Hotel occupancy rate falls slightly

Room reservation rate at five-star hotels in October failed to meet expectations of many, as lack of international promotional activities, economic slowdown in Europe and shortage of flights to Nepal hit bookings during one of the peak tourist seasons.

Although occupancy rate at five-star hotels stands at over 85 per cent in October, many said the figure was below the level of 2011 when bookings had surged past 90 per cent.

“Five-star hotels here are receiving good bookings but they are not as encouraging compared to the figure of the same period in 2011,” said chief executive officer of the Hotel Association of Nepal Madhav Om Shrestha.

According to statistics provided by the HAN, overall occupancy rate at five-star hotels has declined by around 10 per cent since 2011.

Occupancy rate at Hotel Yak and Yeti, for instance, stands at over 85 per cent in October. The figure for November is at 80 per cent, but in September the rate stood only at 66 per cent, resident manager of the hotel Bharat Joshi said.

“Definitely there is a fall of more than 10 per cent in booking rate compared to 2011,” said Joshi.

Hotel booking and confirmation rates are gradually declining since 2011 because of lack of aggressive marketing abroad, HAN’s Shrestha said.

According to first vice president of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents Madhu Sudan Acharya, the government and the private sector are lagging behind in promoting Nepal as a tourist destination in the international market, mainly in Europe and the US.

Since these markets supply high-end tourists to Nepal, Acharya said aggressive promotional campaigns must be launched there to give a lift to the country’s tourism business.

He, however, acknowledged economic slowdown in Eurpoe, which was eating away disposable income of many, may have played a role in declining hotel bookings in the country.

“But we cannot just cite that as the reason. Instead, we should try to fix problems such as seat constrains in international flights, and look for ways to encourage more European airline companies to start flying to Nepal,” Acharya said.

During 2011, the government along with the private sector launched huge campaigns abroad to promote Nepal as a tourist destination, according to Yak and Yeti’s Joshi. “We need more of such initiatives,” he said.

Joshi, however, added that increment in number of hotel rooms in Kathmandu Valley as compared to 2011 and 2012 may have contributed to lower reservation. It is said number of rooms has gone up by 600 in the last two years.

source:the himalayan times,7 Oct 2013