The government has already received an overwhelming number of applications from four-star hotels and below for the loan subsidy implemented since May this year. 284 eligible hotels have applied for the one-year subsidy of five per cent. The Minister for Industry, Commerce, and Employment shared this at the monthly Meet the Press session yesterday.
In the latest update, Minister Namgyal Dorji shared that 84 hotels have been issued the Verification Letters.
“They can now approach their respective banks to avail themselves of the loan interest subsidy. Nearly 200 hotels are yet to be assessed, and we are carrying out a thorough verification of their applications.”
The financial institutions will process the approved applications based on their internal procedures and prudential measures under the guidance of the Royal Monetary Authority.
According to the minister, the scheme is strictly for the identified category of hotels. It runs on a framework with defined eligibility criteria and implementation modalities. The Department of Tourism verifies the four-star and three-star hotels, while the department, along with respective district administrations, vets the two-star and below hotels before issuing the verification letter.
Under the scheme, eligible borrowers will receive an interest relief of five per cent. Of this, the government covers four per cent through the Economic Stimulus Programme Fund, and respective banks will provide the remaining one per cent.
Minister Namgyal Dorji said the government is not expecting any significant changes to the fund allocated for the scheme.
“Based on the number of hotels rated below four stars, their loan records, and the estimated amount required for the four per cent government interest subsidy, Nu 850 M was allocated. Therefore, the ministry expects that there will not be any significant changes to the allocated budget.”
Today, there are about 240 Department of Tourism–certified hotels rated four-star and below across the country.
As per the Royal Monetary Authority’s Annual Report 2025, the service and tourism sector, which includes hotels, is one of the largest recipients of credit in the country’s financial system. Its total lending reached around Nu 57.5bn in 2025. The hotel and tourism industry alone accounts for around 60 per cent of the amount.
Applications for the interest subsidy will remain open until the end of this month. With close to 200 applications still under assessment, the pace of verification in the coming weeks will determine how quickly the support reaches the hotels.
Meanwhile, for a sector servicing multi-year debt, one year may be a breather or a bridge. And where that bridge leads will depend as much on how the industry restructures itself as on what the state provides.
Kelzang Chhophyel
Edited by Sonam Wangdi
