KATHMANDU: To meet the demand of tourists and the target of Nepal Tourism Year 2011, Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) is coming up with a Community Room Concept. As the number of tourist reservations is scaling new heights and the demand for rooms in hotels are increasing, HAN has floated the concept to meet the demand.

HAN executive director Madhav Om Shrestha said that as hotel room bookings and reservations are peaking, they are trying to introduce the concept of Community Room. Under the Community Room Concept tourists who fail to get reservations or bookings in hotels can stay in spare rooms nearby any hotel area at economy rates. According to Shrestha, tourists can stay in the community rooms till they get accommodation in hotels. “Under this concept, there will be negotiation between the hotel and the community room holder and the price that an individual should pay to the house owner will be decided as per the facility provided by the house owner and the standard of the community room,” Shrestha said. He also said that the minimum charge per room in five-star hotels here varies from $150-200 per day during the tourist season.

Talking about the process for the establishment of the new concept, Shrestha said that HAN is working with a view to legal implications and trying to coordinate with the government about the community room concept. This October, there was a rise of 10.8 per cent in tourist arrivals compared to the same period last year. According to Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) immigration office statistics, visitor arrivals this October increased by 10.8 per cent to 56,009.

“Though there are agitation programmes going on, the government and the people are aware of the economic support that

the tourism sector grants to the country’s economy. Therefore, there is no such disturbance for the tourist here as was the case in the earlier days. As a result, the number of tourists coming here is increasing,” said Shrestha.

With the tourist season on, most hotels here are flush 90 per cent reservations and bookings which is a growth of 10-15 per cent compared to the same period last year. Soaltee Crown Plaza, Radisson, Hyatt, Everest Hotel, Yak and Yeti, Shangri-La, Hotel De la Annapurna and Hotel Malla are the five-star hotels in Kathmandu.

The majority of these hotels are designed according to traditional Nepalese architecture, adding to a satisfying and well-rounded Nepalese experience.