Kathmandu, May 18

Hoteliers in Chitwan are preparing to introduce a novel campaign called ‘Pay now, go later’ targeting domestic tourists.

The tourism industry at this moment is reeling under financial pressure due to the impact of COVID-19 and there is no sign of a recovery anytime soon.

To bide by this tough time, a few hoteliers including former president of Chitwan Regional Hotel Association, Suman Ghimire, are planning to introduce the ‘Pay now, go later’ scheme. Under this campaign people can make reservations in the hotels now and travel to their desired destination later at their convenience.

The campaign is not limited to hotels in Chitwan only and any hotel from any part of the country can avail this facility, he added.

According to Ghimire, guests can book rooms at the respective hotels as per their convenience and travel later. The booking will be valid only after 60 days starting from the date the reservation was made. Meanwhile, when guests do avail the facility they will be provided services worth 50 per cent more than the actual booking amount. “For instance if a guest books hotel service worth Rs 10,000 then during their stay the hotel will provide services worth Rs 15,000,” he said.

“This is a win-win offer for both as the hoteliers can address their immediate financial issues and the guest will receive services that are worth more than what they paid for,” he mentioned.

Ghimire and the team are preparing a platform for both hoteliers and guests via a website — paynowgolater.com. Hoteliers can join this campaign while guests can book their hotel rooms. All categories of hotels can join this campaign from any corner of the country, he added.

“As this is a pilot project, we have a target to collaborate with 100 hotels for now but if everything goes well, the number may increase in the coming days,” he said.

Ghimire said he had conceptualised this campaign after analysing the interest of the hoteliers and guests.

“The hotel industry is unlikely to recover anytime soon even after the lockdown is lifted. So this is just a survival concept and as we are focusing on domestic tourism promotion,” he added. “This campaign might help to attract local people to travel, however, the offer is open for foreigners as well.”

Currently, a total of 17 hotels have joined the campaign from Chitwan, Pokhara, Lumbini, Birgunj, Biratnagar and Baglung.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on May 19, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.