Caan, NTB at odds over tourism fee hike

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) and the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) have been engaged in a bitter dispute over a hike in the tourism service fee levied on outgoing travellers at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). 

The NTB has decided to double the tourism service fee from Rs 565 to Rs 1,130 per traveler from March 1. Currently, a foreign traveler has to pay Rs 565 as tourism service fee on top of the Rs 1,100 airport tax on departure.

From March, foreign travellers will have to shell out a total of Rs 2,230 each.

The NTB said that the fee had been revised after nine years as per the directive of its executive committee and that the hike had been okayed by the Ministry of Finance. Subash Nirola, acting chief executive officer of the NTB, said that the increase would enable the board to concentrate more on international promotion and domestic tourism development. “With a bigger budget, the NTB will now prepare and implement a five-year plan to penetrate markets that have been unexplored before.”

However, the decision has upset the Caan management including its employee unions. “We have been accused of providing poor service and been described as one of the most expensive airports in the world. The decision to double the fee would make TIA even more expensive,” said Daman Rawal, president of the Nepal National Employees Union.

Caan Director General Ratish Chandra Lal Suman has also criticized the fee hike. Employee unions at Caan have also decided to launch a protest against the NTB’s decision.

Meanwhile, NTB officials said that it was a nominal hike and that it would not impact tourists. “It’s a government decision and Caan should not interfere in the matter,” said Nirola.

Caan should discuss it with the government instead of criticizing the NTB, he added.

NTB said that over the last few years, rising international prices coupled with a devaluation of the Nepali currency and stiff competition among destinations to make their presence felt on the international tourism market had made international promotion of tourism difficult.

“So, it has become unavoidable for the NTB to increase the fee to meet the expectations of the Nepali tourism industry and cope with a paradigm shift in international tourism promotion and marketing,” the board said.

In 1999, the government allowed the NTB to raise money for its promotional activities by charging a 2 percent tax on tourism services. The funding mechanism was changed in 2005 by charging foreign travellers departing from TIA a flat Rs 565 each.

source: the kathmandu post,6 feb 2014