The Bhutanese Leading the way.
It has been learnt that only those hotels who agree to start repaying their loans will be eligible for the 4% ESP loan interest subsidy for one year.
In addition to that RMA will mandate banks to give an additional 1%,interest loan discount which means a subsidy of 5% loan interest.
With hotel loans given at around 8%, it is a huge discount.
To give flexibility the hotels have the option of splitting the loans and paying only one half of the loans.
This scheme may be rolled out from May 2026.
The main aim is to ensure that while hotels get help with their loans it also becomes an incentive to start paying instead of seeking endless deferments.
The Cabinet had approved a 4 percent Economic Stimulus Program (ESP) subsidy for hotels for a one-year period, but implementation has taken longer than expected as multiple agencies work to finalize the framework.
Last week the Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay said the government opted for a targeted strategy rather than providing the subsidy to all hotels.
The PM said that hotels that are already profitable will not receive the subsidy but at the same time owners who have invested heavily to maintain operations should not be penalized. Lyonchhen said that some hotels were struggling even before the pandemic, and in such cases, a financial subsidy alone may not be effective.
“For hotels facing bankruptcy, other forms of intervention through the rehabilitation program could provide more meaningful and sustainable support,” the PM had said.
