A delegation of Pakistan Hotel Association led by Mian Akram Farid met with Federal Finance Minister
The delegation led by Pakistan Hotel Association Senior Vice Chairman Mian Akram Farid met with Minister of Finance and Revenue Ishaq Dar and presented their budget proposals on behalf of All Pakistan Hotels Association.
He said that the hotels industry has been badly affected due to the corona epidemic, and during the corona epidemic, the hotels in Islamabad and Karachi kept the people coming from foreign countries free of charge in Qartina, but the government did not allow this hotel.
No relief has been given to the industry. Due to the absence of a national tourism policy and a consistent policy framework from the government for the hotel industry, no new major hotel chain has entered Pakistan since the 1990s. By solving the problems faced by this industry, it can earn a lot of revenue – this industry is an important source of national revenue.
In Pakistan, 0.5 to 6 million people are associated with the hotel industry and the employment of lakhs of people is dependent on this industry. He said that due to credit sale, hotel owners are paying sales tax and bed tax, bed tax, which was very low earlier, and now is not in any province except capital and KP, it is in Islamabad and In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, it is increased to 5%. The government should immediately abolish bed tax in federal/provincial scope.
They invest in the acquisition of land for hotels, so land should be provided to the hotel industry at the official rate, he said that the government should take steps on this, and the interest rate should be reconsidered in the future monetary policy.
The current tariff is one of the biggest problems to control the cost of production/operation of the industry, reducing costs especially electricity and gas prices for the tourism industry. There are many restrictions/complications while making remittances, State Bank should relax them, otherwise foreign professionals, technicians, and other consultants will avoid providing services in Pakistan for new projects.
The Finance Minister assured the delegation that the government values the services of the hotel industry in the country’s economy. Steps are being taken for this.
He said that the proposals presented by the business community are always taken very seriously during the preparation of the federal budget and steps are being taken to present a business-friendly budget.
