Kavrepalanchok, April 22: Hotel and tourism sector in Dhulikhel, Kavrepalanchok that was recovering from the impact of COVID-19 has been affected again following the onset of the second phase of the infection.    

As a result, many hotel bookings in the town have been cancelled. Hotel booking cancellation took place from the third week of April, said the Regional Hotel Association (HAN), Kavrepalanchok.    

More than one dozen bookings at my resort have been cancelled so far. Hotel cancellation is ongoing," Premkantha Makaju Shrestha, president of the HAN, Kavrepalanchok.    

At present, his resort has received only around 50 customers, domestic and foreign, on a daily basis against around 200 before the second week of April, he said. There are around 60 big and small scale hotels in Dhulikhel being run with a total investment of approximately Rs 50 billion. Over 3,000 people have got jobs at the hotels, said the HAN, Kavrepalanchok.    

Prahlad Pyakurel, who runs a hotel in Dhulikhel, has complained of decreasing number of customers at present. Nowadays, his 50-bed hotel has received only 25 customers on a daily basis. "There has been a short of hotel booking since two weeks. Booking has been cancelled," he said.    

In a bid to bring infection-marred tourism on track, hotel entrepreneurs in the town had announced three special packages to attract customers, but the infection has affected it.    

"We offered special packages to attract customers by following the health protocol. However, the second phase of the virus has affected it," said Shrestha.