Casinos owe a whopping Rs 300m to govt
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 31 -
Casinos operating in the Kathmandu Valley and outside have over Rs. 300 million in dues to be paid to the government as royalty.
There are 10 casinos (eight in Kathmandu) operating in the country, of which, only Casino Venus operating under Hotel Malla has cleared its bills, an official at the Inland Revenue Deparment (IRD) said.
The IRD, after failing to collect royalty from these casinos, has handed over the task to the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) recently.
When the DRI called the casino operators to discuss the matter, they asked the department to grant an installment facility to pay the dues, the source said. The DRI had collected Rs. 250 million as a royalty last year.
Rajan Khanal, director general at the IRD said they were feeling uncomfortable in taking legal action against the casino operators as the Tourism Ministry looks after it. “As legal action there are no alternatives but to shut down the casinos reluctant to pay their dues,” said Khanal.
Casino Nepal under the Soaltee Hotel hasn’t paid royalty worth Rs 109 million of the past four years.
Likewise, Casino Fulbari has Rs 60 million as royalty dues. The Casinos have to pay Rs 20 million every year as royalty.
As per the Fiscal Act, casinos should pay the royalty by mid-September every year. “None of the casinos have made a wholesome payment,” said Sishir Dhungana, chief of the IRO -3.
Of the total casinos, seven are operated by the Nepal Recreation Centre, while Valley Link is running Casino Venus and Casino Grand. Casino Royal is under the Gild International.
Casino staffs say that the downfall in casinos is due to the government move of restricting Nepalis’ entry. The restriction has downed customers by about 70 percent. There are over 8,300 employees’ in 10 casinos.
Meanwhile, the MoTCA is planning to introduce a regulation for casinos to
boost tourism earnings. A official at MoTCA said there was no clear regulation to monitor the increasing malpractices in casinos. MoTCA issues the operating licences of casinos but does not supervise and monitor them.
Currently, Nepal Police under the Ministry of Home Affairs has the responsibility to curb gambling-related crimes under the Public Offence Act.
“The police is only responsible for controlling gambling-related crimes inside the casinos,” said Laxman Prasad Bhattarai, spokesman of the MoTCA.
Casinos Unpaid royalties
Casino Nepal Rs 109 million
Casino Anna Rs 68 million
Casino Fulbari Rs 60 million
Casino Shangri La Rs 26 million
Casino Rad Rs 17 million
Casino Grand Rs 10 million
Casino Royal Rs 13 million
Casino Everest Rs 5 million
Casino Tara Rs 6 million
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
House full
Hotel bookings for the upcoming autumn season reach a record high
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 31 -
The hotel industry is looking buoyant with encouraging bookings at major five-star hotels for the upcoming season. Thanks to increased air links, bookings at five-star hotels have soared to over 90 percent for the autumn season (October-November).
Hoteliers said that some five-star hotels had been overbooked while bookings at others had crossed 90 percent. Higher booking rates for autumn make a huge difference to the domestic hospitality industry as it is the main tourist season. Around 30 percent of the total tourist arrivals occur during this time.
Hoteliers said that hotel occupancy this season was likely to rise significantly compared to 2008 and 2009. However, they are worried that if the overwhelming rate of bookings continues, it would be hard to manage them. The hotels have a bed capacity of only 25,357. However, a recent Nepal Tourism Board survey at 15 tourist sites shows that 66,603 beds can be generated.
With the significant rise in bookings, travel trade entrepreneurs and hoteliers are hoping that the business outlook will be much better than in previous years.
From Hotel Everest, Hyatt Regency to Shangri-La, almost all have their bookings going up to 100 percent. In the case of Hotel Yak & Yeti and Radisson, bookings have reached over 95 percent.
Room bookings for the upcoming season at the Soaltee Crowne Plaza, the country's leading five-star hotel, have surged by 20 percent. "Compared to the last season, bookings have gone up by 20 percent," said Sony Chaudhary, assistant manager, marketing and public relations.
Despite overwhelming bookings, hoteliers are still not sure whether they will materialize into business. Amir Pradhananga, sales and marketing director of the Everest Hotel, is one of them. "Despite the rate of booking (ROB) for autumn crossing 100 percent, we're not sure if these bookings will be occupied until we get the final reservation order from the customers," said Pradhananga. As per hotel rules, customers should confirm or cancel their bookings before 15-20 days.
Last year, about 30 percent of the clients had cancelled their bookings. "This season, there are no signs of cancellation; however, there are still some weeks left to get the final confirmation of the reservations," said Pradhananga.
The Everest Hotel has overbooked rooms for a few days in October.
The Shangri-La's ROB has also crossed 100 percent for the season. The hotel had 95 percent occupancy in the same period last year. Mohan Khanal, sales and marketing manager, said that ROB had been more than expected. He said that the hotel would not have problems even in the case of overbooking since they can divert the customers to other hotels. "And, this was done before also," said Khanal. American, Japanese and Europeans are in majority to book rooms at the Shangri-La that has 100 rooms.
The Yak & Yeti's ROB has reached 95 percent for October. The hotel's ROB for October and November is 95 and 85 percent respectively. The same is the case with Hotel Radisson whose booking till now has crossed 90 percent. "A majority of the bookings are from Australian, British, Japanese and Indians, said Ranju Man Pradhan, marketing and sales director of the Radisson. The hotel is planning to launch 160 new rooms for 2011.
The Annapurna Hotel with an 85 percent ROB has received a majority of the bookings from visitors from the UK and Germany. Last year, the hotel had 90 percent booking for this season. "Still there is one month left to start the tourist season, and the bookings made until the end of August are very encouraging," said Raj Bahadur Shah of the hotel.
Despite the weak performance of the national flag carrier, hoteliers are hoping more tourists will arrive in the season with more international airlines coming to the country.
India's Spice Jet and Oman's Omar Air will be starting their service to Nepal very shortly.
Nepal saw record tourist arrivals of 526,507 in 2007 which subsequently decreased. In 2009, arrivals had gone up by 1.89 percent to 509,752.
Hotel bookings for the upcoming autumn season reach a record high
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 31 -
The hotel industry is looking buoyant with encouraging bookings at major five-star hotels for the upcoming season. Thanks to increased air links, bookings at five-star hotels have soared to over 90 percent for the autumn season (October-November).
Hoteliers said that some five-star hotels had been overbooked while bookings at others had crossed 90 percent. Higher booking rates for autumn make a huge difference to the domestic hospitality industry as it is the main tourist season. Around 30 percent of the total tourist arrivals occur during this time.
Hoteliers said that hotel occupancy this season was likely to rise significantly compared to 2008 and 2009. However, they are worried that if the overwhelming rate of bookings continues, it would be hard to manage them. The hotels have a bed capacity of only 25,357. However, a recent Nepal Tourism Board survey at 15 tourist sites shows that 66,603 beds can be generated.
With the significant rise in bookings, travel trade entrepreneurs and hoteliers are hoping that the business outlook will be much better than in previous years.
From Hotel Everest, Hyatt Regency to Shangri-La, almost all have their bookings going up to 100 percent. In the case of Hotel Yak & Yeti and Radisson, bookings have reached over 95 percent.
Room bookings for the upcoming season at the Soaltee Crowne Plaza, the country's leading five-star hotel, have surged by 20 percent. "Compared to the last season, bookings have gone up by 20 percent," said Sony Chaudhary, assistant manager, marketing and public relations.
Despite overwhelming bookings, hoteliers are still not sure whether they will materialize into business. Amir Pradhananga, sales and marketing director of the Everest Hotel, is one of them. "Despite the rate of booking (ROB) for autumn crossing 100 percent, we're not sure if these bookings will be occupied until we get the final reservation order from the customers," said Pradhananga. As per hotel rules, customers should confirm or cancel their bookings before 15-20 days.
Last year, about 30 percent of the clients had cancelled their bookings. "This season, there are no signs of cancellation; however, there are still some weeks left to get the final confirmation of the reservations," said Pradhananga.
The Everest Hotel has overbooked rooms for a few days in October.
The Shangri-La's ROB has also crossed 100 percent for the season. The hotel had 95 percent occupancy in the same period last year. Mohan Khanal, sales and marketing manager, said that ROB had been more than expected. He said that the hotel would not have problems even in the case of overbooking since they can divert the customers to other hotels. "And, this was done before also," said Khanal. American, Japanese and Europeans are in majority to book rooms at the Shangri-La that has 100 rooms.
The Yak & Yeti's ROB has reached 95 percent for October. The hotel's ROB for October and November is 95 and 85 percent respectively. The same is the case with Hotel Radisson whose booking till now has crossed 90 percent. "A majority of the bookings are from Australian, British, Japanese and Indians, said Ranju Man Pradhan, marketing and sales director of the Radisson. The hotel is planning to launch 160 new rooms for 2011.
The Annapurna Hotel with an 85 percent ROB has received a majority of the bookings from visitors from the UK and Germany. Last year, the hotel had 90 percent booking for this season. "Still there is one month left to start the tourist season, and the bookings made until the end of August are very encouraging," said Raj Bahadur Shah of the hotel.
Despite the weak performance of the national flag carrier, hoteliers are hoping more tourists will arrive in the season with more international airlines coming to the country.
India's Spice Jet and Oman's Omar Air will be starting their service to Nepal very shortly.
Nepal saw record tourist arrivals of 526,507 in 2007 which subsequently decreased. In 2009, arrivals had gone up by 1.89 percent to 509,752.
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