the agriculture farm or by signing an agreement with the farmers”.

He said it was a matter of happiness for the hotel sector of Nepal to remain successful in enhancing the country’s glory before the world by keeping intact the spirit of ‘Atithi Devo Bhawa (Guests are gods)’.

“As service, hospitality and reception are the integral part of the identity of the country, there is possibility for the sector to drive national prosperity. I suggest hotel entrepreneurs to pay special attention to that end”, President Paudel added.

He further said tourism should be made a base of income generation and prosperity. “Nepal’s specialties, natural beauty, culture and civilization need to be established in global tourism market so as to make it a stable foundation for income generation and prosperity. I am hopeful that arrival of over one million tourists so far will bring further excitements in coming days”.

Also speaking on the occasion, HAN Chairperson Binayak Shah demanded the government recognize the hotel industry having investment almost equal to the country’s annual budget as an industry with national priority. “Nine people get employment with the arrival of a tourist. According to the statistics, tourism sector has eight percent contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP). The tourism sector which is one of the sources of foreign currency should be recognized as an industry with national priority”.

As per the Nepal Tourism Board data, as many as one million tourists arrived Nepal via air route in the year 2023. The government has announced doubling the number of foreign tourists in the year 2024.

Presently Nepal has the capacity to accommodate 3.5 million tourists annually. As many as 10,000 hotels, including five star, lodge and resorts are operational in Nepal.

On the occasion, President Paudel honoured former presidents of HAN, Shyam Bahadur Pandey, Yogendra Shakya, Narendra Tamrakar, Prakash Shrestha, Prasiddha Bahadur Pandey and Sreejana Rana in recognition of their contribution to the development of the hospitality sector.

Also on the occasion, President Paudel launched HAN’s publication ‘Year Book 2024’. The Head of the State unveiled ‘Hospitality Day 2080’, ‘Nepali Heritage Food Best’ and e-learning video on the occasion.