KATHMANDU, March 20 (Reuters) - More than 10,000 people marched through Nepal's capital on Tuesday to protest against the kidnapping and beating of a hotel owner who refused to pay off supporters of former Maoist rebels. Dozens of business lobby groups organised the demonstration -- the largest so far against Maoists since they signed a peace deal with the government in November. "End Maoist hooliganism," a placard held by one demonstrator said. "Stop the Maoist excesses," read another. Maoists deny extorting money but say "voluntary contributions" are welcomed to help run the party. A pro-Maoist labour union said it had suspended two members involved in the beating of the hotel owner and investigations were continuing. But marchers said extracting money through threats must stop. Shops downed shutters, and factories and banks remained closed in solidarity. "We will not accept new bookings from Wednesday and will give seven days to existing guests to leave their hotels," Prakash Shrestha, chief of the Hotel Association of Nepal, told Reuters. "If the problem is not resolved there will be zero occupancy in hotels after seven days." The Maoists are accused by human rights groups of continued kidnappings, extortion and intimidation despite the peace deal to end a decade-old civil war which killed more than 13,000 people. During that conflict many firms closed or scaled back operations after rebels demanded payments and radicalised staff. Tourism accounts for nearly four percent of Nepal's gross domestic product and provides jobs for thousands of people in the desperately poor Himalayan country. Officials say the peace deal with the Maoists was expected to boost tourist arrivals, which fell to around 280,000 in each of the past two years due to the conflict, sharply down from a peak of about half a million in 1999.
