Ramesh Dhakal, the owner of Hotel Green Horizon and Nepal Mountain Trekkers, started as a porter. He entered tourism in 1997, following his friends from Dhading to Kathmandu. However, it was the Visit Nepal 1999 that prompted him to be a regular worker in tourism.
Right before the pandemic, he had renovated his hotel, adding a seventy-seat restaurant as a preparation for the Visit Nepal 2020. Now, the investment seems like a lost cause. He has had zero income for more than a year now. Little savings that he had helped bear the costs for a few months. He had to borrow some from his friends as he could not approach any banks or financial institutions due to the lack of collateral. He says that he has no asset or property, everything he had has been invested in the hotel. When asked how the fall in income has hit his business- he pauses and reflects. Perhaps the stories of struggles are complex and layered- than what he wants to or can share in a short interview. He was compelled to lay off 14 of his staff, reducing his workforce from 18 to 4. He now has only one regular staff in trekking, there were 5 earlier. A few guides he knew have left their jobs and have switched to agriculture.
While business has taken a hit and he has had to lay off workers, he has received little to no support from the government. “We pay taxes, provide employment yet there is no help from the government”, he questions.
Ramesh also highlights the latent impacts of COVID. He notes that the escalation in financial troubles and the lockdown due to the pandemic has affected people’s mental health even more than their finances. No one knows what hidden implications these might have. His energy to work more, take tourism to new heights has faded. He used to donate 5% of his income to charity now he doesn’t even feel like working anymore. Rather, he finds it difficult to open up and share.
He represents not just himself but hundreds of other entrepreneurs in Thamel, who have spent decades of their life in the industry. For the longest of times, tourism was their source of bread and butter. The COVID-induced lockdown and travel restrictions have severely impacted their major source of livelihood. “I have spent my years in this sector, and I can’t start from zero again,” he sighs towards the end of the conversation.