KARACHI, March 14: The room occupancy ratio in hotels is yet to improve after Oct 18, 2007, blasts in Karachi, and it now hovers between 30 and 35 per cent in four- and five-star hotels and 15 and 20 per cent in the small ones.

The industry people said that although the hotel business had been affected owing to law and order situation, the Sindh government was still sticking to recovery of bed tax at 80 per cent room occupancy, thus causing a loss to them.

To discuss the levy of bed tax, the hoteliers held a meeting at a local hotel in Saddar on Friday in which Pakistan Hotels Association representatives also participated.

PHA chairman Mustansir Zakir told Dawn that room occupancy depends on political and economic situation. The occupancy had dropped to below 20 per cent in all hotels soon after various incidents (October 18 blasts, imposition of emergency in November, assassination of Benazir Bhutto on Dec 27 and suicide attacks).

The room occupancy might have recovered in some hotels, but it is still not normal which should hover between 65 and 70 per cent under satisfactory political and economic conditions.

He said many foreign missions had been issuing travel advisories since October 18, asking their countrymen to restrict their movement in the wake of deteriorating law and order situation.

There is 30:70 ratio of room occupancy in leading hotels as foreigners’ share is 30 per cent while 70 per cent is shared by locals in normal days.

In 2005-07, the Sindh government was collecting bed tax at 60-70 per cent room occupancy.

The PHA chairman said that the industry representatives also met the Sindh governor, but nothing positive had materialised, so far. The PHA, he said, was trying to seek another appointment with the governor to resolve the issue.

The members of the PHA, he said, are considering three options in case the government did not resolve the issue: to shut down hotels, go to the court and display protest banners.

He said two-to-three star hotels are disturbed with the bed tax owing to slow movement of visitors from the upcountry. Even they have to offer discount on room rate owing to a dull business.

He said hotels in Punjab are not facing this problem as the government had given permission to them to deposit the tax as per their daily recovery, which seems justified.

He said whenever a cricket team of a foreign country refuses to visit Pakistan it creates a bad impression among prospective visitors and tourists.

General Manager Gulf Hotel Sabeel ur Rahman said small hotels in Saddar and other areas had been recording a 15 to 20 per cent room occupancy since October 18. Prolonged loadshedding also creates problems for visitors and hotel managements.