Hotel bookings drop in April

A decline in the number of Indian tourist arrivals has once again negatively affected the overall occupancy of hotels.

Hotel bookings were not satisfactory in April, stated Hotel Association Nepal. The Indian market, which is considered a major market of the country, declined by 25.3 per cent in April, according to statistics from the immigration office. “Last month, we observed a sharp decline in bookings by Indian and Chinese tourists in our hotel,” said resident manager of Hotel Yak and Yeti Bharat Joshi. According to him, the trekking market is quite stable but due to the economy packages being provided in South East Asian countries, Indian tourists have started flocking to those destinations.

“Thailand and Malaysia are coming up with aggressive marketing and product promotions,” he said, adding that Indians are now more interested in South East Asia as the destination is affordable and one can easily go there with an extra IRs 15,000 to the package they get in Nepal. “Along with Indian tourists, the number of bookings from Europe also dropped in April,” said Joshi.

Though April is the main season for bookings and reservations by Spanish tourists, the hotel did not receive the expected number of bookings. Overall bookings from France, Germany, Greece and Spain have declined due to the economic recession in Europe.

Joshi said that the weak casino management, and lack of promotion and special packages are the main reasons behind the low number of bookings from India. “There used to be aggressive marketing of casinos in India with special promotions and packages but lately we have not heard much about it,” he said. Total occupancy of Hotel Yak and Yeti decreased by two per cent which means the hotel had total occupancy of 82 per cent last month.

Meanwhile, bookings by Indian tourists have fallen by 17 per cent that used to be 35 per cent in the same period last year.

Similarly, in April, Hotel Annapurna observed total occupancy of 80 per cent, which is comparatively lower than last year. “Basically, we have different segments that are airlines, longstay, groups, leisure, MICE, casino and corporate businesses,” said head of sales and marketing of Hotel Annapurna Raj Bikram Shah.

“The market is unpredictable, that is why we have to work in various segments rather than following only a single segment,” said Shah. “We have maintained our occupancy because of our focus on various segments though there has been a decline in leisure and groups that are particularly based on tourists,” he said.

According to Shah, of the total occupancy, the share of Indian tourists is 35 per cent.

source: the himalayan times,3 may 2013