Prakash Regmi
Principal
Nepal Tourism and Hotel Management College, Pokhara
Prakash Regmi, a young energetic principal of Nepal Tourism and Hotel Management College, envisages abundant opportunities in Hospitality Industry in Nepal. In Bhutan, tourists are not granted a visa without their assurance to the government that they will spend at least 250 dollar per day. So, Nepal should also bring such a policy and promote qualitative tourism rather than increasing the number of tourists.
Below is a brief talk with such an energetic entrepreneur who insists on increasing quality and ensuring spending capacity of tourists rather than growing the number of visitors to Nepal. Excerpts:
How do you analyze the present trend of hotel management education in Nepal and abroad?
Hotel management education has made a paradigm shift in the recent days. In earlier days, there were very few girls who were interested in this course since hospitality management job was considered to be low level post in the Nepalese society. But in the present context, its charm has significantly increased and common people’s perspectives have changed. As a result, the hotel management sector has become globally prestigious and demandable since this sector has created huge potentiality of employment worldwide. According to the data of 2017 AD, this sector has created as many as 313 million job opportunities and it is projected that there will be around 424 million job opportunities by 2028 AD. Therefore, there are no other sectors that create/ have created as many jobs as hotel/ hospitality management does. Undoubtedly, the attraction and charm of hotel/ hospitality management is ever increasing.
How do you analyze the growing demand of tourism services in Nepal?
Nepal had adopted open door policy for foreigners only after 2007 BS. As a result, the number of tourists visiting Nepal has increased in a cascade of time intervals. Currently, there are more than 900 plus hotels only in Pokhara. And around 4/5 chain hotels are in operation. For smooth running of a chain hotel, more than 300 employees are required. After the completion of regional international airport in Pokhara, the number of tourists will increase in a large volume. Our culture has been widely venerated as good hospitality for guests since ancient days since we treat guests as gods in our culture. This glorious culture has supported increment in the number of tourists willing to traverse over various swathes of the country day-by-day.
In your opinion, what quality should a student possess to attain a qualification of hotel management?
There is no specific quality required to pursue hotel management course. Any ten-plus-two graduates from Humanities, Management, Science and other faculties with at least Grade C in each subject can get admission in hotel management program. There are various specific fields for the specialization in hotel management. Students can choose their field of interest. So, the prime quality required for this course is learners’ toil. Similarly, they should be interested in working and meeting different types of people. Similarly, students should possess the quality of positive attitude and enjoy with work.
The current trend shows that we are focusing on international dishes, such as Chinese, Indian, continental dishes etc. Why don’t you promote the local dishes for guests?
Hotel management sector is intertwined with services to guests, and we should be ready to pay service according to the demand and desire of the guest. Most tourists prefer their own dish as we look for Nepali dishes in foreign lands. In spite of this, we are anxious to promote our fundamental dishes and spread the name of the country across the globe. We have prepared a common list of 33 types of Nepali dishes representing various castes and ethnic groups living in the Terai to Himalayan regions. Our college organizes Nepali food festival in which food providers present themselves in their cultural costumes.
What are the unique features of your college in hotel management education?
The college has been established with service motive rather than profit motive. It is comparatively cheaper yet ensures sterling quality. Moreover, we offer additional courses beside the prescribed syllabi of the University. Another feature of this college is that we provide our employees free lunch. We provide Chinese language course, cocktail, mocktail, barista and bakery training at free of course as supplementary courses for students.
How is the performance of your products in the global market?
We provide essential skills, efficiency and knowledge to students that are required for hotel/ hospital management sector. As a matter of consequence, our students have held high level posts in branded and chain hotels in and beyond the country. Many of our students have become entrepreneurs even before completing their study. Besides, we’ve managed internship in foreign countries so that students will acquire more knowledge and skills required for this sector. In fact, students, who are pursuing hotel management in Nepal are globally employable. They are capable enough to create job opportunities for others, too.
