Destination Remote

DESPITE all the expansion that Nepal’s domestic aviation industry has seen owing to the open sky policy pursued in the nineties, most of the remote areas of Nepal are still out of the air network. It is plain that the domestic air network has undergone a sea-change since the time where only Royal Nepal Airlines used to operate. Currently, some 17 airlines operate flights to various destinations. Planes from more airlines may be seen in the Nepalese skies in the future, as the number of air operators receiving air operator certificate stands at 32. All this growth notwithstanding, it is patently clear that most of their flights link conventional destinations. With so many players joining the air operations, it was reasonable to expect more and more far-flung areas air-linked up. But the situation is much the same as before. Yes, there are more flights now on the traditional routes and getting a plane ticket involves much less hassles than when RNAC was the sole airlines flying these routes, but most remote hilly areas—many of them days of walk away from the nearest road head—are still out of air network. From the viewpoints of domestic aviation and social justice, this can hardly be termed a healthy development.

It is not as though opening of the private sector to the air transport has been done without giving any thoughts to the question of rural areas also benefiting from the move. The aviation regulations clearly stipulate that the private sector airlines have to operate 40 per cent of their flights to the "service sector", with the rest to the tourist destinations. But the airlines have flouted the stipulation with impunity. Their disinclination to fly those routes comes obviously from lack of business profitability. In order to prompt them to fly to these remote areas, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal is mulling to set up a fund, created with a certain charge on tickets of tourists flying to touristic destinations, that will go to prop up the private airlines’ service in the social sector. It remains to be seen how soon the idea is concretised and whether it will prod the private airlines to do some "social work" too. If it works, it may to some extent reduce the glaring regional imbalance in domestic aviation as it exists now.

Solve It Once & For All

IT seems the row between hoteliers and trade unions on the ten per cent service charge issue has not yet been resolved. Hotel workers had demanded additional ten per cent service charge on the bills of the clients, which the hoteliers refused to give into the workers’ demands saying it was unfair to levy additional 10 per cent tax on the already over taxed clients. This dispute had forced the hoteliers and other travel and tour operators to close down their business last month. However, an agreement was reached between the government and the trade unions to withdraw their ultimatum for the period of two months until an amicable solution was found to permanently resolve the issue. Although hoteliers had rejected the deal and announced to shut down their business, they agreed to open the hotels as Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala himself assured the hoteliers to look into their demands sympathetically. Even one month after the agreement, the problem is as it was a month back, which means Nepal’s tourism sector is likely to face the same kind of dispute and wrangling after a month. Already stung by numerous problems and hitches, Nepal’s tourism industry would heavily suffer if this issue is not solved on time. Tourism industry is the backbone of our national economy and with the slump in the tourism industry, Nepal national economy would also dwindle. Both the hoteliers agents workers have stuck to their previous position. In an interaction organised in Kathmandu the other day, Nepalese hoteliers, the agents travel and tour operators insisted that the ten per cent service charge would be unbearable not only to the tourism industry but also to the entire national economy. At the same time, workers and even some travel and tour operators abroad are of the view that as things are cheaper in Nepal ten per cent service charge would not affect tourists so heavily. Moreover, the accounts of hoteliers, as workers have pointed out, are not transparent so far and the ten per cent service charge would make the accounts more transparent, which would increase in the country’s revenue, as well. Whatever the charges and logics for and against, conflicts and dispute serve the interest of neither the hoteliers nor workers. If tourism industry suffers, the hoteliers, workers and the entire nation would suffer simultaneously. Thus, it is not at the interest of any one to prolong such dispute, which only creates uncertainty and crisis of confidence among owners and workers. It is high time that the dispute was resolved amicably as soon as possible for the larger interest of the nation.