The five-decade-old Hotel Annapurna, which has become a landmark in the country’s tourism map, is going to shut down as it has not been able to afford staffers’ expenses. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism industry has been affected very badly and the hotel shutting down is just one of the consequences.
Moreover, tourist arrivals have declined drastically. Citing that it cannot afford the expenses of the employees any more as the hotel has not earned anything in the last nine months, the management has decided to lay off all the staffers and close the hotel, said a staff of the hotel seeking anonymity.
As per the source, the hotel has asked all the employees to tender their resignations and clear their accounts. “Some of the staffers have already resigned and some were still waiting for the situation to normalise,” the source said, adding, “But now the management itself has asked us to resign and clear our accounts.”
The staff further informed that the management has told them that even if the hotel resumes operation in the future it will hire new employees. The source said that around 45 staffers have already resigned and left. There are more than 300 workers currently working in the hotel.
Meanwhile, Shreejana Rana, executive director of the hotel, said that the hotel has been facing losses for the last nine months and there is no hope to recover the losses any time soon.
“There is no chance of any tourist comin
Read the full story on The Himalayan Times