SYAMBHU WAS THERE 1,500 YEARS AGO WITH PRESENT NAME Kathmandu, 21 May; A 1,500 year-old stone inscription found three weeks while digging for a toilet left of a cobbled stairway to the top of the Syambhunath mentions the area as ‘Syambhu”, Gyan Neupane reports in Nagarik. The inscription is a base of a missing Buddha idol. “The chaitya of Syambhu was there before Mandeb, the grandfather of Basantadeb/ The find is proof there was a chitya there with name Syambhu,” Chief of Department of Archaeology Shyam Sundar Rajbhansi told Nagarik. nnnn TOURISM ENTREPRENEURS DISHEARTENED WITH BOOKING CANCELLATIONS Kathmandu, 21 May:The recent spate of bandas have hurt the country’s booming tourism industry with hotels reporting a flurry of cancellations, Sangam Parsai writes in The Kathmandu Post.. They said that they had not received any inquiries for reservations for the last three days. Around 80 percent of the 54,498 rooms in the country’s five-star hotels were occupied as of mid-May. The scenario started to change since May 10 with a two-day general shutdown called by the Brahmin Chhetri Samaj. Subsequent strikes called by the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN) and the Indigenous Nationalities Joint Struggle Committee (INJSC) have added to the woes of hotels as it is uncertain when the constant shutdowns will end. Similarly, tour and trekking operators have seen their business take a plunge following the strikes. Tour operators said almost 40 percent of the tours booked for May have been cancelled. A majority of the tours have been booked by European and the Indian visitors. Most foreign visitors here have remained indoors during the shutdowns. Travel trade entrepreneurs fear that once visitor confidence is lost, their numbers will drop significantly and the momentum cannot begin again instantly. The Hotel Yak & Yeti has reported cancellations of 375 room-nights from May 19 to June 2 and the trend is increasing gradually. “We have lost 375 room-nights within a week due to a re-occurrence of strikes,” said Bharat Joshi, director, sales and marketing at the Yak & Yeti. According to him, visitors who are already here have been compelled to cut short their trips. Another five-star property the Hotel Annapurna has also been struck by room cancellations. Raj Bikram Shah, sales and marketing manager of the Annapurna, said tourists have so far cancelled 150 room nights. “There have been no enquiries from new guests for the last three days,” Shah said, adding that all domestic functions like seminars and workshops had also been cancelled. Both hotels have estimated their losses for May to be Rs 10 million. According to hoteliers, the disappointing part is that visitors have been frequently complaining of “very uncomfortable situations” in Nepal. As publicity by word of mouth brings a lot of tourism into the country, the concerns of visitors has become a major worry for the industry. With the country already witnessing more than four strikes and more planned, tourists have started asking for a “guarantee” for their visit from tour operators. Pavitra Kumar Karki, president of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), said travellers need to feel confident when booking their holidays, and that even the government is seen to be helpless to ensure their safety. Last Thursday, 200 tourists were stranded at Kawasoti, Nawalparasi due to a banda. Similarly, around 150 foreign tourists travelling to Pokhara were stuck on the Prithvi Highway after protesters obstructed their vehicles. “Protests have become more violent across the country from Sunday,” Karki said. He added that publicity about the strikes and fear of possible violent activities during the run-up to May 27, the deadline for writing a new constitution, have led to more than 40 percent of the tour bookings being cancelled. Mahendra Singh Thapa, president of the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), said that violent protests across the country have forced operators to call their clients not to come to Nepal before May 27. “All the tourism activities have been affected badly, so it is not reasonable to host visitors at present,” Thapa added. The Eastern, Western and Central regions all have been affected by strikes. “The trekking sector is also likely to incur booking losses of over 40 percent this season.” Entrepreneurs said that trekking and rafting, the most popular adventure activities among visitors, were the most affected by the bandas. Tourist arrivals jumped during Nepal Tourism Year 2011, and the upward trend was maintained during the first four months of 2012. Arrivals from January to April amounted to 207,961, up 23.1 percent year on year. nnnn MORE OUTBOUND WORKERS SEEK OPPORTUNITIES ABROAD Kathmandu, 21 May: Overseas recruitment of Nepali workers has increased notably in the first 10 months (mid-July to mid-May) of the current fiscal year, with the number of outbound workers rising 16.23 percent over the period, The Kathmandu Post reports. Except for Malaysia, hiring by Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait posted an impressive growth. A total of 313,093 individuals (including 18,237 women) left the country for overseas jobs during the first 10 months, compared to 269,367 individuals in the same period last year, according to the Department of Foreign Employment. Experts said the number of workers eyeing foreign employment was increasing because of the lack of jobs in home, comparatively low salary, political instability, frequent strikes and poor industrial situation, among others. “Until five year ago, only around 400 individuals used to leave for foreign employment each day, the number now has gone up to more than 1,400 a day,” said Chiranjibi Nepal, economist and foreign employment expert. In the first 10 months, Qatar hired 91,243 workers, against last year’s 74,242, with infrastructure development work speeding up in the run up to the 2022 Soccer World Cup. Hiring from Saudi Arabia went up by 21.36 percent to 63,867. The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait recruited 47,833 and 20,142 Nepalis, respectively. The countries had hired 33,142 and 10,681 Nepali workers, respectively, in the same period last year. “Demand for Nepali workers from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have increased,” said Bal Bahadur Tamang, president of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies. He said Nepali recruiting agencies were able to meet only around 50 percent of the demand from Qatar. Of late, the trend of high-skilled workers leaving the country is also increasing. Recruiting agencies said such skilled professionals included doctors and engineers. “Nepali youth with good education background are hired by super markets, hotels and other service areas,” said Tamang. Meanwhile, Nepali workers’ departure to Malaysia, a major labour destination, has declined. According to the department, hiring by Malaysia is down 17.49 percent. The country had hired 87,829 Nepali workers last year. Foreign employment agencies said Malaysia’s recent decision to end the ban on the hiring of Bangladeshi workers could further slow down the demand for Nepali workers from the country. Monthly departure figures show that the number workers leaving for jobs declined to 29,123 individuals in the 10th month (mid-April to mid-May) from 33,858 a year ago. Qatar took in 7,124 during the period. Saudi Arabia and Malaysia hired 6,833 and 6,828 workers, respectively. The UAE and Kuwait hired 3,837 and 2,745 individuals, respectively. Number of outbound Nepali workers in first 10 months Destination 2011-12 2010-11 Qatar 91,243 74,282 Saudi Arabia 63,867 52,626 Malaysia 72,460 87,829 The UEA 47,833 33,145 Kuwait 20,145 10,681 Source: Department of Foreign Employment Overall departures in first 10 months Period Number of Workers 2011/12 313,093 2010/11 269,367 2009/10 229,582 Source: Department of Foreign Employment nnnn