September 22, 2008	Monday	Ramazan 21, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Sept 21: Occupancy rates in the luxury hotels of the twin cities have dropped dramatically after the suicide truck bombing at the Marriott hotel in the capital city killed 53 people and wounded 266 others, including foreign nationals.

The deadly attack has heightened the fear among both locals and foreigners, with the existing guests moving out of these five-star hotels and new visitors avoiding checking in at these potential targets of militants.

A manager at one of these hotels told Dawn on Sunday that the second suicide strike on the Marriott had sparked scare among the foreign visitors who believe that these hotels were vulnerable to more suicide blasts due to frequent presence of high-profile figures.

“Fearing another possible threat, our guests have left the hotel while there are no advance booking demands by visitors,” said the manager who spoke on condition of anonymity.

On Saturday evening, a dumber truck laden with 600kg powerful explosives detonated at the entrance to the Marriott, which triggered a fire that completely gutted the five-story hotel.

This was the second time the hotel was attacked, as last year a suicide bomber blew himself up at an entrance to the basement, killing security guards.

“We are concerned about our revenue as the visitors are now convinced that only five-star hotels in Islamabad are under threat. We don’t know how to restore the trust of visitors,” a manager at another luxury hotel remarked.

He said the visitors, particularly foreigners, now preferred to stay in rest houses where usually no important meetings took place. “The major reason for the decline in the number of visitors is the increase in VVIP meetings in our hotels,” he added.

There used to be great hustle and bustle in the restaurants of luxury hotels at Iftar, however, on Sunday the outlets presented a deserted look in wake of the Saturday’s deadly event at the Marriott.